Introduction
Digital Evidence Developer Documentation
Welcome to the Digital Evidence platform developer documentation. This platform provides a secure, cryptographically-verified system for submitting and storing digital evidence.
System Overview
The Digital Evidence platform is Constellation's mission to cryptographically secure the world's data, ensuring that information has not been tampered with - intentionally or not. Built on the Constellation Network, it provides a unified layer of trust across diverse industries by cryptographically verifying data at the source and recording it on an immutable ledger.
Why Digital Evidence?
In today's data-saturated world, trust is at an all-time low. Despite unprecedented data access, decision-makers face a deeper challenge: knowing which data to trust. Human error, miscommunication, and bad actors fuel a growing crisis of credibility - making validated, reliable data essential.
Digital Evidence was built to solve this trust crisis, guaranteeing data authenticity from the moment it's created. By cryptographically signing data at its source and anchoring it to an immutable ledger, it ensures transparency and accountability across all data workflows.
Core Components
The Digital Evidence platform consists of five main components that work together to provide secure, verifiable data storage:
Data Fingerprinting - Your application creates a structured fingerprint containing a content hash, metadata, and identifiers for the data you want to secure.
Cryptographic Signing - Using the Constellation Metagraph Standard Signature Protocol to create a digital signature that proves data authenticity and prevents tampering.
Immutable Auditing - The signed data is submitted to the Digital Evidence API for validation and permanent on-chain commitment on the Constellation Network. Document Storage - Optionally attach original documents (PDFs, images, text files, and more) alongside your fingerprint submissions. Documents are securely stored and can be retrieved later via presigned download URLs, providing a complete audit trail of both the cryptographic proof and the source material.
MCP Server - An AI-agent integration layer using the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Connect your AI tools — such as Claude, Cursor, or custom agents — directly to the Digital Evidence platform to notarize documents, verify fingerprints, and search records using natural language.
The Process
1. Hash Your Raw Data
Compute a cryptographic hash of your original document or data payload to create a unique, tamper-evident fingerprint.
2. Prepare the Fingerprint
Construct the fingerprint payload with metadata, identifiers, and the computed hash from step 1.
3. Sign Your Data
Use the Constellation signature protocol to create a digital signature that proves authenticity and prevents tampering. The Digital Evidence SDK handles this automatically.
4. Submit to API
Send the signed data to the Digital Evidence API for validation and storage.
5. Receive Confirmation
Get immediate feedback on submission success and receive a unique reference for your stored evidence.
Next Steps
For detailed implementation guidance, see the following documents:
Sign and Submit Data: Sign and Submit Data
Find and Verify Data: Find and Verify Data
MCP Server: MCP Server
FAQ & Troubleshooting: FAQ & Troubleshooting
API Specification: API Specification
Data Schema: Protocol buffer definitions
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