Web Ledgers

URI-to-Balance Mapping System for Distributed Ledgers

Web Ledgers provides a standardized method for mapping Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) to numerical balances on the web, enabling distributed ledger systems that transcend platform boundaries.

🎯 Overview

Web Ledgers enable seamless value transfer between heterogeneous systems including:

• Social platforms (GitHub, Twitter, YouTube)
• Blockchain networks (Bitcoin addresses, transaction outputs)
• Communication protocols (email, phone)
• Decentralized identity systems (WebID, Nostr DIDs)
• Custom applications (gaming, reputation, carbon credits)

🚀 Key Features

• Universal Identifiers: Uses URIs for cross-platform compatibility
• Multi-Currency Support: Flexible amount formats for different currencies
• JSON-LD Compliance: Structured data with semantic web compatibility
• Interactive CLI: Beautiful command-line interface with wizards
• Well-Known Convention: Follows RFC 5785 for standard file locations
• Validation System: Comprehensive validation with warnings and errors
• Extensible Format: Support for custom currencies and metadata

📦 Installation

npm install webledgers

For global CLI access:

npm install -g webledgers

🏗️ Core Concepts

Web Ledger Structure

A Web Ledger is a JSON-LD document that maps URIs to balances:

{
  "@context": "https://w3id.org/webledgers",
  "type": "WebLedger",
  "id": "https://example.com/ledger/1",
  "name": "Universal Web Credits",
  "description": "Cross-platform ledger for web credits",
  "defaultCurrency": "satoshi",
  "created": 1705276800,
  "updated": 1705316200,
  "entries": [
    {
      "type": "Entry",
      "url": "https://github.com/user#this",
      "amount": "100000"
    },
    {
      "type": "Entry",
      "url": "did:nostr:de7ecd1e2976a6adb2ffa5f4db81a7d812c8bb6698aa00dcf1e76adb55efd645",
      "amount": [
        { "currency": "satoshi", "value": "50000" },
        { "currency": "USD", "value": "25.00" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Amount Formats

Simple String Format (single currency):

{
  "url": "https://github.com/user#this",
  "amount": "100000"
}

Multi-Currency Array Format:

{
  "url": "https://example.com/profile#me",
  "amount": [
    { "currency": "satoshi", "value": "50000" },
    { "currency": "USD", "value": "25.00" },
    { "currency": "points", "value": "1000" }
  ]
}

Well-Known Directory Convention

Web Ledgers follow RFC 5785 well-known URI conventions:

project/
├── .well-known/
│   └── webledgers/
│       └── webledgers.json    ← Default location
├── cli.js
├── index.js
└── package.json

🎨 Command Line Interface

Quick Start

# Interactive mode - full featured workflow
webledgers interactive

# Create a new ledger
webledgers create

# Add entries to existing ledger
webledgers add

# View all balances
webledgers balance

# Query specific balance interactively
webledgers query

# Show complete ledger with metadata
webledgers show

# Validate ledger structure
webledgers validate

Command Reference

webledgers create [options]

Create a new ledger with interactive wizard.

Options:

• -o, --output <file> - Output file (default: .well-known/webledgers/webledgers.json)

Example:

webledgers create -o my-ledger.json

webledgers add [file] [options]

Add entries to an existing ledger.

Arguments:

• file - Ledger file path (optional, defaults to well-known location)

Options:

• -f, --file <file> - Ledger file path

Example:

webledgers add
webledgers add my-ledger.json

webledgers balance [file] [options]

Display all balances in the ledger.

Arguments:

• file - Ledger file path (optional)

Options:

• -f, --file <file> - Ledger file path
• -c, --currency <currency> - Filter by specific currency

Examples:

webledgers balance                    # Show all balances
webledgers balance -c USD            # Show only USD balances
webledgers balance my-ledger.json    # Use specific file

webledgers query [file] [options]

Interactive balance query for specific URI.

Arguments:

• file - Ledger file path (optional)

Options:

• -f, --file <file> - Ledger file path

Example:

webledgers query

webledgers show [file] [options]

Display complete ledger contents with metadata.

Arguments:

• file - Ledger file path (optional)

Options:

• -f, --file <file> - Ledger file path
• -c, --currency <currency> - Currency for totals display

Example:

webledgers show -c satoshi

webledgers validate [file] [options]

Validate ledger structure and data.

Arguments:

• file - Ledger file path (optional)

Options:

• -f, --file <file> - Ledger file path

Example:

webledgers validate

webledgers total [file] [options]

Calculate total balances by currency.

Arguments:

• file - Ledger file path (optional)

Options:

• -f, --file <file> - Ledger file path
• -c, --currency <currency> - Specific currency (shows all if not specified)

Examples:

webledgers total              # Show all currency totals
webledgers total -c USD       # Show USD total only

webledgers search [file] [options]

Search entries by criteria (interactive if no criteria specified).

Arguments:

• file - Ledger file path (optional)

Options:

• -f, --file <file> - Ledger file path
• --url <pattern> - URL pattern to search for
• --min-amount <amount> - Minimum amount
• --max-amount <amount> - Maximum amount
• -c, --currency <currency> - Currency for amount filters

Examples:

webledgers search                                    # Interactive search
webledgers search --url "github"                    # Find GitHub entries
webledgers search --min-amount "1000" -c satoshi    # Find entries with >1000 satoshi

webledgers merge [options]

Merge two ledgers.

Options:

• -a, --first <file> - First ledger file (default: well-known path)
• -b, --second <file> - Second ledger file (required)
• -o, --output <file> - Output file (default: well-known path)
• -s, --strategy <strategy> - Conflict strategy: replace|add|skip (default: replace)

Example:

webledgers merge -b other-ledger.json -s add

webledgers interactive

Full interactive mode with guided workflows.

Alias: webledgers i

Example:

webledgers interactive

📚 JavaScript API

Basic Usage

const { WebLedger, createLedger, loadLedger } = require('webledgers')

// Create a new ledger
const ledger = createLedger({
  name: 'My Ledger',
  description: 'A ledger for tracking web credits',
  defaultCurrency: 'satoshi'
})

// Add entries
ledger.addEntry('https://github.com/user#this', '100000')
ledger.addEntry('mailto:[email protected]', [
  { currency: 'USD', value: '50.00' },
  { currency: 'points', value: '1000' }
])

// Query balances
const balance = ledger.getBalance('https://github.com/user#this')
console.log(balance) // "100000"

const usdBalance = ledger.getBalance('mailto:[email protected]', 'USD')
console.log(usdBalance) // "50.00"

// Get totals
const totalSatoshi = ledger.getTotalBalance('satoshi')
const totalUSD = ledger.getTotalBalance('USD')

// Validate
const validation = ledger.validate()
if (validation.isValid) {
  console.log('✅ Ledger is valid')
} else {
  console.log('❌ Validation errors:', validation.errors)
}

// Save to JSON-LD
const jsonData = ledger.toJSON(true) // pretty printed

WebLedger Class Methods

Constructor

const ledger = new WebLedger(options)

Options:

• context - JSON-LD context URI
• id - Ledger identifier URI
• name - Human-readable ledger name
• description - Ledger description
• defaultCurrency - Default currency code
• created - Creation timestamp
• updated - Last update timestamp

Entry Management

// Add or update entry
const entry = ledger.addEntry(uri, amount)

// Remove entry
const removed = ledger.removeEntry(uri)

// Get specific entry
const entry = ledger.getEntry(uri)

// Update balance
const updated = ledger.updateBalance(uri, newAmount)

Querying

// Get balance for specific currency
const balance = ledger.getBalance(uri, currency)

// Get total for currency
const total = ledger.getTotalBalance(currency)

// Count entries
const count = ledger.getEntryCount()

// Find entries by criteria
const results = ledger.findEntries({
  url: 'github',
  minAmount: '1000',
  currency: 'satoshi'
})

Validation

// Validate entire ledger
const validation = ledger.validate()
// Returns: { isValid: boolean, errors: string[], warnings: string[] }

// Validate single entry
const entryValidation = ledger.validateEntry(entry)

Serialization

// Export to JSON-LD
const json = ledger.toJSON(pretty)

// Load from data
const ledger = loadLedger(jsonData)

Ledger Operations

// Merge with another ledger
ledger.merge(otherLedger, 'replace') // 'replace', 'add', or 'skip'

// URI validation
const isValid = ledger.isValidURI(uri)

Utility Functions

const {
  createLedger,
  loadLedger,
  validateLedgerData,
  generateLedgerId
} = require('webledgers')

// Create new ledger
const ledger = createLedger(options)

// Load from JSON data
const ledger = loadLedger(jsonData)

// Validate without creating instance
const validation = validateLedgerData(rawData)

// Generate unique ID
const id = generateLedgerId()

🌍 Use Cases & Examples

Social Platform Credits

{
  "@context": "https://w3id.org/webledgers",
  "type": "WebLedger",
  "name": "Social Platform Credits",
  "defaultCurrency": "points",
  "entries": [
    {
      "type": "Entry",
      "url": "https://github.com/alice#this",
      "amount": "2500"
    },
    {
      "type": "Entry",
      "url": "https://twitter.com/bob#this",
      "amount": "1200"
    }
  ]
}

Gaming Rewards

{
  "@context": "https://w3id.org/webledgers",
  "type": "WebLedger",
  "name": "Gaming Tournament Rewards",
  "defaultCurrency": "coins",
  "entries": [
    {
      "type": "Entry",
      "url": "did:nostr:abc123...",
      "amount": [
        { "currency": "coins", "value": "1000" },
        { "currency": "gems", "value": "50" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Cryptocurrency Tracking

{
  "@context": "https://w3id.org/webledgers",
  "type": "WebLedger",
  "name": "Bitcoin Holdings",
  "defaultCurrency": "satoshi",
  "entries": [
    {
      "type": "Entry",
      "url": "bitcoin:1Kr6QSydW9bFQG1mXiPNNu6WpJGmUa9i1g",
      "amount": "2100000"
    },
    {
      "type": "Entry",
      "url": "txo:btc:f4184fc596403b9d638783cf57adfe4c75c605f6356fbc91338530e9831e9e16:0",
      "amount": "5000000000"
    }
  ]
}

Reputation System

{
  "@context": "https://w3id.org/webledgers",
  "type": "WebLedger",
  "name": "Developer Reputation",
  "defaultCurrency": "reputation-points",
  "entries": [
    {
      "type": "Entry",
      "url": "https://github.com/developer#this",
      "amount": "8500"
    },
    {
      "type": "Entry",
      "url": "mailto:[email protected]",
      "amount": "6200"
    }
  ]
}

Educational Credits

{
  "@context": "https://w3id.org/webledgers",
  "type": "WebLedger",
  "name": "Course Credits",
  "defaultCurrency": "credit-hours",
  "entries": [
    {
      "type": "Entry",
      "url": "mailto:[email protected]",
      "amount": "120"
    }
  ]
}

🔧 Validation

Web Ledgers include comprehensive validation with both errors and warnings:

Validation Levels

Errors (prevent ledger from being valid):

• Missing required fields (entries array)
• Invalid URI formats
• Malformed amount values
• Invalid currency objects

Warnings (recommended but not required):

• Missing @context field
• Missing type field
• Missing entry type fields

Example Validation Output

✅ Ledger is valid!
⚠️  Warnings:
  • Missing @context field (recommended for JSON-LD compliance)
  • Entry 0: Missing or invalid type field (recommended for JSON-LD compliance)

🌐 Supported URI Schemes

Web Ledgers support any valid URI scheme, including:

• HTTP/HTTPS: https://example.com/profile#me
• WebID: https://person.example.com/card#i
• Email: mailto:[email protected]
• Phone: tel:+15550123456
• Bitcoin: bitcoin:1Kr6QSydW9bFQG1mXiPNNu6WpJGmUa9i1g
• Nostr DID: did:nostr:abc123...
• Custom URNs: urn:voucher:xyz789
• Social Platforms: https://github.com/user#this

🏛️ Architecture

Core Components

1. WebLedger Class - Main ledger management
2. Entry Class - Individual URI-balance mappings
3. CLI Tool - Interactive command-line interface
4. Validation System - Comprehensive structure validation
5. Serialization - JSON-LD export/import

Data Flow

┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   JSON-LD       │    │   WebLedger     │    │   CLI/API       │
│   Data          │◄──►│   Instance      │◄──►│   Interface     │
│                 │    │                 │    │                 │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
         ▲                       ▲                       ▲
         │                       │                       │
         ▼                       ▼                       ▼
┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   File System   │    │   Validation    │    │   User Input    │
│   Storage       │    │   System        │    │   Wizards       │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘

🚦 Getting Started

1. Install Web Ledgers

npm install -g webledgers

2. Create Your First Ledger

webledgers create

Follow the interactive wizard to set up your ledger.

3. Add Some Entries

webledgers add

Use the entry wizard to add URI-balance mappings.

4. View Your Balances

webledgers balance

See all balances in a beautiful table format.

5. Explore More Commands

webledgers --help

📖 Specification

The complete Web Ledgers specification is available at: https://solidpayorg.github.io/webledgers/

The specification defines:

• JSON-LD data models
• Serialization formats
• Interoperability guidelines
• URI scheme support
• Multi-currency handling

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our contributing guidelines:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature-name
3. Make your changes with tests
4. Run validation: npm test
5. Commit changes: git commit -m "Add feature"
6. Push to branch: git push origin feature-name
7. Create Pull Request

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/solidpayorg/webledgers.git
cd webledgers
npm install
./cli.js --help

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

🔗 Links

• Homepage: https://solidpayorg.github.io/webledgers/
• Repository: https://github.com/solidpayorg/webledgers
• Issues: https://github.com/solidpayorg/webledgers/issues
• NPM Package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/webledgers

👥 Community

• Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• Issues: GitHub Issues
• W3C Community: Web Payments Community Group

Web Ledgers - Making the web a ledger, one URI at a time. 🌐💰