SPE — Stateless Proof Engine

Certify AI Outputs. Detect Temporal Violations. Verify Offline. Forever.

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What is SPE?

SPE (Stateless Proof Engine) is an open cryptographic engine for certifying AI outputs — proving that what an LLM said, when it said it, and what context it had, has not been tampered with.

🤖 Built for the AI Era

• Certify LLM outputs — GPT-4, Claude, Gemini, Llama, or any model
• Detect temporal violations — TVOC: when an AI "knows" things it shouldn't
• Prove context integrity — Which RAG documents fed the AI response
• Verify offline forever — No server, no blockchain, no dependency on SPE

📄 Also Works For

• Digital forensics and legal evidence
• Compliance and regulatory auditing (GDPR, HIPAA, ISO 27001)
• Email and communication integrity

Why Not Blockchain?

Feature	SPE	Blockchain Notaries	Traditional Notaries
Offline Verification	✅ Yes	❌ No (requires node)	❌ No (requires authority)
Data Custody	❌ None (stateless)	⚠️ Public ledger	✅ Centralized
Cost per Proof	Free (self-hosted)	€5–50	€20–100
Speed	< 2 seconds	Minutes (block confirmation)	Days (manual process)
Privacy	✅ Stateless	❌ Public	⚠️ Centralized logs
Long-Term Viability	✅ Offline forever	⚠️ Depends on blockchain	⚠️ Depends on notary

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Core Design Philosophy

1. No Custody — SPE never stores your files. Processing is transient (in-memory only).
2. No History — No logs, no databases of user activity. Privacy by design.
3. Portable — Proofs are self-contained. You own the evidence, not the service.
4. Hermetic Verification — Proofs can be verified offline, forever, with zero dependencies on SPE infrastructure.

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Cryptographic Stack

Component	Technology	Purpose
Hashing	SHA-256	Cryptographic fingerprint of content
Signing	Ed25519 (Curve25519)	Digital signature ensuring proof origin
Proof Structure	Merkle Tree	Tamper detection for context items
Hash Chain	SHA-256 Append-Only	Sequential anti-tampering ledger
Encoding	Base64	Portable binary-to-text for signatures
Canonicalization	Deterministic JSON	Reproducible hashing across implementations

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Quick Start

Installation

git clone https://github.com/joinsnipe/SPE_AUDIT.git
cd SPE_AUDIT
pip install -r requirements.txt

Generate a Proof (Python API)

from spe_engine import generate_proof

# Certify a file
result = generate_proof(file_path="document.pdf")
print(f"Proof generated: {result.zip_path}")
print(f"Capsule hash:    {result.capsule_hash}")

# Certify text content (e.g., AI output)
result = generate_proof(content="The answer to life is 42.")
print(f"Proof generated: {result.zip_path}")

# Certify a pre-computed hash (zero-upload mode)
result = generate_proof(hash_hex="a" * 64)
print(f"Proof generated: {result.zip_path}")

Generate a Proof (CLI)

# Certify a text document
python -m cli attest \
  --t_target 2026 \
  --policy strict \
  --text_file my_document.txt \
  --out_dir my_proof/

# Export a human-readable proof block
python -m cli proof \
  --capsule my_proof/forensic_capsule.json \
  --ledger my_proof/ledger.sqlite

Verify a Proof (CLI)

# Verify a proof bundle (offline)
cd my_proof/verify/
python verify_bundle.py \
  --capsule ../forensic_capsule.json \
  --ledger ../ledger.sqlite \
  --file ../original_document.pdf

Output:

LEDGER: VALID
CAPSULE_BINDING: VALID
PROOF_INPUT_HASH: 7f83b1657ff1fc53b92dc18148a1d65dfc2d4b1fa3d677284addd200126d9069
SIGNATURE: VALID
ORIGIN_SPE: UNKNOWN
OBJECT: MATCH

Verify a Proof (Python API)

from spe_engine import verify_proof
from pathlib import Path

result = verify_proof(
    bundle_path=Path("SPE_Proof_20260216.zip"),
    original_file=Path("document.pdf"),
)
print(f"Valid: {result.valid}")
print(f"Match: {result.match_status}")  # "MATCH" or "MISMATCH"

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Verification Semantics

Result	Meaning
LEDGER: VALID	The hash-chain is mathematically intact (no entries modified or removed)
CAPSULE_BINDING: VALID	The forensic capsule matches the ledger's recorded capsule hash
SIGNATURE: VALID	Ed25519 signature verified against the embedded public key
OBJECT: MATCH	The file is byte-for-byte identical to the certified version
OBJECT: MISMATCH	The file has been altered since certification

Important Disclaimers

• VALID means mathematical integrity ONLY
• VALID does NOT mean truth, authorship, intent, or legal authority
• SPE does not prove who created a file — only that it hasn't been altered
• The verifier is READ-ONLY; it never modifies files

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Architecture

SPE_AUDIT/
├── spe_engine/               # Core cryptographic engine
│   ├── core/                 # Capsule, Ledger, Context, Merkle, Temporal
│   ├── crypto/               # SHA-256 hashing, Ed25519 signing
│   ├── proof_input/          # Manifest canonicalization and signing
│   ├── tvoc/                 # Temporal Violation of Context detection
│   └── api.py                # High-level generate_proof / verify_proof
├── cli/                      # Command-line tools
│   ├── attest.py             # Generate attestation from text + context
│   ├── proof.py              # Export human-readable proof block
│   └── verify_object.py      # Verify file against capsule
├── verify_kit/               # Hermetic offline verifier
│   ├── verify_bundle.py      # Zero-dependency verification script
│   └── capsule_ledger/       # Portable data structures for verification
├── tests/                    # Test suite
├── docs/                     # Technical documentation
│   ├── WHITE_PAPER.md        # White Paper v1.0
│   ├── PROTOCOL_SPEC.md
│   ├── ARCHITECTURE.md
│   └── AI_CERTIFICATION_GUIDE.md
├── examples/                 # Usage examples
└── requirements.txt

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What's in a Proof Bundle?

A proof bundle (.zip) contains:

File	Purpose
forensic_capsule.json	The core attestation record (hashes, timestamps, policy)
ledger.sqlite	Append-only hash-chain for anti-tampering
signature.json	Optional Ed25519 origin signature
verify/	Self-contained verification kit (works offline forever)

Forensic Capsule Structure

{
  "t_run": 1708099200,
  "t_target": 2026,
  "gate_policy_id": "strict",
  "model_id": "gpt-4",
  "output_hash": "sha256:7f83b1657ff1fc53b92dc18148a1d65d...",
  "mode": "text",
  "hash_alg": "sha256",
  "artifact_type": "ai-output",
  "context_merkle_root": "a3b8d1b60b3b4b1a9c1a1a2b3c4d5e6f...",
  "proof_input": { ... },
  "proof_input_hash": "9c1a1a2b3c4d5e6f7a8b9c0d1e2f3a4b..."
}

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Use Cases

1. AI Output Certification

Certify what an AI said, when it said it, and what context it had:

from spe_engine import generate_proof

# Certify an AI response
result = generate_proof(
    content="Based on the Q3 2025 report, revenue grew 15%.",
    model_id="gpt-4-turbo",
    artifact_type="ai-output",
    policy="strict",
    t_target=2025,
)

2. Document Integrity

Prove a file existed in a specific form at a specific time:

result = generate_proof(
    file_path="contract_v2.pdf",
    artifact_type="legal-document",
)

3. TVOC Detection (Temporal Violation of Context)

Detect when an AI produces information it shouldn't know based on the declared time:

from spe_engine.tvoc import detect_tvoc_strong

result = detect_tvoc_strong(
    output_text="In 2027, the EU passed new regulations...",
    t_target=2025,
    context_has_post_target=False,
)
# result: {"tvoc": "STRONG", "violating_years": [2027], "t_target": 2025}

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Public Key

SPE's production Ed25519 public key for signature verification:

G7aHboCJsVDCM5exNfewMAyFpbI6ulcy9a5lrIeonyk=

This key can be used to verify that a proof was generated by SPE's production infrastructure.

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Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Key areas for contribution:

• Additional language implementations (Node.js, Go, Rust verifiers)
• Post-Quantum Cryptography integration (ML-DSA / Dilithium)
• Browser-based verification tools (WebCrypto API)
• Documentation and tutorials

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License

This project is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 (BSL 1.1).

• ✅ Free for non-commercial use, research, education, and personal projects
• ✅ Free for internal evaluation and testing
• ⚠️ Commercial use requires a license — contact contacto@speaudit.com
• 📅 Change Date: February 16, 2030 — after which the code becomes Apache 2.0

See LICENSE for full terms.

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Contact & Support

• Website: speaudit.com
• Email: contacto@speaudit.com
• Commercial Licensing: contacto@speaudit.com
• GitHub Issues: SPE_AUDIT Issues

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SPE — Stateless. Portable. Verifiable.

Patent Pending — © 2024-2026 SPE Audit / Joinsnipe