Provenance Chains

Hematite attaches Ed25519 signatures to every state change — session create, task route, content publish — forming an unbroken chain from origin to current state. Tamper-evident by design.

The Provenance Model

Every event in Hematite is recorded as a signed entry in the provenance ledger:

{
  "event_id": "evt_abc123",
  "timestamp": "2026-11-03T19:00:00Z",
  "actor": "agent-general-01",
  "action": "session.create",
  "target": "sess_a1b2c3d4e5f6",
  "signature": "ed25519:7a8b9c...",
  "previous_hash": "sha256:def456..."
}

The previous_hash field links each entry to its predecessor, creating a cryptographic chain. Any modification to a past event invalidates all subsequent signatures.

Domain-Specific Provenance

Each AIMCIS domain defines additional provenance fields relevant to its assurance criteria:

IDNT Agent DID, self-certified claims, registry verification status
PRVN Full Ed25519 chain, origin attribution, transformation log
CNSN Consent tokens, redaction markers, usage rights propagation
TRNS Commitment hashes, non-repudiation signatures, value transfer records
... and 8 more domains Domain-specific provenance fields defined in AIMCIS profiles

Verifying a Chain

To verify the integrity of any session's provenance chain:

# Retrieve the full chain for a session
curl https://myorg.hematite.io/api/v1/sessions/sess_abc/provenance \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

# Verify signatures in the chain
hematite verify provenance --chain provenance.json

The verification tool checks each Ed25519 signature against the actor's registered DID and confirms the hash chain is unbroken.

Cross-Agent Hop Propagation

When a task is handed off between agents, the provenance chain extends automatically:

// Agent A processes prompt, hands off to Agent B
{
  "event_id": "evt_handoff_01",
  "action": "task.handoff",
  "from_agent": "agent-general-01",
  "to_agent": "agent-crtv-specialist",
  "context_snapshot": "...",
  "signature": "ed25519:..."
}

The receiving agent inherits the full chain and appends its own actions, maintaining continuity.

Key principle: Trust is not claimed. It is signed, traced, and enforced at every link.

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