Verification Service ("the atom") — v1 backend

The production backend for the verification atom: "check this one thing for me, and prove you did." A client POSTs one question (http_observation of a URL); the service performs a real observation and returns a signed proof packet with transparent cost accounting. Every verification is appended to a public, permanent ledger — the board.

Honesty, up front:

• cost_usd on every packet is an operator-configured estimate, not a metered cloud bill ("cost_basis": "estimate"). Recalibrate before pricing.

• Payments are disabled. There is no payment provider integration in v1, and the service refuses to start if payments.enabled is true without one.

• This service makes no revenue claims. Quoted prices are quotes; nothing is charged, because nothing can be charged yet.

Architecture

Related MCP server: Web Resource Ledger

MCP server (mcp/)

This repo also ships a Model Context Protocol server that exposes the verification atom as an MCP tool, so MCP-compatible agents can request signed proof packets directly.

• Install: uvx verify-atom-mcp (published on PyPI as verify-atom-mcp)

• Listed in the official MCP registry as io.github.asherengos/verify-atom

• Transport: stdio · Tool: verify — performs an HTTP observation of a URL and returns the Ed25519-signed proof packet

• Source: mcp/mcp_server.py (zero dependencies; mcp/README.md has the details)

A verification flows: POST /verify → SSRF guard → real socket-level HTTP fetch (single DNS resolution; the checked address is the connected address; redirects never followed) → observation + evidence → cost accounting → Ed25519 signature over canonical JSON → append to ledger → proof packet.

Quick start

cd ~/workspace/verify-service
python3 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt   # flask + waitress only; free
.venv/bin/python app.py                     # serves on 127.0.0.1:5057 via waitress

First run generates an Ed25519 keypair under data/keys/ (0600). data/ is gitignored: ledger, keys, and runtime state never enter the repo.

Development (Flask built-in server, do not use in production):

.venv/bin/python -m flask --app app:create_app run -p 5057

API reference

POST /verify — perform a verification

curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:5057/verify \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"type":"http_observation","url":"https://example.com"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Response: a signed proof packet.

{
  "id": "VRF-20260926-3f9a2c1d",
  "type": "http_observation",
  "verdict": "CONFIRMED",
  "target": {"url": "https://example.com"},
  "observation": {
    "reachable": true,
    "http_status": 200,
    "page_title": "Example Domain",
    "body_sha256": "…",
    "tls": {"subject": "…", "issuer": "…", "not_after": "…"},
    "dns": {"host": "example.com", "addresses": ["93.184.216.34"]}
  },
  "evidence": [{"kind": "http_status", "value": 200}, …],
  "timestamp_utc": "2026-09-26T02:30:00Z",
  "usage": {"wall_time_s": 0.41, "bytes_in": 1830, "http_requests": 1},
  "cost_usd": 0.0000109,
  "cost_basis": "estimate",
  "price_quote_usd": 0.005,
  "margin_usd": 0.0049891,
  "below_cost": false,
  "signature": "<64-byte ed25519 hex>",
  "signing": {"algorithm": "Ed25519", "public_key_hex": "…",
              "signed_fields": "all fields except 'signature' and 'signing'"}
}

Verdicts: CONFIRMED (fetched, HTTP 2xx), UNCONFIRMED (fetched, other status — a real negative observation), ERROR (refused or failed; the observation.reason explains why). Unknown type → 400 unknown_type.

Spot-checking a packet (no trust required):

# fetch the service public key, then verify the signature offline:
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:5057/key

The signature covers the canonical JSON (sorted keys, compact separators) of every packet field except signature and signing. Recompute it and verify with any Ed25519 implementation.

GET /verify/ — retrieve a stored proof packet (404 if unknown)

curl -s http://127.0.0.1:5057/verify/VRF-20260926-3f9a2c1d | python3 -m json.tool

GET /board/feed — public append-only feed, oldest first

curl -s http://127.0.0.1:5057/board/feed | python3 -m json.tool

Each entry: {id, timestamp_utc, type, verdict, url}.

GET /health

curl -s http://127.0.0.1:5057/health
# {"status":"ok","version":"0.1.0","payments_enabled":false}

GET /key — the service's Ed25519 public key

curl -s http://127.0.0.1:5057/key
# {"algorithm":"Ed25519","public_key_hex":"…"}

The private key is never logged, never served, never leaves signing.py.

Configuration (config.yaml)

Key management

• First run: KeyStore generates an Ed25519 keypair into data/keys/{private.key,public.key} (directory 0700, files 0600; refuses to overwrite an existing key).

• Back up private.key offline; losing it orphans the board's trust chain (old packets still verify against the published public key, but the service can no longer sign).

• Rotation (not automated in v1): generate a new keypair, publish the new public key at /key with a key_id, keep the old public key published for historical verification. See go-live checklist.

Deployment notes

The $0 go-live bundle lives in deploy/:

Built-in abuse guard: POST /verify is rate-limited per client IP (sliding 60s window, verify.rate_limit_per_minute, default 30/min). Over the cap → 429 JSON with a Retry-After header. Set rate_limit_per_minute: 0 to disable (never disable on a public endpoint).

Run one worker per data directory (v1 has no cross-process locking on the ledger). The service binds 127.0.0.1 only; public traffic arrives via the reverse proxy.

Machine-readable docs for humans and agents: GET /llms.txt (text/plain) — endpoint contract, proof-packet fields, how to verify a signature offline, and the honesty notes.

Known v1 limitations (stated plainly)

• HTTP/1.1 only; redirects are never followed (recorded as UNCONFIRMED).

• No HTTP/2, no JavaScript rendering: the observation is the raw HTTP response, which is exactly what is hashed and signed.

• DNS is resolved once per verification; a hostile DNS that flips answers between resolution and connect within milliseconds is out of scope for v1 (documented, not mitigated beyond the single-resolution design).

• Single worker; ledger scans are O(n).

• Pure-Python Ed25519: correct, but slower than a C implementation — fine at v1 volumes; adopt a vetted C library before scaling.

Go-live checklist

• Deploy bundle (deploy/, built 2026-09-26): hardened systemd unit, Caddyfile with automatic TLS, DEPLOY.md runbook (Oracle Cloud Always Free ARM VM, human steps marked), in-app per-IP rate limiting on POST /verify (30/min default, 429 + Retry-After), /llms.txt machine-readable API docs. All $0, stdlib-only, no payment code paths. Tests: 26/26 green.

• Hosting: provision the VM per deploy/DEPLOY.md; decide the data-dir backup story (ledger + key backup are in the runbook).

• Payment provider integration: NOT BUILT. Implement the charge flow, wire it to payments.provider, then flip enabled: true.

• Fresh production keypair: generated on first boot per the runbook (never copy data/ from dev); publish the public key; back up the private key offline.

• Real cost calibration: replace cost_model.yaml estimates with metered values; run a calibration batch; confirm margin_usd > 0 before quoting real prices.

• Terms & abuse policy: acceptable use, refund policy for failed (ERROR) verifications — written and published. (Rate limiting itself is now built in; the edge policy is the remaining piece.)

• TLS + reverse proxy: covered by deploy/Caddyfile; replace the placeholder domain, validate, reload.

• Key rotation procedure documented and rehearsed.

• Monitoring: UptimeRobot free monitor on /health; ledger growth, below_cost counts, error rates — the honest loop must page someone when the loop turns red.