honornet-verify 1.0.0

The independent verifier for HonorNet decision records

honornet-verify

The independent verifier for HonorNet decision records.

When an AI agent transacts on the HonorNet acceptance network, the network records its approve/decline decision in an append-only, cryptographically verifiable log. honornet-verify lets anyone — a merchant, an issuer, an auditor, a regulator — confirm such a decision is genuine and intact:

• without calling a HonorNet API, and
• without HonorNet's private source code.

You verify a decision against the maths, not against HonorNet's word for it.

Why this exists

HonorNet's acceptance-network core is private. Its trustworthiness should not be. A decision record is exported as a self-contained bundle; this tool checks the bundle's signatures and its RFC 6962 Merkle inclusion proof. The verification core is standard-library only — no third-party runtime dependencies — so the entire trust path is auditable in an afternoon.

Install

pipx install honornet-verify

or, for use as a library:

pip install honornet-verify

Use

Verify a decision bundle exported from GET /decisions/{decision_id}:

honornet-verify verify decision-bundle.json

  [PASS] record_signature
  [PASS] leaf_hash_match
  [PASS] tree_size_consistency
  [PASS] inclusion_proof
  [PASS] log_root_signature

VERIFIED: decision-bundle.json

Exit code 0 means verified, 1 means well-formed but not verified, 2 means the file could not be read or parsed.

Structured output for scripts and CI:

honornet-verify verify --json decision-bundle.json

Pin the signing key — recommended. Verification alone proves a bundle is internally consistent and signed by the key it carries; pinning proves that key is HonorNet's:

honornet-verify verify --pin-key <honornet-ledger-public-key-hex> decision-bundle.json

What gets checked

A bundle verifies only if all of the following hold:

1. record signature — the decision record carries a valid Ed25519 signature over its RFC 8785 canonical bytes;
2. leaf hash — the RFC 6962 Merkle leaf hash matches the signed record;
3. inclusion proof — the leaf is included under the signed log root;
4. log root signature — the signed log root carries a valid signature.

See docs/verification-model.md and docs/bundle-format.md.

What this does not grant

honornet-verify is open source under Apache-2.0. Using, reading, or forking it does not grant:

• any right to use the HonorNet name or marks, except as permitted by the Apache License 2.0, Section 6 (Trademarks);
• recognized-issuer status on the HonorNet acceptance network;
• any right to operate the HonorNet acceptance network, or to hold a fork or derivative of this software out as being HonorNet.

A successful verification establishes that a decision bundle is internally consistent and signed by the key embedded in it. It does not by itself establish that the key is HonorNet's — pin the key (--pin-key) to establish that.

Relationship to HonorNet

This is the open-source arm of HonorNet. It is not the production network. The acceptance network that issues decision records is a separate, private system. honornet-verify deliberately imports nothing from it — that independence is enforced by a test in this repo.

Licence

Apache-2.0. See LICENSE and NOTICE.