Wiki · Reference

Glossary

Common words in the app, each in a sentence or two.

Records

Ledger: A record book of your own, written one entry after another, with every entry kept as written. The Recorder and the User each have one.
Entry: One item in a ledger, carrying your signature.
Record: The kind of entry that holds a file’s content fingerprint.
Content fingerprint: A number worked out from a file’s content. The same file always gives the same one; one changed byte gives a wholly different one.
Note: An entry that adds an explanation to an earlier one.
Deleting a record: Marks a record as deleted; the original entry stays as it was.
Ledger mirror: A copy of a ledger written by “Export ledger mirror”, for other tools to read and for bringing a ledger to a new version.
Adopt in place: Checks a ledger’s folder or mirror entry by entry and seals it into a desktop data folder; the folder itself stays as it was.
Handoff file: The .zkhand file hand-over writes: the whole ledger, passing the writing of it from one place to another.

Putting on chain: Sending new entries in a transaction on a blockchain. From then on anyone can check that they existed by that moment.
Pending: Entries written to your ledger and waiting for you to send them.
Gas: The fee a chain charges for a transaction, paid in ETH.
Network: The chain your records go to: Ethereum mainnet, Arbitrum One, OP Mainnet or the Sepolia testnet.
Node: A server the app uses to read the chain and send transactions. The app comes with public ones.
Read-only network: Another chain, added only to verify other people’s records.
Ledger check: The app’s regular comparison of your ledger with the chain; “Confirmed” rests on it.

Grant: An entry that lets an address use a work for a period of time, with a terms file attached.
Terms file: The file that says what a grant means: exclusivity, use, price, breach.
Grant file: A .zkgrant file carrying the issuer’s ledger, for the full check.
Grant code: A line of text starting with zikaron-grant:, for checking the signature and the validity.
Revocation: An entry that takes a grant back, for good.
Sublicense: A grant a User passes on to someone else on the strength of one they hold.
Credential: Proof of a grant for a third party: a line of text and a QR code.

Record kit: One .zkit file (or a folder) exported from a ledger, with the chosen records, their original files and their on-chain proofs, for someone else to verify.
The six checks: What verifying a grant checks: signature, issuer ledger intact, in the issuer’s ledger, on chain, within validity, not revoked.
All passed, Has gaps, Failed: The three verdicts on a grant in “My grants”. “Has gaps” means some checks have not come through yet, for example confirmation on chain is pending or the issuer’s ledger is missing. On the Verify grant page the conclusion reads “All match”, “Not everything could be checked” or “N do not match”.
Encrypted record kit: A record kit that opens for one recipient alone, exported to that recipient’s address or public key.
Public key: A shareable number worked out from your key, under “Details” in Settings › Identity key; others use it to encrypt a record kit to you.
Taking out originals: After a record kit is verified, copying the originals that match their records, under their own names, to a folder you choose.
Published address: The https address where you place a record kit in folder form online.

Identity: A set of signing keys, with the ledgers and settings that go with them. A computer can hold several.
Recorder, User: The two roles of an identity, each with its own key, address and ledger.
Primary identity: The identity whose recovery words, or a key file it exported, set a new passcode when you forget yours. By default the first one made on this computer; change it in Settings › Identity key.
Recovery words: 12 English words that recreate your keys. Keep them on paper.
Passcode: 8 letters or digits that open the keys and data on this computer.
Key file: One key exported with a file password, readable by other wallets too.
Whole-machine backup: One encrypted file with every identity, ledger and setting, opened with the backup password.
Command-line credential: A time-limited file the desktop writes in the machine folder when “With a credential” is turned on; with it the command line writes this computer’s sealed ledgers and sends their pending queues. It ends when the switch goes off, it expires, or the master key changes.