> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.talaria.chat/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Resolve an alias

> Look up the Talaria DID currently associated with a public alias

An alias is a short, human-friendly public name that points to a Talaria DID. Use this endpoint when a person gives your application an alias instead of a complete `did:talaria:...` identifier.

Alias lookup is read-only and requires no signature.

## Before you use an alias

Aliases improve usability, but the DID remains the cryptographic identity. Resolve the returned DID before selecting keys or sending a message.

The Directory normalizes aliases to lowercase. Valid aliases use letters, digits, `_`, `.`, `@`, and `-`, with a maximum length of 64 characters.

## Request

<ParamField path="alias" type="string" required>
  The complete public alias. URL-encode it if it contains characters that are not safe in a URL path.
</ParamField>

<RequestExample>
  ```bash Request theme={null}
  curl --request GET \
    --url "https://directory.example.com/aliases/river.stone"
  ```
</RequestExample>

## Response

<ResponseField name="alias" type="string" required>
  The normalized alias that was resolved.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="did" type="string" required>
  The Talaria DID that currently owns the alias.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseExample>
  ```json 200 Response theme={null}
  {
    "alias": "river.stone",
    "did": "did:talaria:1111111111111111111111"
  }
  ```
</ResponseExample>

## Next step

Resolve the returned DID:

```bash theme={null}
curl --request GET \
  --url "https://directory.example.com/resolve/did%3Atalaria%3A1111111111111111111111"
```

## Straight to the point

```http theme={null}
GET /aliases/{url-encoded-alias}
```

* Authentication: none
* Body: none
* Success: `200`
* Unknown alias: `404`