Manifest

A manifest is the central metadata structure that encapsulates all information about a digital asset, including its creation, history, and related cryptographic details. It serves as the primary container for provenance data, ensuring that the asset's authenticity can be verified at any stage of its lifecycle. Each manifest is uniquely tied to the content it represents and includes fields such as the file title, format, and instance ID, along with cryptographic signatures for validation.

Example Manifest:

{
  "manifest": {
    "title": "image.jpg",
    "format": "image/jpeg",
    "instance_id": "urn:uuid:abcdef1234567890",
    "claim_generator": "Hash-Network/c2pa-rs/1.0.0",
    "claim_generator_info": {
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "tool": "Hash Network C2PA SDK"
    },
    "ingredients": [
      {
        "title": "image_source.png",
        "format": "image/png",
        "checksum": "sha256:abcdef1234567890"
      }
    ],
    "assertions": [
      {
        "label": "c2pa.actions.created",
        "data": {
          "action": "created",
          "softwareAgent": {
            "name": "AI_Generator_v1",
            "version": "2.3.0"
          }
        }
      }
    ],
    "signature_info": {
      "alg": "Ed25519",
      "issuer": "Hash Network Signing Cert",
      "cert_serial_number": "1234567890"
    }
  }
}

The manifest is integral to the C2PA Standard as it consolidates all provenance-related data into a single structure. In Hash Network, manifests are stored on-chain to ensure that the metadata is immutable and verifiable. This approach guarantees that the content's history is protected against tampering or unauthorized changes.