@hive/verifier

Independent reference verifier for HiveRelay. Reads raw data from multiple relay endpoints and reports divergence.

Why this exists

docs/THREAT-MODEL.md action item #3: ship a reference CLI alongside the official client to mitigate monoculture risk. Cross-client verification only works if there's more than one client.

This package is intentionally separate from p2p-hiverelay and p2p-hiverelay-client:

• It does not import the main SDK
• It uses only b4a + Node built-ins
• It can be installed and run independently
• A compromise of the main SDK does not silently affect the verifier

Install

npm install -g p2p-hiverelay-verifier

CLI usage

Compare capability docs + catalogs across relays

hive-verify https://relay-a.example.com https://relay-b.example.com

Output (human-readable):

Relays checked:
  https://relay-a.example.com
  https://relay-b.example.com

Capabilities OK: ✓
Catalogs OK:     ✓

Divergences: 0

Verdict: AGREE

Compare a specific drive's state across relays

hive-verify --drive abc123def456... https://relay-a https://relay-b https://relay-c

JSON output (for scripting)

hive-verify --json https://relay-a https://relay-b > report.json
echo "Exit code: $?"

Exit codes

| Code | Meaning | |---|---| | 0 | All compared relays agree | | 1 | Divergence detected | | 2 | All relays failed to respond | | 3 | Argument or usage error |

Library usage

import { verifyRelays, compareDrive } from 'p2p-hiverelay-verifier'

const report = await verifyRelays([
  'https://relay-a.example.com',
  'https://relay-b.example.com'
])

if (report.verdict === 'diverge') {
  console.error('Relays disagree:', report.divergences)
}

What it does NOT do

• It does not validate cryptographic signatures on individual blocks yet. (Future work; would require pulling in hypercore-crypto — acceptable.)
• It does not maintain its own catalog or content.
• It does not connect to the Hyperswarm DHT — it talks HTTP only.
• It is not a replacement for the main client SDK; it's a verification tool that runs alongside.

License

Apache 2.0