content-addressable

Content addressing for Rust and Python: derive an address from data so anyone with the bytes and address can verify that they match.

The crate uses IPLD content identifiers (CIDs) with BLAKE3. The Python package binds the Rust core, so both languages produce the same identifier when a value encodes to the same canonical DAG-CBOR bytes.

Use the right identity

ContentId identifies canonical DAG-CBOR values. RawContentId identifies bytes without interpreting them. Both use CIDv1 and a 32-byte BLAKE3 digest, but their codecs differ and make them distinct identities even for the same digest. Compare typed CIDs, never bare digests. Emit base32-lower CID text.

Before constructing a ContentId from untrusted bytes, check that they are canonical DAG-CBOR. ContentId::from_canonical_bytes assumes this without checking. Use checked construction or checked decoding to validate canonicality; typed checked decoding also catches fields the target type discards.

See identity and decoding for construction APIs, checked reads, presentation forms, foreign CIDs, and the Python tag-42 link limitation.

Installation

Rust (1.85 or later):

[dependencies]
content-addressable = "0.1.0"

Python:

pip install content-addressable

Import the Python package as content_addressable.

Rust quick start

Implement canonical_form to give your type the ContentAddressable trait methods content_id, verify, and ensure_content_id:

use content_addressable::{canonical, ContentAddressable, ContentError};
use serde::Serialize;

#[derive(Serialize)]
struct Record {
    name: String,
}

impl ContentAddressable for Record {
    fn canonical_form(&self) -> Result<Vec<u8>, ContentError> {
        canonical::to_canonical_dagcbor(self)
    }
}

let record = Record { name: "alpha".into() };

let id = record.content_id()?;          // a CIDv1 (DAG-CBOR + BLAKE3)
assert!(record.verify(&id)?);           // self-certifying: re-derive and compare
println!("{id}");                       // "bafyr4i…" — the canonical text form
# Ok::<(), ContentError>(())

verify returns Ok(false) on a mismatch. ensure_content_id returns Err(ContentError::VerificationFailed).

Python quick start

Call content_id on a native Python value. Python exposes neither the Rust ContentAddressable trait nor its verify method.

from content_addressable import (
    ContentId, content_id,
    to_canonical_dagcbor, from_canonical_dagcbor,
)

# A value's content id (CIDv1, DAG-CBOR + BLAKE3). Key order is irrelevant.
record = {"name": "alpha", "attrs": {}}
cid = content_id(record)

assert str(cid).startswith("b")                # base32-lower multibase text
assert len(cid.digest_hex()) == 64             # 64-char bare-digest-hex
assert isinstance(to_canonical_dagcbor(record), bytes)

# Canonical bytes round-trip; equal values -> equal bytes -> equal ids.
raw = to_canonical_dagcbor(record)
assert content_id(record) == ContentId.from_canonical_bytes(raw)
assert from_canonical_dagcbor(raw) == record
assert content_id({"attrs": {}, "name": "alpha"}) == cid  # order-independent

# Parse an id back from its text / binary forms.
assert ContentId.parse(str(cid)) == cid
assert ContentId.from_bytes(cid.to_bytes()) == cid

# Wrap an already-computed 32-byte BLAKE3 digest with NO re-hash.
assert ContentId.from_blake3_content_digest(cid.digest_bytes()) == cid
assert len(cid.digest_bytes()) == 32           # the raw BLAKE3 hash

ContentId supports equality and hashing for use as a dict key or set member.

Stability and optional features

The core contracts are stable throughout 0.1.x, with one documented exception in 0.1.2 for Rust trait-method name resolution. See the stability contract for frozen bytes, APIs, and compatibility details.

All unstable-* features are off by default and may change:

unstable-store: verified storage operations and an in-memory backend.
unstable-legacy: parsers for legacy identifier formats.
unstable-migration: records of identity changes.

See experimental features for examples and storage guarantees.

Development

just install-hooks
just check            # fmt + clippy + test + docs + leaf-deps

See RELEASING.md for tag-driven releases.

License

Apache-2.0.

content-addressable 0.1.3