provara-protocol 1.0.2

Self-sovereign cryptographic event logs. Ed25519 · SHA-256 · RFC 8785

Provara Protocol

Self-sovereign cryptographic event logs. Ed25519 · SHA-256 · RFC 8785 · Apache 2.0

Try the Playground · Read the Spec · PyPI

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What is Provara?

Provara is an append-only, cryptographically signed event log that anyone can verify and no one can silently rewrite. It preserves memory as evidence: signed observations that can be replayed into state, audited independently, and stored in plain files for long-horizon readability. Built for AI governance, cognitive continuity, and accountable records that outlive platforms.

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60-Second Quickstart

pip install provara-protocol

# Create a vault
provara init my-vault

# Append a signed event
provara append my-vault --type OBSERVATION --data '{"event":"test"}' --keyfile my-vault/identity/private_keys.json

# Verify integrity
provara verify my-vault

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Key Features

• Tamper-evident append-only event logs
• Ed25519 signatures, SHA-256 hashing, RFC 8785 canonical JSON
• Per-actor causal chains with cryptographic linkage
• SCITT-compatible event types
• MCP server for AI agent integration
• Browser playground — zero install

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Three Implementations

Language	Status	Tests
Python	v1.0.2 (reference)	528+
Rust	Complete	20
TypeScript	Complete	—

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Documentation

Resource	Description
Quickstart	Install, init, verify in 5 minutes
Tutorials	Step-by-step guides for common workflows
API Reference	Module and CLI documentation
Cookbook	Recipes for AI governance, key rotation, sync
Protocol Spec	Normative specification
SOUL.md	Design philosophy and principles

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Badges

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Why This Exists

Your memories, your identity, your cognitive continuity should not depend on any company surviving, any server staying online, or any platform deciding to keep your data. Provara is built for people and organizations that need accountable records: families preserving history, AI teams logging model decisions, and regulated operators proving chain-of-custody.

Golden Rule: Truth is not merged. Evidence is merged. Truth is recomputed.

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Design Guarantees

Guarantee	What It Means
No vendor lock-in	Plain text JSON events. No proprietary formats.
No internet required	Works entirely offline. No phone-home, no telemetry.
No accounts	Your identity lives in your files, not on a server.
Tamper-evident	Merkle trees, Ed25519 signatures, causal chains detect modification.
Human-readable	NDJSON event log — open with any text editor.
50-year readable	JSON, SHA-256, Ed25519 are industry standards.

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Vault Anatomy

my-vault/
├── identity/
│   ├── genesis.json              # Birth certificate
│   └── private_keys.json         # Ed25519 keypair (guard this!)
├── events/
│   └── events.ndjson             # Append-only event log
├── policies/
│   ├── safety_policy.json        # L0-L3 kinetic risk tiers
│   ├── retention_policy.json     # Data permanence rules
│   └── sync_contract.json        # Governance + authority ladder
├── manifest.json                 # File inventory with SHA-256 hashes
├── manifest.sig                  # Ed25519 signature over manifest
└── merkle_root.txt               # Integrity anchor

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MCP Server — AI Agents Write Tamper-Evident Memory

Connect any AI agent that supports the Model Context Protocol to a Provara vault:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "provara": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "provara.mcp", "--transport", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Available tools: append_event, verify_chain, snapshot_state, query_timeline, list_conflicts, generate_digest, export_markdown, checkpoint_vault

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AI Governance Use Cases

Use Case	How Provara Supports It
Model evaluation logging	Signed OBSERVATION events with model ID, benchmark, scores
Prompt & test result logging	Chained events with inputs, outputs, latency — tamper-evident
Policy enforcement decisions	ATTESTATION events record decisions with policy version and reasoning
AI cost & routing oversight	Token usage, model selection, routing decisions as signed events
Red-team audit records	Append-only audit trail for adversarial tests and severity assessments

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Testing

# Run all tests
pytest

# Compliance tests against reference vault
python tests/backpack_compliance_v1.py tests/fixtures/reference_backpack -v

Suite	Tests	Coverage
Core + adversarial	400+	Reducer, sync, crypto, bootstrap, forgery, byzantine
Compliance	17	Full protocol conformance
PSMC	60	Application layer
MCP Server	22	All tools, both transports
Test vectors	8	Cross-language validation
Property-based fuzz	20+	Hypothesis-driven invariant testing
Total	528+

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Reimplementing Provara

The protocol is language-agnostic. To reimplement:

1. Implement SHA-256 (FIPS 180-4), Ed25519 (RFC 8032), RFC 8785 canonical JSON
2. Validate against test_vectors/vectors.json
3. Build a deterministic reducer for OBSERVATION, ATTESTATION, RETRACTION
4. Run the 17 compliance tests

If state hashes match, your implementation is correct.

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Key Management

Your private keys are the root of sovereignty. Guard them:

• private_keys.json should never live on the same drive as your vault
• Store keys in separate physical locations
• Use --quorum flag during bootstrap for recovery key
• Compromised keys can be rotated via KEY_REVOCATION + KEY_PROMOTION events

Full guide: Keys_Info/HOW_TO_STORE_KEYS.md

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Recovery

Scenario	Solution
Lost keys, corrupted vault	Recovery/WHAT_TO_DO.md
Catastrophic failure	RECOVERY_INSTRUCTIONS.md
Routine backup/restore	provara backup / provara restore

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FAQ

What happens if I lose my private keys? With --quorum, the quorum key can authorize rotation. Without it, the vault is readable but read-only. See Recovery/WHAT_TO_DO.md.

Can I read my vault without this software? Yes. Events are NDJSON — open events/events.ndjson in any text editor.

What if Python goes away in 20 years? JSON, SHA-256, and Ed25519 are industry standards implemented in every major language. The data survives the tooling.

Can multiple devices share a vault? Yes. Sync uses union merge with causal chain verification and fork detection. Event-sourced architecture makes merging safe.

Is this a blockchain? No. It's a Merkle tree over files with per-actor causal chains. Closer to git than Bitcoin. No consensus, no mining, no tokens.

What does "Truth is not merged. Evidence is merged. Truth is recomputed." mean? You merge raw observations, then rerun the deterministic reducer to derive fresh conclusions. No merge conflicts at the belief layer.

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Version

Protocol            Provara v1.0
Implementation      1.0.2
PyPI                provara-protocol 1.0.2
Tests Passing       528+

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License

Apache 2.0

Normative specification: docs/BACKPACK_PROTOCOL_v1.0.md