Cardano Message Verification Tool

Introduction

The Cardano Message Verification Tool is a web application that allows users to verify the authenticity of messages signed on Cardano. It supports multiple verification standards:

• CIP-0008: A standard for signing and verifying arbitrary message data
• CIP-0030: A standard for dApp-wallet web bridge that includes message signing capabilities
• CIP-0100: A standard for governance metadata with comprehensive author verification
• Example Data: Load pre-configured examples to understand expected formats

Roadmap & Backlog

• Result Sharing: Ability to share verification results via URLs (planned for future release)

Project Architecture

• Frontend: React components for user interaction with gradient backgrounds and responsive design
• API Routes: Server-side verification logic endpoints
• Utility Functions: Shared helper functions for verification across different standards
• Data Examples: Sample verification data for testing and demonstration

High-Level Architecture Diagram

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                 Next.js App                     │
│                                                 │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐    │
│  │            Frontend UI                  │    │
│  │     (Forms, Results Display)            │    │
│  └──────────────────┬──────────────────────┘    │
│                     │                           │
│  ┌──────────────────▼──────────────────────┐    │
│  │          API Route Layer                │    │
│  │        (Verification Logic)             │    │
│  └──────────────────┬──────────────────────┘    │
│                     │                           │
│  ┌──────────────────▼──────────────────────┐    │
│  │         Verification Logic              │    │
│  │ (CIP-0008, CIP-0030, CIP-0100)          │    │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────┘    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Project Structure

├── app/                      # Next.js App Router structure
│   ├── api/                  # Backend API routes
│   │   ├── verify/           # CIP-8/30 verification endpoint
│   │   │   └── route.ts      # API handler for CIP-8/30 verification
│   │   └── verify-cip100/    # CIP-100 verification endpoint
│   │       └── route.js      # API handler for CIP-100 verification
│   ├── cip100/               # CIP-100 verification page
│   ├── method=cip100/        # Alternative CIP-100 route
│   │   └── page.js           # CIP-100 verification UI
│   ├── disclaimer/           # Legal disclaimer page
│   │   └── page.js           # Disclaimer content
│   ├── components/           # Reusable React components
│   │   ├── Navigation.js     # Site navigation
│   │   └── ...               # Other UI components
│   ├── not-found.js          # Custom 404 page
│   └── page.js               # Main CIP-8/30 verification page
├── data/                     # Sample data for examples
│   ├── cip0008example.json   # Example of CIP-0008 format
│   ├── cip0030example.json   # Example of CIP-0030 format
│   └── cip0100example.js     # Example of CIP-0100 format (JS export)
├── components/               # Shared components
├── lib/                      # Utility functions
│   └── cip100-verification.js # CIP-100 specific verification logic
├── public/                   # Static assets
└── styles/                   # CSS and styling files

Key Files and Their Responsibilities

Frontend

• app/page.js: The main CIP-8/30 verification page with form and results display. Features gradient background and example loading.

• app/method=cip100/page.js: Dedicated CIP-100 governance metadata verification page with specialized form fields and validation.

• app/disclaimer/page.js: Legal disclaimer page with navigation and consistent styling.

• app/not-found.js: Custom 404 error page with navigation and branding.

• components/Navigation.js: Site navigation component used across all pages.

Backend API

• app/api/verify/route.ts: API endpoint for CIP-8/30 verification that processes requests and returns verification results.

• app/api/verify-cip100/route.js: Specialized API endpoint for CIP-100 governance metadata verification with author witness validation.

Verification Logic

• lib/utils.js: Contains utility functions for CIP-8/30 verification standards, including core cryptographic operations.

• lib/cip100-verification.js: Specialized verification logic for CIP-100 governance metadata with JSON-LD context validation and witness verification.

Example Data

• data/cip0008example.json: Contains example data for CIP-0008 verification, showing the expected format for message, signature, and address.

• data/cip0030example.json: Contains example data for CIP-0030 verification, demonstrating the format used when verifying messages signed via wallet interfaces.

• data/cip0100example.js: Contains comprehensive example data for CIP-0100 governance metadata as a JavaScript export, including full treasury withdrawal proposal with multiple author witnesses.

Verification Process

CIP-0008 Verification

The CIP-0008 verification process follows these steps:

1. The frontend collects:

   • The message that was signed
   • The signature
   • The address that allegedly signed the message

2. This data is sent to the API endpoint (/api/verify)

3. The API route:

   • Validates input
   • Executes cryptographic verification using Cardano-specific algorithms
   • Returns the verification result (valid/invalid)

4. The result is displayed to the user

The CIP-0008 standard is specifically designed for signing and verifying arbitrary message data on Cardano, with a standardized format for representing signatures.

CIP-0030 Verification

CIP-0030 verification handles messages signed directly via wallet interfaces:

1. The frontend collects:

   • The address
   • The message payload
   • The signature
   • Optional metadata from the wallet

2. The API processes this data differently from CIP-0008:

   • It handles additional wallet-specific formats
   • Utilizes wallet-specific verification methods
   • Accounts for different signature encodings

3. The verification result is returned to the user

CIP-0030 is part of the broader dApp-wallet web bridge specification, enabling web applications to interact with Cardano wallets.

CIP-0100 Verification

CIP-0100 verification handles governance metadata with comprehensive validation:

1. The frontend collects:

   • JSON-LD governance metadata
   • Hash algorithm specification
   • Author information with witnesses

2. The API performs multi-layer verification:

   • JSON-LD context validation
   • Schema compliance checking
   • Author witness cryptographic verification
   • Hash algorithm validation

3. Detailed results show:

   • Overall verification status
   • Individual author verification results
   • Schema validation results
   • Hash verification status

CIP-0100 is designed for Cardano governance proposals, treasury withdrawals, and other governance-related metadata with strong authentication requirements.

Setting Up and Running the Project

Prerequisites

• Node.js (version 16.x or later)
• npm or yarn

Installation Steps

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/cardano-foundation/verify-cardano-message-fe.git
   cd cardano-signer-verification

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Run the development server:

   npm run dev

4. Access the application at http://localhost:3000

Available Pages

• Main Verification: http://localhost:3000 - CIP-8/30 verification
• CIP-100 Verification: http://localhost:3000/method=cip100 - Governance metadata verification
• Disclaimer: http://localhost:3000/disclaimer - Legal information

Building for Production

To build the application for production:

npm run build
npm start

Features Overview

Core Verification

• Multi-Standard Support: CIP-8, CIP-30, and CIP-100 verification
• Real-time Validation: Instant feedback on form inputs
• Example Loading: Pre-configured examples for each standard
• Detailed Results: Comprehensive verification status and error reporting

User Experience

• Responsive Design: Works on desktop and mobile devices
• Gradient Backgrounds: Modern, consistent visual design
• Navigation: Easy switching between verification types
• Error Handling: Clear error messages and guidance

Advanced Features

• Clipboard Integration: Copy verification results for easy share

Contributing to the Project

We welcome contributions to improve the Cardano Message Verification Tool. Here's how you can contribute:

Code Contributions

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Make your changes
4. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
5. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
6. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.