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Serialization Standard

We provide a custom implementation to serialize data structures used by the Casper node to their byte representation. This document details how this custom serialization is implemented, allowing developers to build a library that implements the custom serialization.

In your smart contracts, you can implement serialization using cltype-any.

Account​

An Account is a structure that represents a user on a Casper network. The account structure consists of the following fields:

Account Hash​

A blake2b hash of the public key, representing the address of a user's account. The account hash serializes as a 32-byte buffer containing the bytes of the account hash.

Action Thresholds​

The minimum weight thresholds that have to be met when executing an action of a certain type. It serializes as three consecutive u8 values as follows.

  • deployment The minimum weight threshold required to perform deployment actions as a u8 value.

  • upgrade_management The minimum weight threshold required to perform upgrade management actions as a u8 value.

  • key_management The minimum weight threshold required to perform key management actions as a u8 value.

Activation Point​

The first era to which the associated protocol version applies. It serializes as a single u8 tag indicating if the era in question is genesis. If it is the genesis era, the following bytes will be a timestamp. If not, the bytes represent an era_id.

  • era_id An Era ID newtype identifying the era when the protocol version will activate.

  • timestamp A timestamp if the activation point is of the Genesis variant.

Approval​

A struct containing a signature and the public key of the signer.

  • signature The approval signature, which serializes as the byte representation of the Signature. The first byte within the signature is 1 in the case of an Ed25519 signature or 2 in the case of Secp256k1.

  • signer The public key of the approvals signer. It serializes to the byte representation of the PublicKey. If the PublicKey is an Ed25519 key, then the first byte within the serialized buffer is 1 followed by the bytes of the key itself; else, in the case of Secp256k1, the first byte is 2.

AssociatedKey​

A key granted limited permissions to an Account, for purposes such as multisig. It is serialized as a BTreeMap where the first 4 bytes represent a u32 value describing the number of keys and weights held within. The remainder consists of a repeating pattern of serialized named keys and then weights of the length dictated by the first four bytes.

  • account_hash The account hash of the associated key.

  • weight The weight of an associated key. The weight serializes as a u8 value.

AvailableBlockRange​

An unbroken, inclusive range of blocks. It serializes as two consecutive u64 values containing the following two fields:

  • low The inclusive lower bound of the range.

  • high - The inclusive upper bound of the range.

Bid​

An entry in the validator map. The structure consists of the following fields:

  • validator_public_key The validator's public key. It serializes as a PublicKey.

  • bonding_purse The purse used for bonding. It serializes as a Uref.

  • staked_amount The amount of tokens staked by a validator (not including delegators). It serializes as a U512 value.

  • delegation_rate The delegation rate of the bid. It serializes as an i32 signed 32-bit integer primitive.

  • vesting_schedule The vesting schedule for a genesis validator. None if it is a non-genesis validator. It serializes as an Option.

  • delegators The validator's delegators, indexed by their public keys. They are serialized as a BTreeMap where the first 4 bytes represent a u32 value describing the number of PublicKeys and delegators held within. The remainder consists of a repeating pattern of serialized PublicKeys and then delegators of the length dictated by the first four bytes.

  • inactive If the validator has been evicted. A boolean value that serializes as a single byte; true maps to 1, while false maps to 0.

Block​

A block is the core component of the Casper linear blockchain, used in two contexts:

  1. A data structure containing a collection of transactions. Blocks form the primary structure of the blockchain.
  2. A message that is exchanged between nodes containing the data structure as explained in (1).

Each block has a globally unique ID, achieved by hashing the contents of the block.

Each block points to its parent. An exception is the first block, which has no parent.

A block is structurally defined as follows:

  • hash: A hash over the header of the block.
  • header: The header of the block that contains information about the contents of the block with additional metadata.
  • body: The block's body contains the proposer of the block and hashes of deploys and transfers contained within it.

Block hash​

The block hash is a Digest over the contents of the block Header. The BlockHash serializes as the byte representation of the hash itself.

Block header​

The header portion of a block, structurally, is defined as follows:

  • parent_hash: is the hash of the parent block. It serializes to the byte representation of the parent hash. The serialized buffer of the parent_hash is 32 bytes long.
  • state_root_hash: is the global state root hash produced by executing this block's body. It serializes to the byte representation of the state root hash. The serialized buffer of the state_root_hash is 32 bytes long.
  • body_hash: the hash of the block body. It serializes to the byte representation of the body hash. The serialized buffer of the body_hash is 32 bytes long.
  • random_bit: is a boolean needed for initializing a future era. It is serialized as a single byte; true maps to 1, while false maps to 0.
  • accumulated_seed: A seed needed for initializing a future era. It serializes to the byte representation of the parent Hash. The serialized buffer of the accumulated_hash is 32 bytes long.
  • era_end: contains equivocation and reward information to be included in the terminal finalized block. It is an optional field. Thus if the field is set as None, it serializes to 0. The serialization of the other case is described in the EraEnd.
  • timestamp: The timestamp from when the block was proposed. It serializes as a single u64 value. The serialization of a u64 value is described in the CLValues section.
  • era_id: Era ID in which this block was created. It serializes as a single u64 value.
  • height: The height of this block, i.e., the number of ancestors. It serializes as a single u64 value.
  • protocol_version: The version of the Casper network when this block was proposed. It is 3-element tuple containing u32 values. It serializes as a buffer containing the three u32 serialized values. Refer to the CLValues section on how u32 values are serialized.

EraEnd​

EraEnd as represented within the block header, is a struct containing two fields.

  • era_report: The first field is termed as EraReport and contains information about equivocators and rewards for an era.
  • next_era_validator_weights: The second field is map for the validators and their weights for the era to follow.

EraReport itself contains two fields:

  • equivocators: A vector of PublicKey.
  • rewards: A Binary Tree Map of PublicKey and u64.

When serializing an EraReport, the buffer is first filled with the individual serialization of the PublicKey contained within the vector.

  • If the PublicKey is an Ed25519 key, the first byte within the buffer is a 1 followed by the individual bytes of the serialized key.
  • If the PublicKey is an Secp256k1 key, the first byte within the buffer is a 2 followed by the individual bytes of the serialized key.

When serializing the overarching struct of EraEnd, we first allocate a buffer, which contains the serialized representation of the EraReport as described above, followed by the serialized BTreeMap.

Note that EraEnd is an optional field. Thus the above scheme only applies if there is an EraEnd; if there is no era end, the field simply serializes to 0.

Body​

The body portion of the block is structurally defined as:

  • proposer: The PublicKey which proposed this block.
  • deploy_hashes: Is a vector of hex-encoded hashes identifying Deploys included in this block.
  • transfer_hashes: Is a vector of hex-encoded hashes identifying Transfers included in this block.

When we serialize the BlockBody, we create a buffer that contains the serialized representations of the individual fields present within the block.

  • proposer: serializes to the byte representation of the PublicKey. If the PublicKey is an Ed25519 key, then the first byte within the serialized buffer is 1 followed by the bytes of the key itself; else, in the case of Secp256k1, the first byte is 2.
  • deploy_hashes: serializes to the byte representation of all the deploy_hashes within the block header. Its length is 32 * n, where n denotes the number of deploy hashes present within the body.
  • transfer_hashes: serializes to the byte representation of all the deploy_hashes within the block header. Its length is 32 * n, where n denotes the number of transfers present within the body.

BlockIdentifier​

Identifier for possible ways to retrieve a Block. It can consist of any of the following in most situations:

  • hash Identify and retrieve a Block with its hash. The BlockHash serializes as the byte representation of the hash itself.

  • height Identify and retrieve the Block with its height. Height serializes as a single u64 value.

  • state_root_hash Identify and retrieve the Block with its state root hash. It serializes to the byte representation of the state root hash. The serialized buffer of the state_root_hash is 32 bytes long.

ChainspecRegistry​

ChainspecRegistry is a unique key variant which contains a mapping of file names to the hash of the file itself. This map includes Chainspec.toml and may include Accounts.toml and GlobalState.toml. It is serialized as a BTreeMap where the first 4 bytes represent a u32 value describing the number of names as strings and digests held within. The remainder consists of a repeating pattern of serialized strings and then digests of the length dictated by the first four bytes. Digests and their inclusion criteria are as follows:

  • chainspec_raw_hash will always be included.

  • genesis_accounts_raw_hash may be included in specific circumstances.

  • global_state_raw_hash may be included in specific circumstances.

Contract​

A contract struct containing the following fields:

ContractHash​

A blake2b hash of a contract. The contract hash serializes as a 32-byte buffer containing the bytes of the contract hash.

ContractPackageHash​

A blake2b hash of a contract package. The contract package hash serializes as a 32-byte buffer containing the bytes of the contract package hash.

ContractVersion​

The version of the contract.

  • contract_hash The contract hash of the contract.

  • contract_version The version of the contract within the protocol major version. It serializes as a u32 value.

  • protocol_version_major The major element of the protocol version this contract is compatible with. It serializes as a u32 value.

ContractWasmHash​

A blake2b hash of a contract's Wasm. The contract's Wasm hash serializes as a 32-byte buffer containing the bytes of the contract's Wasm hash.

Delegator​

Represents a party delegating their stake to a validator (or "delegatee"). The structure consists of the following fields:

  • delegator_public_key The public key of the delegator, serialized as a PublicKey.

  • staked_amount The amount staked by the delegator, serialized as a U512 value.

  • bonding_purse The bonding purse associated with the delegation. It serializes as a URef value.

  • validator_public_key The public key of the validator that the delegator will be delegating to, serialized as a PublicKey.

  • vesting_schedule The vesting schedule for the provided delegator bid. None if it is a non-genesis validator. It serializes as an Option.

Deploy​

A deploy is a data structure containing a smart contract and the requester's signature(s). Additionally, the deploy header contains additional metadata about the deploy itself. A deploy is structurally defined as follows:

  • hash: The hash of the deploy header.
  • header: Contains metadata about the deploy. The structure of the header is detailed further in this document.
  • payment: The payment code for contained smart contract.
  • session: The stored contract itself.
  • approvals: A list of signatures:

Deploy-Hash​

The deploy hash is a digest over the contents of the deploy header. The deploy hash serializes as the byte representation of the hash itself.

Deploy-Header​

  • account: A supported public key variant (currently either Ed25519 or Secp256k1). An Ed25519 key is serialized as a buffer of bytes, with the leading byte being 1 for Ed25519, with remainder of the buffer containing the byte representation of the signature. Correspondingly, a Secp256k1 key is serialized as a buffer of bytes, with the leading byte being 2.
  • timestamp: A timestamp is a struct that is a unary tuple containing a u64 value. This value is a count of the milliseconds since the UNIX epoch. Thus the value 1603994401469 serializes as 0xbd3a847575010000
  • ttl: The Time to live is defined as the amount of time for which deploy is considered valid. The ttl serializes in the same manner as the timestamp.
  • gas_price: The gas is u64 value which is serialized as u64 CLValue discussed below.
  • body_hash: Body hash is a hash over the contents of the deploy body, which includes the payment, session, and approval fields. Its serialization is the byte representation of the hash itself.
  • dependencies: Dependencies is a vector of deploy hashes referencing deploys that must execute before the current deploy can be executed. It serializes as a buffer containing the individual serialization of each DeployHash within the Vector.
  • chain_name: Chain name is a human-readable string describing the name of the chain as detailed in the chainspec. It is serialized as a String CLValue described below.

Payment & Session​

Payment and Session are both defined as ExecutableDeployItems. More information on ExecutableDeployItems can be found here

  • Module Bytes are serialized such that the first byte within the serialized buffer is 0 with the rest of the buffer containing the bytes present.

    • ModuleBytes { module_bytes: "[72 bytes]", args: 434705a38470ec2b008bb693426f47f330802f3bd63588ee275e943407649d3bab1898897ab0400d7fa09fe02ab7b7e8ea443d28069ca557e206916515a7e21d15e5be5eb46235f5 } will serialize to
    • 0x0048000000420481b0d5a665c8a7678398103d4333c684461a71e9ee2a13f6e859fb6cd419ed5f8876fc6c3e12dce4385acc777edf42dcf8d8d844bf6a704e5b2446750559911a4a328d649ddd48000000434705a38470ec2b008bb693426f47f330802f3bd63588ee275e943407649d3bab1898897ab0400d7fa09fe02ab7b7e8ea443d28069ca557e206916515a7e21d15e5be5eb46235f5

  • StoredContractByHash serializes such that the first byte within the serialized buffer is 1u8. This is followed by the byte representation of the remaining fields.

    • StoredContractByHash { hash: c4c411864f7b717c27839e56f6f1ebe5da3f35ec0043f437324325d65a22afa4, entry_point: "pclphXwfYmCmdITj8hnh", args: d8b59728274edd2334ea328b3292ed15eaf9134f9a00dce31a87d9050570fb0267a4002c85f3a8384d2502733b2e46f44981df85fed5e4854200bbca313e3bca8d888a84a76a1c5b1b3d236a12401a2999d3cad003c9b9d98c92ab1850 }
    • 0x01c4c411864f7b717c27839e56f6f1ebe5da3f35ec0043f437324325d65a22afa41400000070636c7068587766596d436d6449546a38686e685d000000d8b59728274edd2334ea328b3292ed15eaf9134f9a00dce31a87d9050570fb0267a4002c85f3a8384d2502733b2e46f44981df85fed5e4854200bbca313e3bca8d888a84a76a1c5b1b3d236a12401a2999d3cad003c9b9d98c92ab1850

  • StoredContractByName serializes such that the first byte within the serialized buffer is 2u8. This is followed by the individual byte representation of the remaining fields.

    • StoredContractByName { name: "U5A74bSZH8abT8HqVaK9", entry_point: "gIetSxltnRDvMhWdxTqQ", args: 07beadc3da884faa17454a }
    • 0x0214000000553541373462535a483861625438487156614b39140000006749657453786c746e5244764d685764785471510b00000007beadc3da884faa17454a

  • StoredVersionedContractByHash serializes such that the first byte within the serialized buffer is 3u8. However, the field version within the enum serializes as an Option CLValue.

    • StoredVersionedContractByHash { hash: b348fdd0d0b3f66468687df93141b5924f6bb957d5893c08b60d5a78d0b9a423, version: None, entry_point: "PsLz5c7JsqT8BK8ll0kF", args: 3d0d7f193f70740386cb78b383e2e30c4f976cf3fa834bafbda4ed9dbfeb52ce1777817e8ed8868cfac6462b7cd31028aa5a7a60066db35371a2f8 }
    • 0x03b348fdd0d0b3f66468687df93141b5924f6bb957d5893c08b60d5a78d0b9a423001400000050734c7a3563374a73715438424b386c6c306b463b0000003d0d7f193f70740386cb78b383e2e30c4f976cf3fa834bafbda4ed9dbfeb52ce1777817e8ed8868cfac6462b7cd31028aa5a7a60066db35371a2f8

  • StoredVersionedContractByName serializes such that the first byte within the serialized buffer is 4u8. The name and entry_point are serialized as a String CLValue, with the version field serializing as an Option.

    • StoredVersionedContractByName { name: "lWJWKdZUEudSakJzw1tn", version: Some(1632552656), entry_point: "S1cXRT3E1jyFlWBAIVQ8", args: 9975e6957ea6b07176c7d8471478fb28df9f02a61689ef58234b1a3cffaebf9f303e3ef60ae0d8 }
    • 0x04140000006c574a574b645a5545756453616b4a7a7731746e01d0c64e61140000005331635852543345316a79466c57424149565138270000009975e6957ea6b07176c7d8471478fb28df9f02a61689ef58234b1a3cffaebf9f303e3ef60ae0d8

  • Transfer serializes such that the first byte within the serialized buffer contains is 5u8, with the remaining bytes of the buffer containing the bytes contained within the args field of Transfer.

Approval​

Approval contains two fields:

  • signer: The public key of the approvals signer. It serializes to the byte representation of the PublicKey. If the PublicKey is an Ed25519 key, then the first byte within the serialized buffer is 1 followed by the bytes of the key itself; else, in the case of Secp256k1, the first byte is 2.
  • signature: The approval signature, which serializes as the byte representation of the Signature. The first byte within the signature is 1 in the case of an Ed25519 signature or 2 in the case of Secp256k1.

DeployInfo​

Information relating to a given deploy. The structure consists of the following fields:

  • deploy_hash The hash of the relevant deploy, serialized as a byte representation of the hash itself.

  • transfers Transfers performed by the deploy, serialized as a List.

  • from The account identifier of the creator of the deploy, serialized as an account_hash.

  • source The source purse used for payment of the deploy, serialized as a URef.

  • gas The gas cost of executing the deploy, serialized as a U512.

Digest​

A blake2b hash digest. The digest serializes as a byte representation of the hash itself.

DisabledVersions​

Disabled contract versions, containing the following:

  • contract_version The version of the contract within the protocol major version. It serializes as a u32 value.

  • protocol_version_major The major element of the protocol version this contract is compatible with. It serializes as a u32 value.

EntryPoint​

A type of signature method. Order of arguments matters, since this can be referenced by index as well as name.

  • name The name of the entry point, serialized as a String.

  • args Arguments for this method. They serialize as a list of the Parameters, where each parameter represents an argument passed to the entrypoint.

  • ret The return type of the method, serialized as a Unit.

  • access An enum describing the possible access control options for a contract entry point. It serializes as a 1 for public or a 1 followed by a List of authorized users.

  • entry_point_type Identifies the type of entry point. It serializes as a 0 for Session and a 1 for Contract.

EraID​

An Era ID newtype. It serializes as a single u64 value.

EraInfo​

Auction metadata, intended to be recorded each era. It serializes as a List of seigniorage allocations.

ExecutionEffect​

The journal of execution transforms from a single deploy.

  • operations The resulting operations, serialized as a List of operations.

  • transforms The actual transformation performed while executing a deploy.

ExecutionResult​

The result of a single deploy. It serializes as a u8 tag indicating either Failure as a 0 or Success as a 1. This is followed by the appropriate structure below:

Failure​

The result of a failed execution.

  • effect The effect of executing the deploy.

  • transfers A record of transfers performed while executing the deploy, serialized as a List.

  • cost The cost of executing the deploy, serializes as a U512 value.

  • error_message The error message associated with executing the deploy, serialized as a String.

Success​

The result of a successful execution.

  • effect The effect of executing the deploy.

  • transfers A record of transfers performed while executing the deploy, serialized as a List.

  • cost The cost of executing the deploy, serializes as a U512 value.

Group​

A (labeled) "user group". Each method of a versioned contract may be associated with one or more user groups which are allowed to call it. User groups are serialized as a String.

Groups​

They are serialized as a BTreeMap where the first 4 bytes represent a u32 value describing the number of user groups and BTreeSets of URefs held within. The remainder consists of a repeating pattern of serialized user groups and BTreeSets of the length dictated by the first four bytes.

Keys​

In this chapter, we describe what constitutes a "key", the permissions model for the keys, and how they are serialized.

A key in Global State is one of the following data types:

  • 32-byte account identifier (called an "account identity key")
  • 32-byte immutable contract identifier (called a "hash key")
  • 32-byte reference identifier (called an "unforgeable reference")
  • 32-byte transfer identifier
  • 32-byte deploy information identifier
  • 32-byte purse balance identifier
  • 32-byte Auction bid identifier
  • 32-byte Auction withdrawal identifier
  • 32-byte Dictionary identifier
  • 32-byte System Contract Registry
  • 32-byte Auction unbond identifier
  • 32-byte Chainspec Registry

The one exception to note here is the identifier for EraInfo, which actually serializes as a u64 value with an additional byte for the tag.

Account identity key​

This key type is used specifically for accounts in the global state. All accounts in the system must be stored under an account identity key, and no other types. The 32-byte identifier which represents this key is derived from the blake2b256 hash of the public key used to create the associated account (see Accounts for more information).

Hash key​

This key type is used for storing contracts immutably. Once a contract is written under a hash key, that contract can never change. The 32-byte identifier representing this key is derived from the blake2b256 hash of the deploy hash (see block-structure-head for more information) concatenated with a 4-byte sequential ID. The ID begins at zero for each deploy and increments by one each time a contract is stored. The purpose of this ID is to allow each contract stored in the same deploy to have a unique key.

Unforgeable Reference (URef)​

URef broadly speaking can be used to store values and manage permissions to interact with the value stored under the URef. URef is a tuple which contains the address under which the values are stored and the Access rights to the URef. Refer to the Unforgeable Reference section for details on how URefs are managed.

Transfer Key​

This key type is used specifically for transfers in the global state. All transfers in the system must be stored under a transfer key and no other type. The 32-byte identifier which represents this key is derived from the blake2b256 hash of the transfer address associated with the given transfer

DeployInfo Key​

This key type is used specifically for storing information related to deploys in the global state. Information for a given deploy is stored under this key only. The 32-byte identifier which represents this key is derived from the blake2b256 hash of the deploy itself.

EraInfo Key​

This key type is used specifically for storing information related to the Auction metadata for a particular era. The underlying data type stored under this is a vector of the allocation of seigniorage for that given era. The identifier for this key is a new type that wraps around the primitive u64 data type and co-relates to the era number when the auction information was stored.

This key type is used specifically for storing information related to auction bids in the global state. Information for the bids is stored under this key only. The 32-byte identifier which represents this key is derived from the blake2b256 hash of the public key used to create the associated account (see Accounts for more information).

This key type is used specifically for storing information related to auction withdraws in the global state. Information for the withdrawals is stored under this key only. The 32-byte identifier which represents this key is derived from the blake2b256 hash of the public key used to create the associated account (see Accounts for more information).

Serialization for Key​

Given the different variants for the over-arching Key data-type, each of the different variants is serialized differently. This section of this chapter details how the individual variants are serialized. The leading byte of the serialized buffer acts as a tag indicating the serialized variant.

KeySerialization Tag
Account0
Hash1
URef2
Transfer3
DeployInfo4
EraInfo5
Balance6
Bid7
Withdraw8
Dictionary9
SystemContractRegistry10
EraSummary11
Unbond12
ChainspecRegistry13
ChecksumRegistry14
BidAddr15

| Package | 16 | | AddressableEntity | 17 | | ByteCode | 18 | | Message | 19 |

  • Account serializes as a 32 byte long buffer containing the byte representation of the underlying AccountHash
  • Hash serializes as a 32 byte long buffer containing the byte representation of the underlying Hash itself.
  • URef is a tuple that contains the address of the URef and the access rights to that URef. The serialized representation of the URef is 33 bytes long. The first 32 bytes are the byte representation of the URef address, and the last byte contains the bits corresponding to the access rights of the URef. Refer to the CLValue section of this chapter for details on how AccessRights are serialized.
  • Transfer serializes as a 32 byte long buffer containing the byte representation of the hash of the transfer.
  • DeployInfo serializes as 32 byte long buffer containing the byte representation of the Deploy hash. See the Deploy section above for how Deploy hashes are serialized.
  • EraInfo serializes a u64 primitive type containing the little-endian byte representation of u64.
  • Balance serializes as 32 byte long buffer containing the byte representation of the URef address.
  • Bid and Withdraw both contain the AccountHash as their identifier; therefore, they serialize in the same manner as the Account variant.
  • Dictionary serializes as the 32 byte long buffer containing the byte representation of the seed URef hashed with the identifying name of the dictionary item.
  • SystemContractRegistry serializes as a 32 byte long buffer of zeros.
  • EraSummary serializes as a 32 byte long buffer of zeros.
  • Unbond contains the AccountHash as its identifier; therefore, it serialize in the same manner as the Account variant.
  • ChainspecRegistry serializes as a 32 byte long buffer of ones.
  • ChecksumRegistry serializes as a 32 byte long buffer of zeros.
  • BidAddr may be one of three types:
    • Unified serializes as the tag 0 followed by a 32 byte long buffer containing the byte representation of a legacy bid.
    • Validator serializes as the tag 1 followed by a 32 byte long buffer containing the byte representation of a validator's hash.
    • Delegator serializes as the tag 2 followed by a 32 byte long buffer containing the byte representation of the associated validator's hash, appended with a 32 byte long buffer containing the byte representation of the given delegator's hash.

Permissions​

There are three types of actions that can be done on a value: read, write, add. The reason for add to be called out separately from write is to allow for commutativity checking. The available actions depend on the key type and the context. Some key types only allow controlled access by smart contracts via the contract API, and other key types refer to values produced and used by the system itself and are not accessible to smart contracts at all but can be read via off-chain queries. This is summarized in the table below:

KeyType Available Actions
AccountRead + Add (via API)
HashRead
URefRead + Write and/or Add
TransferSystem
DeploySystem
EraInfoSystem
BalanceRead (via API)
BidSystem
WithdrawSystem
DictionaryRead (via API)
SystemContractRegistryRead (via API)
UnbondSystem
ChainspecRegistryRead (via API)

Refer to URef permissions on how permissions are handled in the case of URefs.

NamedArg​

Named arguments to a contract. It is serialized by the combination of a String followed by the associated CLValue.

NamedKey​

A mapping of string identifiers to a Casper Key type. It is serialized as a BTreeMap where the first 4 bytes represent a u32 value describing the number of named keys and values held within. The remainder consists of a repeating pattern of serialized named keys and then values of the length dictated by the first four bytes.

  • name The name of the entry. It serializes as a string.

  • key The value of the entry, which is a Casper Key type.

The named keys portion of the account structure serializes as a mapping of a string to Casper Key values as described here.

Operation​

An operation performed while executing a deploy. It contains:

  • key The formatted string of the key, serialized as a String.

  • kind OpKind, The type of operation performed. It serializes as a single byte based on the following table:

OpKindSerialization
Read0
Write1
Add2
NoOp3

Parameter​

Parameter to a method, structured as a name followed by a CLType. It is serialized as a String followed by a CLType.

ProtocolVersion​

A newtype indicating the Casper Platform protocol version. It is serialized as three u32 values indicating major, minor and patch versions in that order.

PublicKey​

Hex-encoded cryptographic public key, including the algorithm tag prefix. Serialization can be found under PublicKey.

RuntimeArgs​

Represents a collection of arguments passed to a smart contract. They serialize as a List comprised of Tuples.

SeigniorageAllocation​

Information about seigniorage allocation.

If the seigniorage allocation in question is for a validator, it serializes as the validator's PublicKey followed by the U512 amount.

If it is a delegator, it serializes as the delegator's PublicKey, followed by the validator's PublicKey and finally the U512 amount.

Signature​

The signature serializes the byte representation of the underlying cryptographic primitive signature. The first byte within the signature is 1 in the case of an Ed25519 signature or 2 in the case of Secp256k1.

SystemContractRegistry​

SystemContractRegistry is a unique Key under which a mapping of the names and ContractHashes for system contracts. This includes Mint, Auction, HandlePayment and StandardPayment. It is serialized as a BTreeMap where the first 4 bytes represent a u32 value describing the number of names as strings and ContractHashes held within. The remainder consists of a repeating pattern of serialized strings and then ContractHashes of the length dictated by the first four bytes.

TimeDiff​

A human-readable duration between two timestamps. It serializes as a single u64 value.

Timestamp​

A timestamp formatted as per RFC 3339 and serialized as a single u64 value.

TransferAddr​

Hex-encoded transfer address, which serializes as a byte representation of itself.

Transform​

The actual transformation performed while executing a deploy. It serializes as a single u8 value indicating the type of transform performed as per the following table. The remaining bytes represent the information and serialization as listed.

Transform TypeSerializationDescription
Identity0A transform having no effect, created as a result of reading from the global state.
Write1Writes a new value in the global state.
AddInt322Adds the given i32.
AddUInt643Adds the given u64.
AddUInt1284Adds the given U128.
AddUInt2565Adds the given U256.
AddUInt5126Adds the given U512.
AddKeys7Adds the given collection of named keys.
Failure8A failed transformation, containing an error message.
Prune9Removes the pathing to the global state entry of the specified key. The pruned element remains reachable from previously generated global state root hashes, but will not be included in the next generated global state root hash and subsequent states.

TransformEntry​

A transformation performed while executing a deploy.

UnbondingPurse​

A purse used for unbonding. The structure consists of the following:

  • bonding_purse The bonding purse, serialized as a URef.

  • validator_public_key The public key of the validator, serialized as a PublicKey.

  • unbonder_public_key The public key of the unbonder, serialized as a PublicKey.

  • era_of_creation Era in which this unbonding request was created, as an EraId newtype, which serializes as a u64 value.

  • amount The unbonding amount, serialized as a U512 value.

  • new_validator The validator public key to redelegate to, serialized as an Option containing the public key.

Values​

A value stored in the global state is a StoredValue. A StoredValue is one of three possible variants:

  • A CLValue
  • A contract
  • An account

We discuss CLValue and contract in more detail below. Details about accounts can be found in accounts-head.

Each StoredValue is serialized when written to the global state. The serialization format consists of a single byte tag, indicating which variant of StoredValue it is, followed by the serialization of that variant. The tag for each variant is as follows:

  • CLValue is 0
  • Account is 1
  • Contract is 2

The details of CLType serialization are in the following section. Using the serialization format for CLValue as a basis, we can succinctly write the serialization rules for contracts and accounts:

  • contracts serialize in the same way as data with CLType equal to Tuple3(List(U8), Map(String, Key), Tuple3(U32, U32, U32));
  • accounts serialize in the same way as data with CLType equal to Tuple5(ByteArray(U8, 32), Map(String, Key), URef, Map(ByteArray(U8, 32), U8), Tuple2(U8, U8)).

Note: Tuple5 is not a presently supported CLType. However, it is clear how to generalize the rules for Tuple1, Tuple2, Tuple3 to any size tuple.

CLValue​

CLValue is used to describe data that is used by smart contracts. This could be as a local state variable, input argument, or return value. A CLValue consists of two parts: a CLType describing the type of the value and an array of bytes representing the data in our serialization format.

CLType is described by the following recursive data type:

enum CLType {
   Bool, // boolean primitive
   I32, // signed 32-bit integer primitive
   I64, // signed 64-bit integer primitive
   U8, // unsigned 8-bit integer primitive
   U32, // unsigned 32-bit integer primitive
   U64, // unsigned 64-bit integer primitive
   U128, // unsigned 128-bit integer primitive
   U256, // unsigned 256-bit integer primitive
   U512, // unsigned 512-bit integer primitive
   Unit, // singleton value without additional semantics
   String, // e.g. "Hello, World!"
   URef, // unforgeable reference (see above)
   Key, // global state key (see above)
   PublicKey // A Casper system PublicKey type
   Option(CLType), // optional value of the given type
   List(CLType), // list of values of the given type (e.g. Vec in rust)
   ByteArray(CLType, u32), // same as `List` above, but number of elements
                           // is statically known (e.g. arrays in rust)
   Result(CLType, CLType), // co-product of the given types;
                           // one variant meaning success, the other failure
   Map(CLType, CLType), // key-value association where keys and values have the given types
   Tuple1(CLType), // single value of the given type
   Tuple2(CLType, CLType), // pair consisting of elements of the given types
   Tuple3(CLType, CLType, CLType), // triple consisting of elements of the given types
   Any // Indicates the type is not known
}

All data which can be assigned a (non-Any) CLType can be serialized according to the following rules (this defines the Casper serialization format):

Boolean​

Boolean values serialize as a single byte; true maps to 1, while false maps to 0.

Numeric​

Numeric values consisting of 64 bits or less serialize in the two's complement representation with little-endian byte order, and the appropriate number of bytes for the bit-width.

  • E.g. 7u8 serializes as 0x07

  • E.g. 7u32 serializes as 0x07000000

  • E.g. 1024u32 serializes as 0x00040000

  • Wider numeric values (i.e. U128, U256, U512) serialize as one byte given the length of the next number (in bytes), followed by the two's complement representation with little-endian byte order. The number of bytes should be chosen as small as possible to represent the given number. This is done to reduce the serialization size when small numbers are represented within a wide data type.

  • E.g. U512::from(7) serializes as 0x0107

  • E.g. U512::from(1024) serializes as 0x020004

  • E.g. U512::from("123456789101112131415") serializes as 0x0957ff1ada959f4eb106

Unit​

Unit serializes to an empty byte array.

String​

Strings serialize as a 32-bit integer representing the length in bytes (note: this might be different than the number of characters since special characters, such as emojis, take more than one byte), followed by the UTF-8 encoding of the characters in the string.

  • E.g. "Hello, World!" serializes as 0x0d00000048656c6c6f2c20576f726c6421

Option​

Optional values serialize with a single byte tag, followed by the serialization of the value itself. The tag is equal to 0 if the value is missing, and 1 if it is present.

  • E.g. None serializes as 0x00
  • E.g. Some(10u32) serializes as 0x010a000000

List​

A list of values serializes as a 32-bit integer representing the number of elements in the list (note this differs from strings where it gives the number of bytes), followed by the concatenation of each serialized element.

  • E.g. List() serializes as 0x00000000
  • E.g. List(1u32, 2u32, 3u32) serializes as 0x03000000010000000200000003000000

ByteArray​

A fixed-length list of values serializes as the concatenation of the serialized elements. Unlike a variable-length list, the length is not included in the serialization because it is statically known by the type of the value.

  • E.g. [1u32, 2u32, 3u32] serializes as 0x010000000200000003000000

Result​

A Result serializes as a single byte tag followed by the serialization of the contained value. The tag is equal to 1 for the success variant and 0 for the error variant.

-   E.g. `Ok(314u64)` serializes as `0x013a01000000000000`
-   E.g. `Err("Uh oh")` serializes as `0x00050000005568206f68`

Tuple​

Tuples serialize as the concatenation of their serialized elements. Similar to ByteArray the number of elements is not included in the serialization because it is statically known in the type.

-   E.g. `(1u32, "Hello, World!", true)` serializes as `0x010000000d00000048656c6c6f2c20576f726c642101`

Map​

A Map serializes as a list of key-value tuples. There must be a well-defined ordering on the keys, and in the serialization, the pairs are listed in ascending order. This is done to ensure determinism in the serialization, as Map data structures can be unordered.

URef​

URef values serialize as the concatenation of its address (which is a fixed-length list of u8) and a single byte tag representing the access rights. Access rights are converted as follows:

Access RightsSerialization
NONE0
READ1
WRITE2
READ_WRITE3
ADD4
READ_ADD5
ADD_WRITE6
READ_ADD_WRITE7
-   E.g. `uref-974019c976b5f26412ce486158d2431967af35d91387dae8cbcd43c20fce6452-007` shows a `URef` with full `READ_ADD_WRITE` rights.
danger

When passing a URef to another entity on chain, you must ensure that the AccessRights are set correctly. If the URef represents a purse, AccessRights impact who can deposit and withdraw CSPR.

If a passed URef contains ADD permissions, the entity receiving the URef will then be able to deposit CSPR into the associated purse. WRITE permissions allow for withdrawing CSPR. As of 1.4.5, passing a main purse URef as a runtime argument will cause the host to automatically remove WRITE permissions. In this event, READ and ADD permissions will remain. Regardless, all due diligence should be performed to avoid passing a URef with WRITE permissions unintentionally.

PublicKey​

PublicKey serializes as a single byte tag representing the algorithm followed by 32 bytes of the PublicKey itself:

  • If the PublicKey is a System key, the single tag byte is 0. With this variant, the single byte of 0 is the entire key.
  • If the PublicKey is an Ed25519 key, the single tag byte is 1 followed by the individual bytes of the serialized key.
  • If the PublicKey is a Secp256k1 key, the single tag byte is a 2 followed by the individual bytes of the serialized key.

Key​

Key values serialize as a single byte tag representing the variant, followed by the serialization of the data that variant contains. For most variants, this is simply a fixed-length 32-byte array. The exception is Key::URef, which contains a URef; so its data serializes per the description above. The tags are as follows: Key::Account serializes as 0, Key::Hash as 1, Key::URef as 2.

CLType​

CLType itself also has rules for serialization. A CLType serializes as a single-byte tag, followed by the concatenation of serialized inner types, if any (e.g., lists and tuples have inner types). ByteArray is a minor exception because it also includes the length in the type. However, the length is included in the serialization (as a 32-bit integer, per the serialization rules above), following the serialization of the inner type. The tags are as follows:

CLTypeSerialization Tag
Bool0
I321
I642
U83
U324
U645
U1286
U2567
U5128
Unit9
String10
Key11
URef12
Option13
List14
ByteArray15
Result16
Map17
Tuple118
Tuple219
Tuple320
Any21
PublicKey22

CLValue​

A complete CLValue, including both the data and the type, can also be serialized (to store it in the global state). This is done by concatenating: the serialization of the length (as a 32-bit integer) of the serialized data (in bytes), the serialized data itself, and the serialization of the type.

Contracts​

Contracts are a special value type because they contain the on-chain logic of the applications running on a Casper network. A contract contains the following data:

  • a wasm module
  • a collection of named keys
  • a protocol version

The wasm module must contain a function named call, which takes no arguments and returns no values. This is the main entry point into the contract. Moreover, the module may import any of the functions supported by the Casper runtime.

Note: though the call function signature has no arguments and no return value, within the call function body, the get_named_arg runtime function can be used to accept arguments (by ordinal), and the ret runtime function can be used to return a single CLValue to the caller.

The named keys are used to give human-readable names to keys in the global state, which are essential to the contract. For example, the hash key of another contract it frequently calls may be stored under a meaningful name. It is also used to store the URefs, which are known to the contract (see the section on Permissions for details).

Each contract specifies the Casper protocol version that was active when the contract was written to the global state.

WithdrawPurse​

A purse used for unbonding, replaced in 1.5 by UnbondingPurse. WithdrawPurses prior to 1.5 were known as UnbondingPurses and now consist of historical data.

  • bonding_purse The bonding purse, serialized as a URef.

  • validator_public_key The public key of the validator, serialized as a PublicKey.

  • unbonder_public_key The public key of the unbonder, serialized as a PublicKey.

  • era_of_creation Era in which this unbonding request was created, as an EraId newtype, which serializes as a u64 value.

  • amount The unbonding amount, serialized as a U512 value.

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