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Creating a DID with cheqd Cosmos CLI

The purpose of this document is to describe how a DID (and associated DIDDoc) can be created using the cheqd-node Cosmos CLI.

NOTE: The guidance below is only recommended to be used for testing purposes!

Using cheqd-node Cosmos CLI for real-world production environments is not recommended, since the identity keys are passed in raw form to the CLI. This is fine in development/testing usage, but is not recommend for mainnet.

Developers are encouraged to use production-grade CLI tools such as Veramo SDK for cheqd or look at our developer guide on how to integrate custom applications.

Setup

Pre-requisites

  1. Access to a cheqd-node Cosmos CLI binary. You can either get this from our Github releases, or download the cheqd-cli Docker container image.

  2. Understand how to use cheqd accounts and Cosmos SDK keys.

  3. Tokens to pay for identity transactions, since all ledger transactions are metered.

    1. For testing purposes, CHEQ test tokens can be acquired from our testnet faucet.

    2. Mainnet CHEQ tokens can be acquired from any marketplace where the $CHEQ token is traded.

For the remainder of this tutorial, it's assumed that the DID and associated DID Document is being created on testnet. These commands can easily be modified for mainnet.

Creating a new DID and DIDDoc on testnet

1. Generate verification key

First, we'll need to generate a verification key:

cheqd-noded debug ed25519 random >> keys.txt

The result should look like the following:

$ cat keys.txt
{"pub_key_base_64":"MnrTheU+vCrN3W+WMvcpBXYBG6D1HrN5usL1zS6W7/k=","pub_key_multibase_58":"",\
"priv_key_base_64":"wNXCJ9Ny0uzCYhnTE3gfQuwgQM4QZCw08+j01QDfoGxMMI9u9GIv/90eH3E3KjHjlSi9hKRQy94PvKVAH1+Rhw=="}

Note: Keep this key safe! It is used to create the DIDDoc, and to update it in the future. Normally, you should be careful when cat-ing such keys as it reveals the private key as well.

2. Encode the identity key according to different verification methods

Encode the identity key's public key to one of the formats below according to the verificaiton method type you selected, as this will be later required in the verificationMethod section:

Ed25519VerificationKey2018

Encoding to publicKeyBase58

cheqd-noded debug encoding base64-base58 <pub_key_base_64>

For example:

$ cheqd-noded debug encoding base64-base58 MnrTheU+vCrN3W+WMvcpBXYBG6D1HrN5usL1zS6W7/k=
4Q41kvWsd1JAuPFBff8Dti7P6fLbPZe3Nmod35uua9TE
Ed25519VerificationKey2020

Encoding to publicKeyMultibase

cheqd-noded debug encoding base64-multibase58 <pub_key_base_64>

For example:

$ cheqd-noded debug ed25519 base64-multibase58 MnrTheU+vCrN3W+WMvcpBXYBG6D1HrN5usL1zS6W7/k=
z6MkhrK4MAmJxYne1t5tME64jofNvEcSoStQ4niYsMsvVNEc
JsonWebKey2020

Encoding to publicKeyJwk

cheqd-noded debug encoding pubkey-base64-to-jwk <pub_key_base_64>

For example:

$ cheqd-noded debug ed25519 pubkey-base64-to-jwk MnrTheU+vCrN3W+WMvcpBXYBG6D1HrN5usL1zS6W7/k=

{"crv":"Ed25519","kty":"OKP","x":"MnrTheU-vCrN3W-WMvcpBXYBG6D1HrN5usL1zS6W7_k"}

3. Create a unique identifier for the DID

A unique-id should only be a 16-byte encoded base58 string (Indy-style) or a uuid.

For example, we can generate uuid using uuidgen tool:

uuidgen
b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77

The result for our example will be b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77, so let's use it as our unique-id in our DIDDoc.

4. Populate DIDDoc contents

Copy-paste the template below into your terminal into a blank file (e.g., using nano). We will add additional required information into the blank fields <xxxxx> in the next steps.

You'll need to replace some values (as described in the cheqd DID method):

  • <namespace>: Can be testnet or mainnet. For this CLI, we strongly suggest using testnet.

  • <unique-id>: Unique identifier, created in step #3

  • <key-alias>: A key alias for the verification method identifier, e.g., #key1

  • <verification-method-type>: Verification method type slected from step #2 above

  • <public-key-base58>, <public-key-multibase>, <public-key-jwk>: Any one of the values from the result of step #2 above

  • <auth-key-alias>: Alias of authentication key. Can be a reference to an existing verification method.

  • <service-key>: Alias for service property. This is an optional section but useful to understand the power of DIDDocs.

  • <URI-to-object>: A valid URI that can act as a service endpoint.

The examples below show the variation in syntax for different verification method key types in the DIDDoc contents. Note that each key type has a slightly different output.

Ed25519VerificationKey2018
{
  "id": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77",
  "verificationMethod": [
    {
      "id": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#key1",
      "type": "Ed25519VerificationKey2018",
      "controller": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77",
      "publicKeyBase58": "4Q41kvWsd1JAuPFBff8Dti7P6fLbPZe3Nmod35uua9TE"
    }
  ],
  "authentication": [
    "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#key1"
  ],
  "service": [{
    "id":"did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#linked-domain",
    "type": "LinkedDomains",
    "serviceEndpoint": [
        "https://bar.example.com"
    ]
  }]
}
Ed25519VerificationKey2020
{
  "id": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77",
  "verificationMethod": [
    {
      "id": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#key1",
      "type": "Ed25519VerificationKey2020",
      "controller": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77",
      "publicKeyMultibase": "z2yJuNbhoUpRn7ypAugSLzkCc8QEw146RJ8DD3jzCZQ6A"
    }
  ],
  "authentication": [
    "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#key1"
  ],
  "service": [{
    "id":"did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#linked-domain",
    "type": "LinkedDomains",
    "serviceEndpoint": [
        "https://bar.example.com"
    ]
  }]
}
JSONWebKey2020
{
  "id": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77",
  "verificationMethod": [
    {
      "id": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#key1",
      "type": "JsonWebKey2020",
      "controller": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77",
      "publicKeyJwk": {
          "kty": "OKP", // external (property name)
          "crv": "Ed25519", // external (property name)
          "x": "VCpo2LMLhn6iWku8MKvSLg2ZAoC-nlOyPVQaO3FxVeQ" // external (property name)
      }
    }
  ],
  "authentication": [
    "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#key1"
  ],
  "service": [{
    "id":"did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#linked-domain",
    "type": "LinkedDomains",
    "serviceEndpoint": [
        "https://bar.example.com"
    ]
  }]
}

We recommend you save this DIDDoc file (e.g., in a file called diddoc.json) for the following steps.

5. Create payload file

After assembling the DID-Document JSON file we are ready to compile the final payload file with private key inside.

{
  "payload": {
    ...
  },
  "signInputs": [
    {
      "verificationMethodId": "<verification-method-id>",
      "privKey": "<private key representation>"
    }
  ]
}

The example of payload.json files with different verification methods:

Ed25519VerificationKey2018
{
  "payload": {
    "id": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77",
    "verificationMethod": [
      {
        "id": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#key1",
        "type": "Ed25519VerificationKey2018",
        "controller": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77",
        "publicKeyBase58": "4Q41kvWsd1JAuPFBff8Dti7P6fLbPZe3Nmod35uua9TE"
      }
    ],
    "authentication": [
      "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#key1"
    ],
    "service": [{
      "id":"did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#linked-domain",
      "type": "LinkedDomains",
      "serviceEndpoint": [
        "https://bar.example.com"
      ]
    }]
  },
  "signInputs": [
    {
      "verificationMethodId": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#key1",
      "privKey": "wNXCJ9Ny0uzCYhnTE3gfQuwgQM4QZCw08+j01QDfoGxMMI9u9GIv/90eH3E3KjHjlSi9hKRQy94PvKVAH1+Rhw=="
    }
  ]
}
Ed25519VerificationKey2020
{
  "payload": {
    "id": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77",
    "verificationMethod": [
      {
        "id": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#key1",
        "type": "Ed25519VerificationKey2020",
        "controller": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77",
        "publicKeyMultibase": "z2yJuNbhoUpRn7ypAugSLzkCc8QEw146RJ8DD3jzCZQ6A"
      }
    ],
    "authentication": [
      "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#key1"
    ],
    "service": [{
      "id":"did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#linked-domain",
      "type": "LinkedDomains",
      "serviceEndpoint": [
        "https://bar.example.com"
      ]
    }]
  },
  "signInputs": [
    {
      "verificationMethodId": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#key1",
      "privKey": "wNXCJ9Ny0uzCYhnTE3gfQuwgQM4QZCw08+j01QDfoGxMMI9u9GIv/90eH3E3KjHjlSi9hKRQy94PvKVAH1+Rhw=="
    }
  ]
}
JsonWebKey2020
{
  "payload": {
    "id": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77",
    "verificationMethod": [
      {
        "id": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#key1",
        "type": "JsonWebKey2020",
        "controller": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77",
        "publicKeyJwk": {
          "kty": "OKP", // external (property name)
          "crv": "Ed25519", // external (property name)
          "x": "VCpo2LMLhn6iWku8MKvSLg2ZAoC-nlOyPVQaO3FxVeQ" // external (property name)
        }
      }
    ],
    "authentication": [
      "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#key1"
    ],
    "service": [{
      "id":"did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#linked-domain",
      "type": "LinkedDomains",
      "serviceEndpoint": [
        "https://bar.example.com"
      ]
    }]
  },
  "signInputs": [
    {
      "verificationMethodId": "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77#key1",
      "privKey": "wNXCJ9Ny0uzCYhnTE3gfQuwgQM4QZCw08+j01QDfoGxMMI9u9GIv/90eH3E3KjHjlSi9hKRQy94PvKVAH1+Rhw=="
    }
  ]
}

6. Submitting DID creation request to the ledger

Now that we have our DIDDoc prepared, we can send a create DID request to the ledger:

cheqd-noded tx cheqd create-did \
  --fees 50000000000ncheq \
  --gas auto \
  --gas-adjustment 1.8 \
  --from <alias-to-cosmos-key>  \
  --node https://rpc.cheqd.network:443 \
  --chain-id cheqd-testnet-6 \
  [payload.json]

Where:

  • --from: Should be an alias of a cheqd/Cosmos key, which will be used to pay for the ledger transaction.

  • --fees: Should equal 50000000000ncheq, which is equivalent to 50 CHEQ, the current price for a create DID transaction on testnet and mainnet.

Note that each of cheqd's on-ledger identity transactions has a fixed fee, the pricing for cheqd DIDs and DID-Linked Resources can be found here. If your account has insufficient balance the transaction will fail.

After you execute the command, you will receive "code": 0" if the DID was successfully written to the ledger.

Otherwise, the raw_logs field in the response can help figure out why something went wrong. For example:

"code":1201,"data":"","raw_log":"failed to execute message; message index: 0: did:cheqd:testnet:fcbarcelona: DID Doc not found"

7. Query the DID from ledger after successful creation

Finally, to check that the DID was successfully written to the ledger, we can use the following query:

cheqd-noded query cheqd did-document "<identifier-of-your-DIDDoc>" --node https://rpc.cheqd.network:443

where:

  • <identifier-of-your-DIDDoc>: Fully-qualified DID with <unique-id>

For example:

cheqd-noded query cheqd did "did:cheqd:testnet:b0ca0b75-ca6a-4674-a261-45f6dd0c9c77" --node https://rpc.cheqd.network:443

Congratulations! You've created, hopefully, the first of many DIDs on cheqd!

8. Query specific version

Since upgrading to 1.x.y version, we introduced versioning feature for DID Documents. This means that it is possible to get the previous version of a DID Document using the particular versionId of the document.

For querying particular version of the DID-Document the next command can be used:

cheqd-noded query cheqd did-version [id] [version-id]

Where:

  • id - identifier of your DID-Document. Fully-qualified DID with <unique-id>

  • version-id - particular id of version you want to get

Example

Command:

cheqd-noded query cheqd did-version did:cheqd:mainnet:c82f2b02-bdab-4dd7-b833-3e143745d612 76e546ee-78cd-5372-b34e-8b47461626e1 --node https://rpc.cheqd.net:443 --output json

Output:

Note that the output here is in snake_case because of how the cheqd ledger represents protobufs. This output would be in spec compliant JSON if queried using our DID resolver.

{
  "value": {
    "did_doc": {
      "context": [],
      "id": "did:cheqd:mainnet:c82f2b02-bdab-4dd7-b833-3e143745d612",
      "controller": [
        "did:cheqd:mainnet:c82f2b02-bdab-4dd7-b833-3e143745d612"
      ],
      "verification_method": [
        {
          "id": "did:cheqd:mainnet:c82f2b02-bdab-4dd7-b833-3e143745d612#key-1",
          "verification_method_type": "Ed25519VerificationKey2020",
          "controller": "did:cheqd:mainnet:c82f2b02-bdab-4dd7-b833-3e143745d612",
          "verification_material": "z6MkuGoZyDyji4sApi9L79CG484hoQPmtuqJSTbUpdrVQAqB"
        }
      ],
      "authentication": [
        "did:cheqd:mainnet:c82f2b02-bdab-4dd7-b833-3e143745d612#key-1"
      ],
      "assertion_method": [],
      "capability_invocation": [],
      "capability_delegation": [],
      "key_agreement": [],
      "service": [],
      "also_known_as": []
    },
    "metadata": {
      "created": "2022-11-17T10:29:53Z",
      "updated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
      "deactivated": false,
      "version_id": "76e546ee-78cd-5372-b34e-8b47461626e1",
      "next_version_id": "",
      "previous_version_id": ""
    }
  }
}

9. Query the all the versions metadata for DID

For querying all the versions there is a command:

cheqd-noded query cheqd did-metadata [id] [flags]

Where:

  • id - identifier of your DID-Document. Fully-qualified DID with <unique-id>

Example

cheqd-noded query cheqd did-metadata did:cheqd:mainnet:c82f2b02-bdab-4dd7-b833-3e143745d612 --node https://rpc.cheqd.net:443 --output json

Output:

{
  "versions": [
    {
      "created": "2022-11-17T10:29:53Z",
      "updated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
      "deactivated": false,
      "version_id": "76e546ee-78cd-5372-b34e-8b47461626e1",
      "next_version_id": "",
      "previous_version_id": ""
    }
  ],
  "pagination": null
}

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