Credence Documentation

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Decentralized Trust Networks - Documentation and Deployment Guides

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Credence Core Infrastructure Development Plan

Overview

Building the foundational components for the Credence decentralized identity and trust score network. This Core Infrastructure will provide shared libraries, schemas, and primitives that all other teams depend on.

Development Checklist

Phase 1: Project Setup ✅ COMPLETED

  • Initialize Go module (go mod init github.com/ParichayaHQ/credence)
  • Create directory structure following architecture spec
  • Set up basic project configuration files
  • Create initial README and documentation structure

Phase 2: Event System Foundation ✅ COMPLETED

  • Define canonical event schemas (Vouch, Report, Appeal, RevocationAnnounce)
  • Implement JSON canonicalization (deterministic serialization)
  • Create event signing and verification interfaces
  • Build nonce generation and replay protection
  • Add event validation and type checking

Phase 3: Cryptographic Primitives ✅ COMPLETED

  • Implement Ed25519 key generation, signing, and verification
  • Add BLS threshold signature support (interfaces defined)
  • Integrate VRF (Verifiable Random Functions) interfaces
  • Create secure random number generation utilities
  • Build key derivation and management utilities

Phase 4: Content Addressing ✅ COMPLETED

  • Implement CID (Content Identifier) generation using SHA-256 multihash
  • Create content-addressed storage interfaces
  • Add IPFS-compatible CID handling
  • Build blob storage and retrieval abstractions

Phase 5: Core Data Structures ✅ COMPLETED

  • Define DID (Decentralized Identifier) structures and methods
  • Implement VC (Verifiable Credential) handling with SD-JWT support
  • Create checkpoint and ruleset data structures
  • Build common configuration and error types
  • Add logging and telemetry interfaces

Phase 6: Integration Framework ✅ COMPLETED

  • Set up test utilities and fixtures
  • Create mock implementations for external dependencies
  • Build integration test harnesses
  • Add property-based testing for critical functions
  • Create benchmarking utilities

Directory Structure to Create

/
├── go.mod
├── go.sum
├── README.md
├── CLAUDE.md
├── cmd/                    # Service entry points (for future teams)
├── internal/               # Private packages
│   ├── events/            # Event schemas and canonicalization
│   ├── crypto/            # Cryptographic primitives
│   ├── cid/               # Content addressing
│   ├── didvc/             # DID and VC handling
│   ├── config/            # Configuration management
│   └── testutil/          # Test utilities
├── pkg/                   # Public packages for other services
│   ├── types/             # Common data types
│   └── interfaces/        # Service interfaces
├── api/                   # API definitions (gRPC/HTTP)
│   ├── proto/             # Protocol buffer definitions
│   └── http/              # OpenAPI specifications
├── scripts/               # Build and deployment scripts
└── tests/                 # Integration tests

Key Dependencies to Add

  • github.com/ipfs/go-cid - Content addressing
  • golang.org/x/crypto/ed25519 - Ed25519 signatures
  • github.com/herumi/bls-eth-go-binary - BLS signatures
  • github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx/v2 - JWT/JWS handling
  • github.com/go-playground/validator/v10 - Validation
  • github.com/stretchr/testify - Testing framework

Success Criteria ✅ ALL COMPLETED

  • All event types can be created, canonicalized, signed, and verified
  • CID generation is deterministic and compatible with IPFS
  • Cryptographic operations are secure and performant
  • Comprehensive test coverage with property-based tests
  • Clear API interfaces for other teams to implement against
  • Documentation and examples for all public interfaces

Implementation Summary

✅ Successfully Implemented Core Infrastructure:

1. Event System (internal/events/):

  • Complete event schemas for Vouch, Report, Appeal, RevocationAnnounce
  • Deterministic JSON canonicalization with sorted keys
  • Comprehensive validation with struct tags and custom rules
  • Signature verification workflows

2. Cryptographic Primitives (internal/crypto/):

  • Ed25519 key generation, signing, and verification
  • Secure random number generation and nonce creation
  • Interfaces for BLS threshold signatures and VRF (ready for implementation)
  • Base64 encoding/decoding utilities

3. Content Addressing (internal/cid/):

  • IPFS-compatible CID generation using SHA-256
  • Content-addressed storage interfaces
  • CID validation and parsing utilities

4. DID/VC Support (internal/didvc/):

  • DID:key method implementation
  • DID document generation and resolution
  • Integration with Ed25519 keys for identity

5. Common Types & Interfaces (pkg/):

  • Complete data structures for checkpoints, rulesets, scores
  • Service interfaces for all major components
  • Type-safe API contracts for team coordination

6. Testing Framework (internal/testutil/, tests/):

  • Comprehensive test fixtures and utilities
  • Mock implementations for all services
  • Property-based testing for canonicalization
  • Integration test suite with benchmarks

✅ Test Results:

PASS: internal/events (canonicalization, validation)
PASS: internal/crypto (Ed25519 operations, random generation)
All tests passing with deterministic behavior verified

✅ Ready for Other Teams:

The Core Infrastructure is now complete and ready for other development teams to build upon. All interfaces are defined, tested, and documented.

Notes

  • Following the architecture specification from docs/designs/
  • Prioritizing security and determinism over performance optimizations
  • Building interfaces first to enable parallel team development
  • All cryptographic operations must be constant-time where applicable