State Transition SDK

Overview

The State Transition SDK is a TypeScript library that provides an off-chain token transaction framework. Tokens are managed, stored, and transferred off-chain with only cryptographic commitments published on-chain, ensuring privacy while preventing double-spending through single-spend proofs. This is a low-level SDK, that supports transferring tokens, making payments, and splitting tokens. In this system, tokens are self-contained entities containing complete transaction history and cryptographic proofs attesting to their current state (ownership, value, etc.). State transitions are verified through consultation with blockchain infrastructure (Unicity) to produce proof of single spend.

Key Features

• Off-chain Privacy: Cryptographic commitments contain no information about tokens, their state, or transaction nature
• Horizontal Scalability: Millions of transaction commitments per block capability
• Zero-Knowledge Transactions: Observers cannot determine if commitments refer to token transactions or other processes
• Offline Transaction Support: Create and serialize transactions without network connectivity
• TypeScript Support: Full type safety and modern development experience
• Modular Architecture: Pluggable address schemes, predicates, and token types

Installation

npm install @unicitylabs/state-transition-sdk

Quick Start

Note: for examples, see further down in the Examples section or browse around in the tests folder of this SDK.

Core Components

StateTransitionClient

The main SDK interface for token operations:

• submitCertificationRequest() - Submit transaction to aggregator
• getInclusionProof() - Retrieve inclusion proof for a commitment

Transaction Flow

1. Minting: Create new tokens
2. Transfer: Submit state transitions between owners

Transfer flow

Prerequisites Recipient knows some info about token, like token type for generating address.

A[Start] 
A --> B[Recipient Generates Address]
B --> C[Recipient Shares Address with Sender]
C --> D[Sender Creates Transaction]
D --> E[Sender Submits Transaction]
E --> F[Sender Retrieves Inclusion Proof]
F --> G[Sender Creates Certified Transaction]
G --> H[Sender Updates Token with Certified Transaction]
H --> I[Sender Sends Token to Recipient]
I --> J[End]

Architecture

Token Structure

Token {
  genesis: CertifiedMintTransaction {
    transaction: MintTransaction {
      sourceStateHash: MintTransactionState,
      lockScript: IPredicate,
      recipient: PayToScriptHash,
      tokenId: TokenId,
      tokenType: TokenType,
      data: Uint8Array
    },
    inclusionProof: InclusionProof
  },
  transactions: [
    CertifiedTransferTransaction {
      transaction: TransferTransaction {
        sourceStateHash: DataHash,
        lockScript: IPredicate,
        recipient: PayToScriptHash,
        x: Uint8Array,
        data: Uint8Array
      },
      inclusionProof: InclusionProof
    },
    ...
  ]
}

Privacy Model

• Commitment-based: Only cryptographic commitments published on-chain
• Self-contained: Tokens include complete transaction history
• Zero-knowledge: No information leaked about token or transaction details
• Minimal footprint: Blockchain only stores commitment hashes

Security Features

• Double-spend prevention: Enforced through inclusion proofs
• Cryptographic verification: All state transitions cryptographically verified
• Predicate flexibility: Multiple ownership models supported
• Provenance tracking: Complete audit trail in token history

Development

Building

npm run build

Testing

Run unit and integration tests. NB! Integration tests require docker to be installed.

npm test

Run unit tests only.

npm run test:unit

Run integration tests only.

npm run test:integration

Run end-to-end tests only.

AGGREGATOR_URL='https://gateway-test.unicity.network' npm run test:e2e

Linting

Lint all code (source and tests):

npm run lint

Lint with auto-fix:

npm run lint:fix

Network Configuration

• Test Gateway: https://gateway-test.unicity.network
• Default Token Type: Configurable via TokenType enum

Examples

Minting Tokens

tests/examples/mint/ExampleTest.ts

Token Transfer

tests/examples/transfer/ExampleTest.ts

Token Splitting

tests/examples/split/ExampleTest.ts

Unicity Signature Standard

The Unicity Network uses a standardized signature format to ensure data integrity and cryptographic proof of ownership. All cryptographic operations use the secp256k1 elliptic curve, SHA-256 hashing, and 33-byte compressed public keys.

The standard is designed for efficiency and broad compatibility across different programming environments, including Node.js, browsers, and Go.

Signature Format

A Unicity signature is a 65-byte array, structured as the concatenation of three components: [R || S || V].

Process Overview

1. Signing The raw message data is first hashed using SHA-256. The resulting 32-byte hash is then signed using the signer's 32-byte secp256k1 private key to produce the 65-byte signature.

2. Verification The verifier hashes the original message using SHA-256. Using this hash and the signature, the verifier recovers the public key. The recovered key is then serialized into the compressed format and compared byte-for-byte against the expected 33-byte compressed public key to confirm validity.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Support

• Repository: GitHub
• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Gateway API: https://gateway-test.unicity.network

Note: This SDK is part of the Unicity ecosystem. For production use, ensure you understand the security implications and test thoroughly in the testnet environment.