What is Epistery?

Epistemology is the study of knowledge. An Epistery, it follows, is a place to share the knowledge of knowledge.

Epistery is open source middleware that brings blockchain capabilities to mundane web tasks currently controlled by commercial gatekeepers. It inserts the blockchain as a witness and clerk for the mundane business of clicking, tipping, stamping and cloaking.

The basic contract is DataWallet—an immutable chain of events that can be attached to any digital object: a post, a PDF, an image, a like, a web site, a car, a newly picked tomato. Data wallets provide cryptographic proof of origin, track provenance, and enable transparent manipulation and usage tracking.

Simple Client Code

Creating a data wallet is as simple as including our script and calling one function

                    <script src="/.well-known/epistery/lib/client.js"></script>

const myThing = {title: "My Document", content: "Hello World"};
const result = await window.epistery.data.write(myThing);
console.log(result.ipfs.address);
console.log(result.transaction.hash);
                

How it Works

Epistery constructs a data wallet initialization instruction including a hash of the content and the client address. This is signed transparently (unless an externally secured key is requested) and uploaded with the content. Epistery then signs on behalf of the server and delivers the file as configured.

By default, content is uploaded to IPFS—a globally shared directory of blockchain-addressable files. Most servers will configure a hook and process the data as they normally would.

Meanwhile, what the user sees is nothing different. What happened is a notarized series of facts about this pile of bits has begun. It's a contract that will remember for the life of the blockchain its history. It can authenticate the original and track modifications. It can change ownership. It can be encrypted and control viewers.

Plugin Architecture

Epistery is an Express.js plugin that provides data-wallet services through standardized endpoints

Domain-Based Wallets

Epistery automatically generates a wallet for each domain (strict, including subdomain) identified in requests. Configuration files are stored in ~/.epistery/{domain}/config.ini with 0600 permissions for user-only access.

Well-Known Endpoints

/.well-known/epistery - JSON data presenting the signing identity/wallet of the site
/.well-known/epistery/status - Human-readable overview of site activity
/.well-known/epistery/data/* - Data wallet API for create, read, update, delete operations
/.well-known/acme - Ephemeral ACME URL for SSL cert authorization

Client Wallets

Epistery provides a client-side script that uses browser localStorage to hold or reference the signing wallet representing the end user. LocalStorage is strictly domain-isolated per W3C standards, creating unique anonymous addresses perfect for low-value micro-transactions.

The Key Innovation

Anonymous Ephemeral Wallets: The brilliance of Epistery is making blockchain useful for mundane tasks while keeping the complexity invisible until users choose to engage more deeply. Browser wallets in localStorage enable cryptographically signed interactions without requiring users to understand Web3 concepts or manage private keys.

Why have a signing key at all? It's a matter of transactional integrity. If all parties sign a transaction, we can be certain that the facts written into the transaction are facts as known and signed. While the only fact might be that the transaction happened between two unknown parties, that may be enough—but the opportunity to embellish the transaction and employ simple clauses becomes imminently available when the baseline mechanics of certainty are always employed.

Scale and Incentive: When dealing with tiny fragments of commerce like page views or 'likes', security is not the point—particularly when the incentive to cheat is designed to be minimal. For high-value transactions, users can upgrade to externally managed wallets with full security controls.

Enabled Use Cases

📊

Engagement Tracking

Track page views, clicks, and interactions with cryptographic proof—replacing centralized analytics with user-owned data.

💰

Micro-Transactions

Enable tiny payments for content, ads, or services without traditional payment rails—perfect for per-view or per-interaction models.

🔐

Content Provenance

Establish verifiable origin and ownership of digital content—posts, images, documents—with immutable blockchain records.

🤝

Direct Transactions

Enable browser-server contracts without intermediaries—users and hosts transact directly using blockchain as witness.

🎯

Anonymous Agency

Give users cryptographic control over their interactions while maintaining complete anonymity—no accounts or personal data required.

📦

Supply Chain Tracking

Track physical items from origin to destination with on-chain records—perfect for produce, manufacturing, and logistics.

Architecture Components

ServiceHost

Any web site or internet service can install the Epistery plugin. The plugin binds to the request object to attach services behind /.well-known/epistery. The hostname is the namespace for epistery, with automatic wallet generation and configuration per domain.

                            import { Epistery } from 'epistery';
import express from 'express';

const app = express();
const epistery = await Epistery.connect();
await epistery.attach(app);

app.use((req, res) => {
  const domainConfig = req.app.locals.epistery.domain;
});
                        

Agent

Agents are accredited market makers that provide gas and batching to control blockchain transaction costs. ServiceHosts decide which agents suit their purpose, register for accreditation, and install necessary contract handlers into the plugin.

ClientBrowser

The client-side script uses browser localStorage for domain-isolated anonymous wallets. Each site sees a unique ephemeral identity, perfect for low-value transactions. Users can extract keys to use elsewhere or upgrade to Web3 wallet integration.