Cryptographic Key Pair _(@digitalcredentials/keypair)_


> Cryptographic key pair data model in Javascript/Typescript, for Node.js, browsers, and React Native. Useful for Verifiable Credentials, DIDs (Decentralized Identifiers), and other uses of Data Integrity.

Table of Contents

- Background
- Security
- Install
- Usage
- Contribute
- License

Background

Extracted from Digital Bazaar's crypto-ld
library, and converted to Typescript.

This is an abstract key pair data model, meant to be used in individual subclass
key pair implementations, such as:

* ed25519-verification-key-2020
* x25519-key-agreement-key-2020

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For digital signatures using the
linked-data-integrity library,
signing of Verifiable Credentials using vc library,
authorization capabilities, and DIDAuth operations:

* Prefer Ed25519VerificationKey2020 type keys, by default.
* Use EcdsaSepc256k1 keys if your use case requires it (for example, if
you're developing for a Bitcoin-based or Ethereum-based ledger), or if you
require Hierarchical Deterministic (HD) wallet functionality.

For key agreement protocols for encryption operations:

* Use Curve25519 with the minimal-cipher
library.

Security

As with most security- and cryptography-related tools, the overall security of
your system will largely depend on your design decisions.

Install

- Node.js 16+ is recommended.

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To install via NPM:

``
npm install @digitalcredentials/keypair
`

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To install locally (for development):

`
git clone https://github.com/digitalcredentials/keypair.git
cd keypair
npm install
`

Usage

This library is meant to be used only by implementers of new cryptographic key suite
libraries.

When adding support for a new suite type subclass of keypair, developers
should do the following:

1. Create their own npm package / Github repo, such as example-key-pair.
2. Subclass KeyPair.
3. Override relevant methods (such as export() and fingerprint()).
4. Add to the key type table in the crypto-suite-manager` README.md.

Contribute

PRs accepted.

If editing the Readme, please conform to the
standard-readme specification.

License

MIT License © 2022 Digital Credentials Consortium.