This repository contains the official specification for the Hedera DID Method (did:hedera).
The did:hedera method is a W3C-compliant Decentralized Identifier method that uses the Hedera Consensus Service (HCS) as a verifiable, append-only log for DID operations. The current v2.0 specification is designed for full alignment with the W3C DID Core v1.0 standard, particularly its controller-based authorization model.
- W3C Compliant: Fully aligns with the DID Core v1.0 data model, using the
controllerproperty as the sole source of authority for DID management. - Proof-Based Authorization: Operations like creating, updating, and deactivating DIDs are authorized using cryptographic proofs that conform to the W3C Data Integrity specification.
- Persistent Identifiers: The DID identifier is decoupled from the cryptographic keys used to control it. This allows for robust security practices like key rotation without ever needing to change the DID itself.
- Leverages Hedera Consensus Service (HCS): Utilizes HCS to provide a fast, fair, and publicly verifiable log of all DID operations, with finality in seconds.
The most current version of the specification is available as:
- ➡️ Hedera DID Method Specification v2.0 (Markdown)
- ➡️ Hedera DID Method Specification v2.0 — ReSpec (Spec-Up / ReSpec, browser-rendered)
SDKs supporting the Hedera DID Method include:
- JavaScript/TypeScript: hashgraph-did-sdk-js (Work-in-progress for v2.0)
This specification uses pandoc title block syntax for its title and metadata.
To generate a PDF version of the specification document, you will need to install the following dependencies (example for Debian/Ubuntu):
sudo apt install pandoc librsvg2-bin texlive-latex-extraThen run the following command from the repository root:
pandoc hedera-did-method-specification.md -o hedera-did-method-specification.pdfThis work is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See the LICENSE file for details.