@datapond/ar-web3-versions NPM

Notice: This project has been submitted to the EduHack 2023 on DevPost as part of the DataPond Project, the first decentralized free book library on the topic of Ethics and Sustainability.

@datapond/ar-web3-versions

A Smart contract aimed at keeping track of deployed versions for a decentralized web3 app. Typically, a downloadable installer, or a URL.

The contract state is:

{
    versions: {
        [platform: string]: {
            [version: string]: {timestamp: number, url: string}
        }
    },
    allowedKeys: {
        [pubKey: string]: {
            [accessRight: string]: number
        }
    }
}

It allows you to keep track of all deployed versions on a per platform basis.

For example:

const example = {
  Windows: {
    "1.0": "http://windows.url.for.version.1",
    "1.1": "http://windows.url.for.version.1.1",
    "1.2": "http://windows.url.for.version.1.2"
  },
  Flatpak: {
    "1.0": "http://Flatpak.url.for.version.1",
    "1.1": "http://Flatpak.url.for.version.1.1",
    "1.2": "http://Flatpak.url.for.version.1.2"
  }
}

The allowedKeys keeps track on which publick Keys is allowed to manage the deployments, and the admin keys.

This Program has 3 parts:

@datapond/ar-web3-versions A CLI that allows to create new contracts, manage keys, make new deployments and list versions (This Repo)
@datapond/ar-check-new-version - A javascript client for connecting to the smart contract, and check if there is an update
A Web GUI to manage versions (coming soon)

Getting started

1 - Get Arweave Wallet

Arweave is the evolution of web3 storage - providing decentralized permanent storage as a proof of work. To get quickly started:

get your free Wallet here: https://arweave.app/
read: https://www.communitylabs.com/blog/arweave-for-beginners-how-to-buy-arweave-tokens

Buying 5US$ worth of AR will be enough to update your contract weekly for the next 50 years.

When you have your wallet ready, download the jwk json key and store it safely at pathToYourKey.json.

2 - Create a new Contract

$ npx @datapond/ar-web3-versions new --jwk pathToYourKey.json

The Contract Id deployed is YOUR_CONTRACT_ID
Please give it 5min - It needs to be validated before being visible to all nodes on the blockchain
Deployment time: .....
you can inspect the Tx  at this URL: https://viewblock.io/arweave/tx/YOUR_CONTRACT_ID
and the contract here: https://viewblock.io/arweave/contract/YOUR_CONTRACT_ID

Now you have a contract deployed on the blockchain - with only your Key that is allowed to add or delete deployments from the deployment history.

Save your YOUR_CONTRACT_ID for later use.

3 - Deploy a new executable

Example for windows:

$ npx @datapond/ar-web3-versions deploy --platform win --version "1.1" --url "http://download.your.installer.here" --jwk pathToYourKey.json --contractId YOUR_CONTRACT_ID

The contract has now been updated with the latest version. Any client using @datapond/ar-check-new-version will be notified that a new version is available.

4 - Update your App

Inside your Javascript based App, include the following script.

Note that the client doesn't need to own a wallet to access the latest version.

npm install -D @datapond/ar-check-new-version

import {GetLatestVersion, Platforms} from '@datapond/ar-check-new-version';
import {version} from './package.json'; 

const contractId = 'YOUR_CONTRACT_ID'
const {version: latestVersion, url} = GetLatestVersion(Platforms.Windows, contractId);

if (latestVersion !== version) {
    alert(`A new version is available to download here: ${url}`)
}

API

npx @datapond/ar-web3-versions --help


Usage: @datapond/ar-web3-versions [options] [command]

CLI to deploy a smart contract to the Arweave Blockchain for managing deployments and versioning

Options:
  -V, --version            output the version number
  -h, --help               display help for command

Commands:
  new [options]            Deploy a new Versioning Contract - it will return the contract TransactionID that you need to save to re-use
  deploy [options]         register a new deployment, and update the contract state
  list [options]           list all
  check [options]          check if a transaction exists
  latest [options]         Get the latest version for the specified platform
  state [options]          Look at the global state of the contract
  GetVersionUrl [options]  Get Download Url for the specified version
  help [command]           display help for command