Skip to main content

Key DID libraries

The Key DID libraries include the resolver and multiple providers to provide a simple way for developers to get started using the DID client with the did:key method.

Available libraries​

  • The Key DID resolver allows a DID JSON-RPC client to resolve accounts using the did:key method
  • The Key DID provider ED25519 allows applications to create and use Key DID accounts for ED25519 keypairs. This provider supports encryption.
  • The Key DID provider secp256k1 allows applications to create and use Key DID accounts for secp256k1 keypairs. This provider does not supports encryption.

Key DID resolver​

The key-did-resolver module is needed to resolve DID documents using the did:key method.

Installation​

npm install key-did-resolver

Usage​

import { DID } from 'dids'
import { getResolver } from 'key-did-resolver'

async function resolveDID() {
  const did = new DID({ resolver: getResolver() })
  return await did.resolve('did:key:...')
}

Key DID providers​

Different libraries implement a provider for the did:key method based on different cryptographic primitives. These providers may have different possibilities, for example key-did-provider-ed25519 supports encryption while key-did-provider-secp256k1 does not.

Key DID provider ED25519​

This is the recommended provider for the key:did method in most cases.

Installation​

npm install key-did-provider-ed25519

Usage​

import { DID } from 'dids'
import { Ed25519Provider } from 'key-did-provider-ed25519'
import { getResolver } from 'key-did-resolver'

// `seed` must be a 32-byte long Uint8Array
async function authenticateDID(seed) {
  const provider = new Ed25519Provider(seed)
  const did = new DID({ provider, resolver: getResolver() })
  await did.authenticate()
  return did
}

Key DID provider secp256k1​

This provider does not support encryption, so using methods such as createJWE on the DID instance is not supported.

Installation​

npm install key-did-provider-secp256k1

Usage​

import { DID } from 'dids'
import { Secp256k1Provider } from 'key-did-provider-secp256k1'
import { getResolver } from 'key-did-resolver'

// `seed` must be a 32-byte long Uint8Array
async function authenticateDID(seed) {
  const provider = new Secp256k1Provider(seed)
  const did = new DID({ provider, resolver: getResolver() })
  await did.authenticate()
  return did
}