Validoc

Validoc is a secure document verification and storage system that uses IPFS for decentralized storage and Ethereum for cryptographic proof of authenticity. It is designed to operate as a command-line tool, a web service, and a frontend application, with extensibility for mobile platforms in the future.

Features

• Document Hashing: Generate cryptographic hashes of documents.
• Decentralized Storage: Upload documents to IPFS.
• Blockchain Proof: Store and verify document authenticity on Ethereum.
• JWT-Based Authentication: Secure API access via short-lived tokens.
• Cross-platform: Designed for use on CLI, web, and mobile.
• Microservice Architecture: Each service (IPFS, Ethereum, Auth) runs in its own container and scales independently.

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Command Line Interface

validoc upload [options] <file>
validoc hash [options] <file>
validoc verify [options] <file>

Options

• --api-key <KEY>: Authenticate using your API key.
• --ipfs-url <URL>: Override default IPFS endpoint.
• --eth-network <NAME>: Specify Ethereum network (e.g., mainnet, goerli).

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Architecture

• Rust-based CLI for interacting with the system locally or through scripting.
• Microservices:
  • ipfs-service: Handles decentralized document storage.
  • ethereum-service: Posts document hashes and metadata to the Ethereum blockchain.
  • auth-service: Issues and validates JWTs using a shared signing key.
  • verification-service: Validates documents against stored hash and blockchain entries.
• Web Application:
  • React frontend interacting with services via RESTful APIs.
  • Optionally proxying to the CLI commands for internal use.
• Deployment:
  • Dockerized services.
  • Orchestrated using Kubernetes with appropriate node/pod separation.

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Authentication

• API Key: Used by CLI to authenticate.
• JWT Tokens: Issued by auth-service, expire after 1–5 minutes.
• Service Verification: JWTs are signed with a shared private key and validated statelessly by each service.

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Tech Stack

• Rust: Primary language for CLI and service logic.
• PostgreSQL: Central database for user and key management.
• IPFS: Distributed storage for document content.
• Ethereum: Blockchain for storing verifiable document hashes.
• React: Frontend web application.
• Docker + Kubernetes: Containerization and orchestration.

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Future Plans

• Mobile clients (Android/iOS)
• Role-based access controls
• Support for multiple blockchain backends
• Integration with legal and academic institutions

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Getting Started

Requirements

• Rust
• Docker
• PostgreSQL
• IPFS node
• Ethereum node or Infura access

Build CLI

cargo build --release

Run Services (Dev)

docker-compose up --build