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IP·Inscription
Inscription lifecycle · v1.0

From keystroke to claim,
in under two seconds.

Inscription is the act of fingerprinting a creative work and anchoring that fingerprint to a public ledger — a portable, permanent receipt that anyone can verify, anywhere, forever. Here's how it works.

Try the simulatorWalk the lifecycle
live · v1 protocol · 0xa3f1…7702|block #19,482,003
The lifecycle

From keystroke to claim, in seven steps.

Inscription is a small protocol with very few moving parts. Here's the whole thing, end to end.

  1. 01
    step 1 of 7
    Capture
    Hand us the work, however it lives.

    Drop a file from your desktop, paste a URL, or stream from your DAW, IDE, or CMS via the SDK. The protocol is byte-stream agnostic — we never need ownership or custody of your content.

    Inputs
    File · URL · SDK
    Custody
    None
    design.figready
    score.wavready
    chapter.mdready
    ingest stream
  2. 02
    step 2 of 7
    Hash
    We fingerprint the bytes.

    A SHA-256 of the canonicalized content becomes the work's permanent ID. Same bytes, same fingerprint, forever — even if the file moves, the hash still proves it's yours.

    Function
    SHA-256
    Locality
    Client-side OK
    bytes
    01001001 01000110 00110001 01100100 01001001 01000110 00110001 01100100 01001001 01000110 00110001 01100100 01001001 01000110 00110001 01100100 01001001 01000110 00110001 01100100 01001001 01000110 00110001 01100100 01001001 01000110 00110001 01100100 01001001 01000110 00110001 01100100
    sha-256
    fingerprint
    0xa4f1d3…02ee8c
  3. 03
    step 3 of 7
    Sign
    You sign the manifest, not us.

    The manifest — hash, metadata, license intent — is signed with your key. We never see private material. Signatures are portable: bring any wallet you already use.

    Curve
    secp256k1 / ed25519
    Custody
    Yours, always
    sig: 3045022100…be0c
    signer: 0xC0FFEE…42a3
    curve: secp256k1
    manifest signed locally
  4. 04
    step 4 of 7
    Anchor
    We commit it to the ledger.

    The signed manifest is broadcast and included in a block. From this moment, anyone with the hash can prove when and by whom the work was created — no account, no API key.

    Latency
    ≈ 1.2s avg
    Cost
    Sponsored on demo
    chain
    •
    block: #19,482,003
    tx: 0xa3f1…7702
    included: 1 confirmation · 1.2s
  5. 05
    step 5 of 7
    Certify
    A receipt mints in real time.

    You get a portable certificate that renders the proof in any context: web link, embeddable widget, signed JSON, or notarized PDF. Same receipt, infinitely many surfaces.

    Formats
    Web · JSON · PDF · oEmbed
    Lifetime
    Permanent
    certificate
    v1.0
    Lattice — Chapter IV
    by Mira Okafor
    hash
    0x8f3a…d12c
    block
    #19,482,003
    issued
    just now
  6. 06
    step 6 of 7
    License
    Optional, but powerful.

    Attach a programmable license — CC, commercial, exclusive, or custom. Add a royalty split that pays every collaborator the instant the license triggers. Change terms later by inscribing an update.

    Templates
    CC · Commercial · Custom
    Splits
    Unlimited recipients
    split
    You
    60%
    Co-writer
    25%
    Producer
    15%
    license: cc-by 4.0
  7. 07
    step 7 of 7
    Verify
    Forever, by anyone.

    Every certificate exposes a public verify endpoint. Paste a hash and confirm authorship — from any browser, any decade. If we vanish tomorrow, the proof stays.

    Auth
    None required
    Survives us
    Yes
    Authorship verified
    0x8f3a91…d12c
Try it

The whole flow, in your browser.

Configure a work, hit inscribe, and watch the protocol run. The hash is real — derived from your inputs (or your dropped file) right here on this page.

configure
Demo · no upload
Work type
Title
Creator
License template
Royalty split
  • %
Must sum to 100%total 100%
Ready to inscribe
Fill in the form on the left and hit Inscribe this work. Nothing leaves your browser.
What goes where

On-chain proof. Off-chain content.

A common misconception: inscribing puts your file on the blockchain. It doesn't. We only commit the proof — the file itself never has to leave your hands.

On-chain (immutable)
  • Content hash (SHA-256)
    The fingerprint, not the file.
  • Manifest
    Title, creator, license intent, splits.
  • Signature
    Proof the author signed the manifest.
  • Timestamp & block
    When and where it was anchored.
  • License terms
    Programmable, enforceable, public.
  • Royalty split rules
    Recipients and percentages.
Anyone can read. No one can change.
Off-chain (yours)
  • The actual file bytes
    Stays on your device or your storage.
  • Private keys
    Yours — we never see them.
  • Identity (optional)
    Pseudonymous by default.
  • Drafts & revisions
    Only the versions you choose to inscribe.
Reveal selectively — or not at all.
Verification

Anyone can verify. No account required.

Every certificate exposes a public verify endpoint. Paste a hash, get a result. That's the whole API.

Try:
Submit a hash above to check authorship.

Self-host the verifier. Embed it. Cache it. The protocol doesn't care — the certificate either matches or it doesn't.

Questions, answered

The details that come up most.

  • Inscriptions are content-addressed, so re-inscribing the same bytes yields the same hash. We surface the original certificate instead of minting a duplicate — unless you change the manifest (different title, license, or splits), which creates a new derivative inscription that points back to the original.

You've seen the protocol.
Now make a real one.

Inscribe your first work for free. The full lifecycle, on your real files — same flow you just walked through, just minus the demo disclaimer.

Inscribe my first workRead the SDK docs