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Overview

DeDi Node is a self-hostable, open-source server for the Decentralized Directory protocol, with an append-only Merkle log underneath so anyone can check that what it serves was published and never rewritten.

What DeDi is

In the standard's own words, DeDi is "an open protocol for publishing public directories — public key directories, revocation and sanctions lists, membership rolls, professional and company registers — so that any party can discover them and verify what they say." Data is organised as namespaces (an organisation, usually a domain), registries (lists of records with a schema) and records. The standard is maintained by LF Decentralized Trust: decentralized-directory-protocol, which this node is measured against at commit 52e120d.

It defines two things: a read API (lookup, query, versions) and a way to publish directories as signed files. It does not define how records get written, and it does not keep history tamper-evident. This node adds both.

What this node implements

The standard

Extensions

It is a Merkle log, not a blockchain. There is one writer per log, no consensus among strangers and no token. What stops an operator rewriting history is that the rewrite cannot be made consistent with a checkpoint someone else already holds, and witnesses are the someone else.

Five roles

One binary, configured by environment variables, plays any of these. A node can also witness another whatever its role.

Role What it is
standalone a directory of its own: its own key, its own log. What a first node is.
mirror serves what it crawled from other publishers; accepts no writes.
witness checks another node's log is append-only and records verdicts.
replica one member of a Raft set sharing one identity. Uptime, not trust.
child holds one namespace delegated by a parent node, under its own key.

Deployment modes explains how roles and trust levels combine; the console's Add a node tab renders the configuration for each.

Where to go next

→ Quickstart

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