Add FEP-db70: RemoveAll Collection Activity (#781)

This FEP defines a RemoveAll activity for batch-removing items from an ActivityPub collection. While ActivityPub defines Remove for single items, there is no mechanism for removing multiple or all items at once. - New activity type RemoveAll for batch removal from any collection - Optional FEP-34c1 filter to selectively remove items matching criteria (by type, date, actor) - Without filter, all items are removed - Use cases: "mark all as read", clearing old items, filtered batch removal Co-authored-by: automation <noreply@local> Reviewed-on: https://codeberg.org/fediverse/fep/pulls/781 Co-authored-by: naturzukunft <naturzukunft@noreply.codeberg.org> Co-committed-by: naturzukunft <naturzukunft@noreply.codeberg.org>
2026-08-05 19:55:46 +00:00 · 2026-03-16 10:22:31 +01:00
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+{
+  "_comment": [
+    "JSON-LD Context for FEP-db70: RemoveAll Collection Activity.",
+    "",
+    "Defines the RemoveAll activity type and the filter property",
+    "for batch-removing items from ActivityPub collections.",
+    "",
+    "See: https://w3id.org/fep/db70"
+  ],
+  "@context": {
+    "fepdb70": "https://w3id.org/fep/db70#",
+
+    "RemoveAll": "fepdb70:RemoveAll",
+    "filter": {"@id": "fepdb70:filter", "@type": "@id"}
+  }
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,186 @@
+---
+slug: "db70"
+authors: Fred Hauschel <@naturzukunft2026@mastodon.social>
+status: DRAFT
+dateReceived: 2026-03-15
+discussionsTo: https://socialhub.activitypub.rocks/t/fep-db70-removeall-collection-activity/8569
+---
+# FEP-db70: RemoveAll Collection Activity
+
+## Summary
+
+This FEP defines a `RemoveAll` activity for batch-removing items from an ActivityPub collection. While the [ActivityPub] specification defines `Remove` for removing a single item from a collection, there is no mechanism for removing multiple or all items at once. `RemoveAll` fills this gap. It supports an optional [FEP-34c1] filter to selectively remove items matching specific criteria (e.g. by type, by date, or by actor). Without a filter, all items are removed. `RemoveAll` is a generic collection operation — it can be used with any collection type, not just inboxes or notification collections.
+
+## Motivation
+
+ActivityPub's `Remove` activity targets a single `object` within a `target` collection. For collections that can grow large, clients need a way to batch-remove items without sending individual `Remove` activities for each item. Common use cases include:
+
+- "Mark all as read" in a notification collection ([FEP-34ec])
+- Clearing old items from a collection
+- Removing all items matching a specific filter (e.g. all items of a certain type)
+
+Without a batch operation, a client must first fetch all items, then send individual `Remove` activities — which is both slow and prone to race conditions.
+
+## Specification
+
+### 1. The `RemoveAll` Activity
+
+`RemoveAll` is a new activity type that removes multiple items from a target collection.
+
+```json
+{
+  "@context": [
+    "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams",
+    "https://w3id.org/fep/db70"
+  ],
+  "type": "RemoveAll",
+  "actor": "https://example.com/actors/bob",
+  "target": "https://example.com/actors/bob/notifications"
+}
+```
+
+#### Properties
+
+| Property | Type | Required | Description |
+|----------|------|----------|-------------|
+| `type` | String | MUST | `RemoveAll` |
+| `actor` | IRI | MUST | The actor performing the operation |
+| `target` | IRI | MUST | The collection to remove items from |
+| `filter` | FilterRequest | MAY | A [FEP-34c1] filter to select which items to remove |
+
+Without a `filter`, the server MUST remove all items from the target collection.
+
+### 2. Filtered RemoveAll (with FEP-34c1)
+
+When a `filter` property is present, only items matching the filter are removed. The filter uses the [FEP-34c1] `FilterRequest` format with [TREE] relations.
+
+**Remove all items matching a specific property value:**
+
+```json
+{
+  "@context": [
+    "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams",
+    "https://w3id.org/fep/db70",
+    "https://w3id.org/fep/34c1",
+    "https://w3id.org/tree"
+  ],
+  "type": "RemoveAll",
+  "actor": "https://example.com/actors/bob",
+  "target": "https://example.com/actors/bob/some-collection",
+  "filter": {
+    "type": "FilterRequest",
+    "relation": [
+      {
+        "type": "EqualToRelation",
+        "path": { "@id": "rdf:type" },
+        "value": { "@id": "as:Create" }
+      }
+    ]
+  }
+}
+```
+
+**Remove all items older than a given date:**
+
+```json
+{
+  "type": "RemoveAll",
+  "actor": "https://example.com/actors/bob",
+  "target": "https://example.com/actors/bob/some-collection",
+  "filter": {
+    "type": "FilterRequest",
+    "relation": [
+      {
+        "type": "LessThanRelation",
+        "path": { "@id": "as:published" },
+        "value": { "@value": "2026-02-17T00:00:00Z", "@type": "xsd:dateTime" }
+      }
+    ]
+  }
+}
+```
+
+**Combine multiple filter criteria (AND):**
+
+```json
+{
+  "type": "RemoveAll",
+  "actor": "https://example.com/actors/bob",
+  "target": "https://example.com/actors/bob/some-collection",
+  "filter": {
+    "type": "FilterRequest",
+    "relation": [
+      {
+        "type": "EqualToRelation",
+        "path": { "@id": "rdf:type" },
+        "value": { "@id": "as:Create" }
+      },
+      {
+        "type": "LessThanRelation",
+        "path": { "@id": "as:published" },
+        "value": { "@value": "2026-02-17T00:00:00Z", "@type": "xsd:dateTime" }
+      }
+    ]
+  }
+}
+```
+
+Multiple `relation` entries are combined with AND — all criteria must match for an item to be removed.
+
+### 3. Server Behavior
+
+- The server MUST remove all matching items from the target collection
+- The server MUST verify that the `actor` is authorized to modify the target collection
+- If the target collection does not exist, the server MUST respond with `404 Not Found`
+- Unauthorized requests MUST be rejected with `401 Unauthorized`
+- Whether removed items are deleted or archived is determined by the collection's semantics (e.g. [FEP-34ec] specifies that removed notifications MUST be deleted)
+
+### 4. Response
+
+The server SHOULD respond with `200 OK` and the number of removed items:
+
+```json
+{
+  "@context": "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams",
+  "summary": "Removed 12 items from the collection"
+}
+```
+
+## Security Considerations
+
+- `RemoveAll` without a filter removes all items from a collection. Servers SHOULD ensure that the actor is authorized for the target collection.
+- Servers SHOULD implement rate limiting for `RemoveAll` operations.
+
+## Conformance
+
+A conforming server MUST:
+- Process `RemoveAll` activities targeting a collection owned by the actor
+- Remove all items when no `filter` is present
+- Remove only matching items when a [FEP-34c1] `filter` is present
+
+A conforming server SHOULD:
+- Support [FEP-34c1] `FilterRequest` in the `filter` property
+
+## Implementations
+
+- [ChangingGraph](https://changinggraph.org) (reference implementation, in progress)
+
+## References
+
+- Christine Lemmer-Webber, Jessica Tallon, Erin Shepherd, Amy Guy, Evan Prodromou, [ActivityPub], 2018
+- James M Snell, Evan Prodromou, [Activity Streams 2.0], 2017
+- naturzukunft, [FEP-34c1: Collection Filtering using TREE Hypermedia], 2025
+- naturzukunft, [FEP-34ec: Notification Collection Endpoint], 2026
+- [TREE Hypermedia Vocabulary][TREE]
+
+[ActivityPub]: https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/
+[Activity Streams 2.0]: https://www.w3.org/TR/activitystreams-core/
+[FEP-34c1]: https://codeberg.org/fediverse/fep/src/branch/main/fep/34c1/fep-34c1.md
+[FEP-34ec]: https://codeberg.org/fediverse/fep/src/branch/main/fep/34ec/fep-34ec.md
+[TREE]: https://treecg.github.io/specification/
+
+## Copyright
+
+CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
+
+To the extent possible under law, the authors of this Fediverse Enhancement Proposal have waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this work.
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+# FEP-db70: RemoveAll Collection Activity
+#
+# RDFS/OWL ontology for the FEP-db70 vocabulary terms.
+# This is a reference artefact — NOT loaded at runtime.
+# It documents the classes and properties defined by FEP-db70.
+#
+# See: https://w3id.org/fep/db70
+
+@prefix fepdb70: <https://w3id.org/fep/db70#> .
+@prefix fep34c1: <https://w3id.org/fep/34c1#> .
+@prefix as:      <https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#> .
+@prefix rdfs:    <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .
+@prefix owl:     <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#> .
+
+# ── Ontology metadata ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+<https://w3id.org/fep/db70#>
+  a owl:Ontology ;
+  rdfs:label "FEP-db70 RemoveAll Collection Activity Vocabulary" ;
+  rdfs:comment "Defines the RemoveAll activity for batch-removing items from ActivityPub collections." .
+
+# ── Classes ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+fepdb70:RemoveAll
+  a rdfs:Class ;
+  rdfs:subClassOf as:Activity ;
+  rdfs:label "RemoveAll" ;
+  rdfs:comment "Removes all (or filtered) items from a target collection. Supports optional FEP-34c1 filtering." .
+
+# ── Properties ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+fepdb70:filter
+  a owl:ObjectProperty ;
+  rdfs:label "filter" ;
+  rdfs:comment "An optional FEP-34c1 FilterRequest that selects which items to remove. Without a filter, all items are removed." ;
+  rdfs:domain fepdb70:RemoveAll ;
+  rdfs:range fep34c1:FilterRequest .