CONFESSIONS.txt

Proof of Omertà

CONFESSIONS.txt is a local-first terminal protocol for turning plaintext testimony into a public, verifiable, encrypted artifact.

It is built for records that may need to exist before they can be safely read. The operator writes testimony locally, encrypts it with age, embeds the ciphertext inside a carrier image with HStego, archives the locked artifact on Arweave, and generates Base calldata that points to the record.

There is no hosted sealing service. The CLI does not receive files, hold keys, custody wallets, or broadcast transactions. It prepares the artifact; the operator controls disclosure.

Public verifier: https://confessionstxt.art/verify

NPX Verification Package

The repo includes @confessionstxt/cli under packages/cli/. It provides a human terminal verifier and a read-only MCP server for public verification work.

Caption command:

npx -y @confessionstxt/cli@latest verify 0x...

Agent command:

npx -y @confessionstxt/cli@latest mcp

It can:

• expose protocol, verification, CLI, and boundary resources
• resolve public Base/Arweave/verifier references
• parse public metadata labels
• validate public manifest shape
• check CSHA formatting
• generate local verification commands

It cannot decrypt testimony, request passphrases, request private keys, upload private material, custody wallets, broadcast transactions, or access sealed payload contents server-side.

Local source run from this repository:

npm --prefix packages/cli install
npm --prefix packages/cli run confessions -- verify 0x...
npm --prefix packages/cli run confessions -- mcp

Published MCP client configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "confessions-txt": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@confessionstxt/cli@latest", "mcp"]
    }
  }
}

What It Does

CONFESSIONS.txt turns one local testimony file into a durable public reference.

1. Record: write testimony as plaintext (.md, .txt, or similar).
2. Pack: archive the file into payload.tar.gz so the original filename survives.
3. Seal: encrypt the archive with age to produce payload.age.
4. Conceal: embed payload.age into a carrier image with HStego.
5. Archive: upload the locked artifact to Arweave through ArDrive.
6. Broadcast: generate Base calldata containing the artifact pointer and integrity hash.
7. Verify: resolve the public record and compare the extracted payload against the canonical hash.

The Python protocol CLI is command-oriented rather than an interactive shell. Each subcommand performs one protocol step: seal, push, mint, extract, or verify. That shape is intentional because each step has different local, public, and operational consequences.

Artifact Model

A completed record has three layers.

Local secret material

• plaintext testimony
• payload.tar.gz
• age passphrase
• optional stego passphrase, unless published as STEG

Public artifact material

• locked_artifact.jpg
• Arweave transaction ID
• Base transaction metadata
• optional STEG value if public extraction is intentional

Verification material

• payload.age
• CSHA = sha512(payload.age)
• browser or local verifier output

CSHA is the canonical integrity value. It is calculated over the encrypted payload, not over the plaintext archive.

Steganography is concealment and transport. Confidentiality comes from age.

Public and Private Surfaces

What can become public:

• the locked artifact on Arweave
• the Base metadata label
• the stego extraction secret if STEG is published on-chain
• the extracted payload.age if the stego secret is public

What remains private by default:

• the plaintext testimony file
• the age passphrase
• the stego passphrase
• the decrypted payload.tar.gz

Publishing STEG makes extraction of payload.age public. It does not disclose plaintext unless the age passphrase is also disclosed.

Security Model

• Local-first: plaintext remains on the operator's machine unless intentionally disclosed.
• Encryption boundary: age is the confidentiality layer. If the steganography is detected or removed, the recovered payload is still encrypted.
• Concealment layer: HStego hides the encrypted payload inside an image. No steganographic method should be treated as guaranteed undetectable.
• Public verifiability: anyone with the artifact and the correct extraction path can verify that sha512(payload.age) matches CSHA.
• No wallet custody: mint prints calldata. The operator signs and broadcasts manually from their own wallet.
• Explicit overwrite behavior: generated outputs are not overwritten unless --force is supplied.

CONFESSIONS.txt is not an anonymity system. It does not protect an operator from device compromise, unsafe operational behavior, exposed passphrases, hostile wallets, malicious dependencies, or legal risk.

This is R&D software. It can support a serious evidence workflow, but it is not a complete safety plan and is not a substitute for legal, medical, security, or crisis support.

Password Modes

seal supports split-pass mode and single-pass mode.

Split-pass mode

python3 cli/confess.py seal --image cover.jpg --text confession.md --gen-split-pass
python3 cli/confess.py seal --image cover.jpg --text confession.md --split-pass-prompt
python3 cli/confess.py seal --image cover.jpg --text confession.md --age-pass "<AGE_PASS>" --stego-pass "<STEGO_PASS>"

Split-pass mode separates extraction from decryption.

• stego-pass extracts payload.age from the locked artifact.
• age-pass decrypts payload.age back into payload.tar.gz.

This allows an operator to publish or share the stego secret for public checksum verification without disclosing the plaintext.

Single-pass mode

python3 cli/confess.py seal --image cover.jpg --text confession.md --gen-single-pass
python3 cli/confess.py seal --image cover.jpg --text confession.md --single-pass-prompt
python3 cli/confess.py seal --image cover.jpg --text confession.md --single-pass "<PASS>"

Single-pass mode uses one secret for both extraction and decryption. It is simpler, but it removes the separation between public extraction and private plaintext access.

Prefer prompt flags for manual secrets. Literal passphrase arguments can be visible in shell history and process lists.

On-Chain Metadata

mint builds a human-readable metadata label and prints the corresponding calldata:

TITLE | ARTXID:<ARWEAVE_TXID> | CSHA:<SHA512>
TITLE | ARTXID:<ARWEAVE_TXID> | CSHA:<SHA512> | STEG:<VALUE>

• TITLE names the record.
• ARTXID points to the Arweave artifact.
• CSHA is the canonical integrity value.
• STEG is optional and makes extraction public if included.

The Base transaction is the pointer layer. The artifact lives on Arweave. The plaintext testimony stays local unless the operator chooses to disclose it.

Manual broadcast settings:

• network: Base
• send: 0 ETH
• to: null address or self
• data: paste the printed calldata

Recommended wallet for manual calldata broadcast: Rabby

Use --steg-prompt when publishing STEG manually. Literal --steg values can be visible in shell history and process lists.

Repository Layout

• cli/confess.py - CLI for sealing, uploading, extracting, and verifying artifacts
• cli/confess - small entry wrapper for the CLI
• packages/cli/ - npm package for npx verification and MCP
• web/ - static site and browser verifier deployed at confessionstxt.art
• web/llms.txt, web/protocol.md, web/verify.md, web/mcp.md - public protocol and crawler documentation
• web/_headers - Cloudflare Pages security headers for the static verifier
• web/vendor/pretext/ - vendored Pretext browser layout dependency
• scripts/bootstrap_mac.sh - macOS setup helper
• scripts/install_hstego_mac.sh - macOS helper for building HStego with JPEG support

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11 / 3.12 recommended
• age
• HStego with native JPEG support
• ardrive CLI
• Node/npm if installing ardrive-cli or running the @confessionstxt/cli verifier/MCP package
• optional: ssss-split for Shamir secret splitting

Check the environment with:

python3 cli/confess.py doctor

Install

macOS

bash scripts/bootstrap_mac.sh
source .venv/bin/activate

The bootstrap script installs Homebrew prerequisites, creates .venv, installs Python/HStego dependencies, and runs doctor. If ardrive-cli is missing, it offers to install it with npm.

Ubuntu

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y age python3-pip build-essential libjpeg-dev python3-tk

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install --upgrade pip

python -m pip install imageio numpy scipy pycryptodome numba Pillow
python -m pip install git+https://github.com/daniellerch/hstego.git@v0.5

npm install -g ardrive-cli

Operator Workflow

1. Run diagnostics

python3 cli/confess.py doctor

doctor checks local dependencies and prints install hints for missing pieces.

2. Store your Arweave wallet path

python3 cli/confess.py init

init stores the selected wallet path in .confess/config.json. The config is local and should remain out of version control.

3. Seal a testimony

Generated split-pass mode:

python3 cli/confess.py seal --image cover.jpg --text confession.md --gen-split-pass

Manual split-pass mode:

python3 cli/confess.py seal --image cover.jpg --text confession.md --split-pass-prompt

Single-pass mode:

python3 cli/confess.py seal --image cover.jpg --text confession.md --gen-single-pass

seal creates:

• payload.tar.gz
• payload.age
• locked_artifact.jpg
• CSHA

Before embedding, the CLI reports the HStego payload budget for the selected cover image. If payload use is high, the artifact may still be created, but statistical concealment is weaker. Use a larger or more detailed cover image, or reduce the testimony size.

First HStego runs can be slow because of native build and JIT overhead. The CLI prints 15-second progress updates during embedding.

4. Create or identify an ArDrive destination

Example:

ardrive create-drive --wallet-file /path/to/wallet.json --drive-name "CONFESSIONS"

For confess.py push --folder-id, use the folder entityId from the created[] item where type == "folder".

Do not use:

• the drive entityId
• metadataTxId
• bundleTxId

If the drive already exists and the folder entityId is not saved, list the drive contents and reuse the target folder entityId.

5. Upload the locked artifact

python3 cli/confess.py push --file locked_artifact.jpg --folder-id <ARDRIVE_FOLDER_ENTITY_ID>

push prints:

• Arweave TXID
• https://arweave.net/<TXID>

6. Generate Base calldata

python3 cli/confess.py mint --title "Proof of Omertà" --txid <ARWEAVE_TXID> --csha <CSHA_SHA512>

Optional public extraction:

python3 cli/confess.py mint --title "Proof of Omertà" --txid <ARWEAVE_TXID> --csha <CSHA_SHA512> --steg-prompt

mint prints:

• the metadata string
• the 0x... calldata to paste into the transaction input field

Keep STEG private unless public extraction is intentional.

Verification

Browser Verifier

Use the public verifier:

https://confessionstxt.art/verify

Direct locator URLs are also supported:

https://confessionstxt.art/verify/<BASE_TX_HASH>

It resolves:

• Base transaction metadata
• linked Arweave artifact
• image preview and protocol record

The browser verifier is static and does not require a backend.

Local Verification

Extract the encrypted payload:

python3 cli/confess.py extract --image locked_artifact.jpg --stego-pass-prompt

For single-pass artifacts, use --single-pass-prompt instead.

Verify the checksum:

python3 cli/confess.py verify --file payload.age --csha <CSHA_SHA512>

Decrypt after a successful checksum match:

python3 cli/confess.py verify --file payload.age --csha <CSHA_SHA512> --decrypt --age-pass-prompt

For single-pass artifacts, use --single-pass-prompt instead.

Command Reference

• python3 cli/confess.py --help - print expanded help for all subcommands
• doctor - check dependencies and print install hints
• init - store Arweave wallet path and attempt address/balance lookup
• seal - package, encrypt, and embed a testimony file
• push - upload a locked artifact through ArDrive
• mint - generate Base calldata from title, TXID, and CSHA
• extract - recover payload.age from a locked artifact
• verify - compare payload.age against CSHA and optionally decrypt

Operational Notes

• .confess/config.json is local configuration and should remain out of version control.
• Prefer --*-prompt flags for manual secrets, including --steg-prompt when publishing STEG.
• Commands refuse to overwrite generated outputs unless --force is supplied.
• Embedding capacity is constrained by cover image size, format, and payload rate.
• No stego method is guaranteed undetectable.
• If STEG is published, anyone can extract payload.age from the public artifact, but plaintext still requires the age passphrase.
• Keep plaintext, passphrases, wallet files, and decrypted archives out of screenshots, shell history, cloud sync folders, and public logs.