Web5 JS SDK
Making developing with Web5 components at least 5 times easier to work with.
⚠️ WEB5 JS SDK IS CURRENTLY IN TECH PREVIEW⚠️
The SDK is currently still under active development, but having entered the Tech Preview phase there is now a drive to avoid unnecessary changes unless backwards compatibility is provided. Additional functionality will be added in the lead up to 1.0 final, and modifications will be made to address issues and community feedback.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Web5 consists of the following components:
- Decentralized Identifiers
- Verifiable Credentials
- DWeb Node personal datastores
The SDK sets out to gather the most oft used functionality from all three of these pillar technologies to provide a simple library that is as close to effortless as possible.
Installation
NPM
npm install @web5/api
CDNs
https://unpkg.com/0.8.4/dist/browser.js
https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@web5/api@0.8.4/dist/browser.mjs
Usage
Importing the SDK
import { Web5 } from "@web5/api";
or
import { Web5 } from CDN_LINK_HERE;
Additional Steps
This SDK relies indirectly on the @noble/ed25519
and @noble/secp256k1
packages. Therefore,
in certain environments, you'll need to perform additional steps to make it work.
- Node.js <= 18
// node.js 18 and earlier, needs globalThis.crypto polyfill
import { webcrypto } from "node:crypto";
// @ts-ignore
if (!globalThis.crypto) globalThis.crypto = webcrypto;
- React Native:
// If you're on react native. React Native needs crypto.getRandomValues polyfill and sha512
import "react-native-get-random-values";
import { hmac } from "@noble/hashes/hmac";
import { sha256 } from "@noble/hashes/sha256";
import { sha512 } from "@noble/hashes/sha512";
ed.etc.sha512Sync = (...m) => sha512(ed.etc.concatBytes(...m));
ed.etc.sha512Async = (...m) => Promise.resolve(ed.etc.sha512Sync(...m));
secp.etc.hmacSha256Sync = (k, ...m) =>
hmac(sha256, k, secp.etc.concatBytes(...m));
secp.etc.hmacSha256Async = (k, ...m) =>
Promise.resolve(secp.etc.hmacSha256Sync(k, ...m));
API Documentation
Web5.connect(options)
Enables an app to request connection to a user's local identity app (like a desktop or mobile agent - work is underway for reference apps of each), or generate an in-app DID to represent the user (e.g. if the user does not have an identity app).
NOTE: The outputs of this method invocation will be used throughout the other API methods below.
const { web5, did: myDid } = await Web5.connect();
options
(optional)
An object which may specify any of the following properties:
-
agent
-Web5Agent instance
(optional): an instance of aWeb5Agent
implementation. Defaults to creating a localWeb5UserAgent
if not provided. -
appData
-AppDataStore instance
(optional): an instance of anAppDataStore
implementation. Defaults to a LevelDB-backed store with an insecure, static unlock passphrase if not provided. To allow the end user to enter a secure passphrase of their choosing, provide an initializedAppDataVault
. -
connectedDid
-string
(optional): an existing DID to connect to. -
sync
-string
(optional): enable or disable synchronization of DWN records between local and remote DWNs. Sync defaults to running every 2 minutes and can be set to any value accepted byms
. To disable sync set to'off'
. -
techPreview
-object
(optional): an object that specifies configuration parameters that are relevant during the Tech Preview period of Web5 JS and may be deprecated in the future with advance notice.-
dwnEndpoints
-array
(optional): a list of DWeb Node endpoints to define in the DID created and returned byWeb5.connect()
. If this property is omitted, during the Tech Preview two nodes will be included by default (e.g.,['https://dwn.tbddev.org/dwn0', 'https://dwn.tbddev.org/dwn3']
).
For example:
const { web5, did: myDid } = await Web5.connect({ techPreview: { dwnEndpoints: ["https://dwn.your-domain.org/"], }, });
-
Response
An invocation of Web5.connect()
produces the following items in response:
-
web5
-Web5 instance
: A class instance that enables access to a locally running DWeb Node, DID interaction methods, and other capabilities related to the connected DID. -
did
-string
: The DID that was created or attained connection to.
Record
instances from responses
Every modifying method (create
, write
, etc.) and the entries
from queries return an instance of a Record
class, which is a representation of the Record(s) being referenced.
Each Record
instance has the following instance properties: id
, attestation
, contextId
, dataFormat
, dateCreated
, encryption
, interface
, method
, parentId
, protocol
, protocolPath
, recipient
, schema
, dataCid
, dataSize
, dateModified
, datePublished
, and published
.
Note The
id
property is a unique identifier based on the record entry's composition. All entries across all records are deterministically unique.
Each Record
instance has the following instance methods:
-
data
-object
: an object with the following convenience methods that read out the data of the record entry in the following formats:-
blob
-function
: returns the data as aBlob
. -
bytes
-function
: returns the data as a raw byte array inUint8Array
format. -
json
-function
: returns a parsed JSON object. -
stream
-function
: returns the data as a raw stream of bytes. -
text
-function
: returns the data as a string.
-
-
send
-function
: sends the record the instance represents to the DWeb Node endpoints of a provided DID. -
update
-function
: takes in a new request object matching the expected method signature of awrite
and overwrites the record. This is a convenience method that allows you to easily overwrite records with less verbosity.
web5.dwn.records.query(request)
Method for querying either the locally connected DWeb Node or any remote DWeb Node specified in the from
property.
// This invocation will query the user's own DWeb Nodes
const { records } = await web5.dwn.records.query({
message: {
filter: {
schema: "https://schema.org/Playlist",
dataFormat: "application/json",
},
},
});
console.log(records); // an array of record entries from Bob's DWeb Nodes
// This invocation will query Bob's DWeb Nodes
const { records } = await web5.dwn.records.query({
from: "did:example:bob",
message: {
filter: {
protocol: "https://music.org/protocol",
schema: "https://schema.org/Playlist",
dataFormat: "application/json",
},
},
});
console.log(records); // an array of record entries from Bob's DWeb Nodes
Request
The query request
contains the following properties:
-
from
-DID string
(optional): the decentralized identifier of the DWeb Node the query will fetch results from. -
message
-object
: the properties of the DWeb Node Message Descriptor that will be used to construct a valid record query:-
filter
-object
: properties against which results of the query will be filtered:-
recordId
-string
(optional): the record ID string that identifies the record data you are fetching. -
protocol
-URI string
(optional): the URI of the protocol bucket in which to query. -
protocolPath
-string
(optional): the path to the record in the protocol configuration. -
contextId
string
(optional): therecordId
of a root record of a protocol. -
parentId
string
(optional): therecordId
of a the parent of a protocol record. -
recipient
-string
(optional): the DID in therecipient
field of the record. -
schema
-URI string
(optional): the URI of the schema bucket in which to query. -
dataFormat
-Media Type string
(optional): the IANA string corresponding with the format of the data to filter for. See IANA's Media Type list here: https://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/media-types.xhtml
-
-
dateSort
-DateSort
(optional): theDateSort
value of the date field and direction to sort records by. Defaults toCreatedAscending
. -
pagination
-object
(optional): the properties used to paginate results.-
limit
-number
(optional): the number of records that should be returned with this query.undefined
returns all records. -
cursor
-messageCid string
(optional): themessageCid
of the records toc continue paginating from. This value is returned as acursor
in the response object of aquery
if there are more results beyond thelimit
.
-
-
Response
The query response
contains the following properties:
-
status
-object
: the status of therequest
:-
code
-number
: theResponse Status
code, following the response code patterns forHTTP Response Status Codes
. -
detail
string
: a detailed message describing the response.
-
-
records
-Records array
(optional): the array ofRecords
returned if the request was successful. -
cursor
-messageCid string
(optional): themessageCid
of the last message returned in the results if there are exist additional records beyond the specifiedlimit
in thequery
.
web5.dwn.records.create(request)
Method for creating a new record and storing it in the user's local DWeb Node, remote DWeb Nodes, or another party's DWeb Nodes (if permitted).
// this creates a record and stores it in the user's local DWeb Node
const { record } = await web5.dwn.records.create({
data: "Hello World!",
message: {
dataFormat: "text/plain",
},
});
console.log(await record.data.text()); // logs "Hello World!"
const { status } = await record.send(myDid); // send the record to the user's remote DWeb Nodes
const { status } = await record.send("did:example:bob"); // send the newly generated record to Bob's DWeb Nodes
// this creates a record, but does not store it in the user's local DWeb Node
const { record } = await web5.dwn.records.create({
store: false,
data: "Hello again, World!",
message: {
dataFormat: "text/plain",
},
});
const { status } = await record.send("did:example:bob"); // send the newly generated record to Bob's DWeb Nodes
Request
The create
request object is composed as follows:
-
store
-boolean
(optional): tells the create function whether or not to store the record in the user's local DWeb Node. (you might passfalse
if you didn't want to retain a copy of the record for yourself) -
data
-text|object|file|blob
: the data payload of the record. -
message
-object
: The properties of the DWeb Node Message Descriptor that will be used to construct a valid record query:-
protocol
-URI string
(optional): the URI of the protocol under which the record will be bucketed. -
schema
-URI string
(optional): the URI of the schema under which the record will be bucketed. -
dataFormat
-Media Type string
(optional): the IANA string corresponding with the format of the data the record will be bucketed. See IANA's Media Type list here: https://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/media-types.xhtml
-
web5.dwn.records.write(request)
The create()
method is an alias for write()
and both can take the same request object properties.
web5.dwn.records.read(request)
Method for reading a record stored in the user's local DWeb Node, remote DWeb Nodes, or another party's DWeb Nodes (if permitted). The request takes a filter; if there is exactly one record matching the filter, the record and its data are returned. The most common filter is by recordId
, but it is also useful to filter by protocol
, contextId
, and protocolPath
.
// Reads the indicated record from the user's DWeb Nodes
const { record } = await web5.dwn.records.read({
message: {
filter: {
recordId: "bfw35evr6e54c4cqa4c589h4cq3v7w4nc534c9w7h5",
},
},
});
console.log(await record.data.text()); // assuming the record is a text payload, logs the text
// Reads the indicated record from Bob's DWeb Nodes
const { record } = await web5.dwn.records.read({
from: "did:example:bob",
message: {
filter: {
recordId: "bfw35evr6e54c4cqa4c589h4cq3v7w4nc534c9w7h5",
},
},
});
console.log(await record.data.text()); // assuming the record is a text payload, logs the text
Request
The read
request object is composed as follows:
-
from
-DID string
(optional): The DID of the DWeb Node the read request will fetch the indicated record from. -
message
-object
: The properties of the DWeb Node Message Descriptor that will be used to construct a valid DWeb Node message.-
filter
-object
: properties against which results of the query will be filtered:-
recordId
-string
(optional): the record ID string that identifies the record data you are fetching. -
protocol
-URI string
(optional): the URI of the protocol bucket in which to query. -
protocolPath
-string
(optional): the path to the record in the protocol configuration. -
contextId
string
(optional): therecordId
of a root record of a protocol. -
parentId
string
(optional): therecordId
of a the parent of a protocol record. -
recipient
-string
(optional): the DID in therecipient
field of the record. -
schema
-URI string
(optional): the URI of the schema bucket in which to query. -
dataFormat
-Media Type string
(optional): the IANA string corresponding with the format of the data to filter for. See IANA's Media Type list here: https://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/media-types.xhtml
-
-
web5.dwn.records.delete(request)
Method for deleting a record stored in the user's local DWeb Node, remote DWeb Nodes, or another party's DWeb Nodes (if permitted).
// Deletes the indicated record from the user's DWeb Node
const { record } = await web5.dwn.records.delete({
message: {
recordId: "bfw35evr6e54c4cqa4c589h4cq3v7w4nc534c9w7h5",
},
});
// Deletes the indicated record from Bob's DWeb Node
const { record } = await web5.dwn.records.delete({
from: "did:example:bob",
message: {
recordId: "bfw35evr6e54c4cqa4c589h4cq3v7w4nc534c9w7h5",
},
});
Request
The delete
request object is composed as follows:
-
from
-DID string
(optional): The DID of the DWeb Node the delete tombstone will be sent to. -
message
-object
: The properties of the DWeb Node Message Descriptor that will be used to construct a valid DWeb Node message.-
recordId
-string
: the required record ID string that identifies the record being deleted.
-
web5.dwn.protocols.configure(request)
Method for configuring a protocol definition in the DWeb Node of the user's local DWeb Node, remote DWeb Nodes, or another party's DWeb Nodes (if permitted).
const { protocol } = await web5.dwn.protocols.configure({
message: {
definition: {
protocol: "https://photos.org/protocol",
published: true,
types: {
album: {
schema: "https://photos.org/protocol/album",
dataFormats: ["application/json"],
},
photo: {
schema: "https://photos.org/protocols/photo",
dataFormats: ["application/json"],
},
binaryImage: {
dataFormats: ["image/png", "jpeg", "gif"],
},
},
structure: {
album: {
$actions: [
{
who: "recipient",
can: "read",
},
],
},
photo: {
$actions: [
{
who: "recipient",
can: "read",
},
],
binaryImage: {
$actions: [
{
who: "author",
of: "photo",
can: "write",
},
],
},
},
},
},
},
});
protocol.send(myDid); // sends the protocol configuration to the user's other DWeb Nodes.
Request
The configure
request object is composed as follows:
-
message
-object
: The properties of the DWeb Node Message Descriptor that will be used to construct a valid DWeb Node message.-
definition
-object
: an object that defines the enforced composition of the protocol.-
protocol
-URI string
: a URI that represents the protocol being configured. -
types
-object
: an object that defines the records that can be used in thestructure
graph of thedefinition
object. The following properties are optional constraints you can set for the type being defined:-
schema
-URI string
(optional): the URI of the schema under which the record will be bucketed. -
dataFormats
-Media Type string[]
(optional): Array of the IANA strings corresponding with the formats of the data the record will be bucketed. See IANA's Media Type list here: https://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/media-types.xhtml
-
-
structure
-object
: an object that defines the structure of a protocol, including data relationships and constraints on which entities can perform various activities. Fields under thestructure
object of the Protocol definition are expected to be either type references matching those defined in thetypes
object. The type structures are recursive, so types form a graph and each type can have within it further attached types or the following rule statements that are all denoted with the prefix$
:-
$actions
-array
: one or more rule objects that expose various allowed actions to actors (author
,recipient
), composed as follows:-
who
-string
: the actor (author
,recipient
) that is being permitted to invoke a given action. -
of
-string
: the protocol path that refers to the record subject. Using the above example protocol, the protocol path tobinaryImage
would bephoto/binaryImage
. -
can
-string
: the action being permitted by the rule.
-
-
-
-
web5.dwn.protocols.query(request)
Method for querying a DID's DWeb Nodes for the presence of a protocol. This method is useful in detecting what protocols a given DID has installed to enable interaction over the protocol.
const { protocols } = await web5.dwn.protocols.query({
message: {
filter: {
protocol: "https://music.org/protocol",
},
},
});
console.log(protocols); // logs an array of protocol configurations installed on the user's own DWeb Node
const { protocols } = await web5.dwn.protocols.query({
from: "did:example:bob",
message: {
filter: {
protocol: "https://music.org/protocol",
},
},
});
console.log(protocols); // logs an array of protocol configurations installed on Bob's DWeb Node
Request
The query request
must contain the following:
-
from
-DID string
(optional): the decentralized identifier of the DWeb Node the query will fetch results from. -
message
-object
: The properties of the DWeb Node Message Descriptor that will be used to construct a valid record query:-
filter
-object
(optional): properties against which results of the query will be filtered:-
protocol
-URI string
(optional): the URI of the protocol bucket in which to query.
-
-
web5.did.create(method, options)
The create
method under the did
object enables generation of DIDs for a supported set of DID Methods ('ion'|'key'). The output is method-specific, and handles things like key generation and assembly of DID Documents that can be published to DID networks.
NOTE: You do not usually need to manually invoke this, as the
Web5.connect()
method already acquires a DID for the user (either by direct creation or connection to an identity agent app).
const myDid = await Web5.did.create("ion");
Project Resources
Resource | Description |
---|---|
CODEOWNERS | Outlines the project lead(s) |
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md | Expected behavior for project contributors, promoting a welcoming environment |
CONTRIBUTING.md | Developer guide to build, test, run, access CI, chat, discuss, file issues |
GOVERNANCE.md | Project governance |
LICENSE | Apache License, Version 2.0 |