v136 · miscellaneous

Web Authentication Conditional Create (Automatic Passkey Upgrades)

WebAuthn Conditional Create allows websites to automatically create passkeys for existing users that have a matching password saved in their password manager.

concepts

  1. Auto Passkey

    WebAuthn's conditional mediation now also covers create() — sites can opportunistically upgrade existing password sign-ins to passkeys without a separate prompt.

  2. Password fill triggers upgrade

    The integration site: when the password autofills, fire create({mediation: "conditional"}) in the background. If the platform can mint a passkey silently, future sign-ins skip the password.

  3. Upgrade Decision Tree

    Walks every input signal — signed-in user, recent autofill, hardware, exclude list — and labels each scenario "upgrade", "skip", or "may prompt", with the full publicKey dictionary the call would carry.

  4. Passkey Compatibility Matrix

    Browser × OS × authenticator compatibility table for conditional create, plus a profile checker: pick browser version, platform, password manager, and user state to get a verdict — "upgrade silently", "skip (no password)", "no platform auth", or "partial support" — with implementation code.

why it shipped

WebAuthn Conditional Create requests let a website (aka a Relying Party or RP) create a passkey without prominent modal mediation, if the user has previously consented to credential creation.

references