NOVA SDK for Rust

Version: 1.0.3 License: MIT Network: NEAR Protocol Mainnet Crates: nova-sdk-rs

A Rust SDK for NOVA's secure, decentralized file-sharing primitive on NEAR. NOVA hybridizes on-chain access control with off-chain TEE-secured keys via Shade Agents, using nonce-based ed25519-signed tokens for ephemeral, verifiable access. This ensures privacy-first data sharing for AI datasets, healthcare/financial records, and sensitive documents.

Features

• 🔐 Zero-Knowledge Architecture - Keys managed in TEE; never exposed to SDK

• 🌐 IPFS Storage - Decentralized file storage via Pinata

• ⛓️ NEAR Blockchain - Immutable access control & transaction logs

• 🛡️ API Key Auth - Secure authentication via API keys (get yours at nova-sdk.com)

• 🔑 Automated Signing - MCP server signs transactions using keys from Shade TEE

• 👥 Group Management - Fine-grained membership with automatic key rotation on revocation

• 🚀 Composite Operations - Simplified workflows for upload/retrieve

Installation

Add to Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
nova-sdk-rs = "1.0.3"
tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }
chrono = "0.4"

⚠️ Mainnet Notice

NOVA v1.0.0 operates on NEAR mainnet by default. All operations consume real NEAR tokens.

Typical costs:

• Register group: 0.05 NEAR ($0.15 USD)

• Upload file: ~0.01 NEAR + IPFS storage

• Retrieve file: ~0.001 NEAR

For development, use testnet configuration:

let config = NovaSdkConfig::testnet()
    .with_api_key(&std::env::var("NOVA_API_KEY")?);
let sdk = NovaSdk::with_config("alice.nova-sdk-6.testnet", config)?;

Note: On testnet, IPFS operations are mocked (in-memory storage). Blockchain operations use real testnet with faucet tokens.

Quick Start

1. Prerequisites

1. Create a NOVA account at nova-sdk.com

2. Generate an API key from the "Manage Account" menu

3. Fund your account with NEAR tokens for transaction fees

2. Basic Usage

use nova_sdk_rs::{NovaSdk, NovaSdkConfig};
use std::fs;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    // Initialize SDK with API key
    let config = NovaSdkConfig::default()
        .with_api_key(&std::env::var("NOVA_API_KEY")?);
    let sdk = NovaSdk::with_config("alice.nova-sdk.near", config)?;

    // For testnet development:
    // let sdk = NovaSdk::testnet("alice.nova-sdk-6.testnet")?;

    // Verify connection
    println!("Network: {} | Contract: {}", sdk.network_id(), sdk.contract_id());

    // Register group
    sdk.register_group("my-secure-files").await?;

    // Upload file (client-side encryption)
    let file_data = fs::read("./confidential.pdf")?;
    let result = sdk.upload(
        "my-secure-files",
        &file_data,
        "confidential.pdf"
    ).await?;

    println!("✅ Uploaded: {}", result.cid);
    println!("📝 Transaction: {}", result.trans_id);

    // Retrieve file (client-side decryption)
    let retrieved = sdk.retrieve(
        "my-secure-files",
        &result.cid
    ).await?;

    fs::write("./decrypted.pdf", &retrieved.data)?;
    println!("✅ Decrypted!");

    Ok(())
}

Core Concepts

Groups

Groups manage shared access to encrypted files. Each group has:

• A unique identifier (group_id)

• An owner who manages membership

• A shared encryption key stored off-chain in Shade Agent/TEE (never stored publicly).

• A list of authorized members

Access Control (Ephemeral Tokens)

NOVA uses signed tokens for key access:

• Generate payload (group_id/user_id/nonce/timestamp/signing_pk_b58).

• Sign with ed25519 (from account keypair).

• Claim on-chain (claim_token): Verifies sig/membership/nonce (5min window), returns token.

• Present to Shade: TEE decrypts key, verifies checksum, responds transiently.

Encryption

All data is encrypted client-side using AES-256-GCM:

• 256-bit symmetric keys (retrieved from Shade TEE)

• 12-byte random IV per encryption

• Authenticated encryption with integrity verification

• SHA256 hashing for file integrity

• Keys never leave the client unencrypted

Transaction Recording

File metadata (CID/hash) is recorded on-chain automatically during composite_upload.

// Query group transactions
let txs = sdk.get_transactions_for_group("my_group", None).await?;
for tx in txs {
    println!("File: {} | IPFS: {}", tx.file_hash, tx.ipfs_hash);
}

Authentication

The SDK uses API keys for secure authentication. Get your key at nova-sdk.com:

1. Create or log into your NOVA account

2. Click "Manage Account"

3. Click "Generate API Key"

4. Copy the key (shown only once!)

# Store in .env (never commit to git!)
NOVA_ACCOUNT_ID=alice.nova-sdk.near
NOVA_API_KEY=nova_sk_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

use nova_sdk_rs::{NovaSdk, NovaSdkConfig};

// Initialize with API key
let config = NovaSdkConfig::default()
    .with_api_key(&std::env::var("NOVA_API_KEY")?);
let sdk = NovaSdk::with_config("alice.nova-sdk.near", config)?;

// Force refresh session token if needed
sdk.refresh_token().await?;

Note: One API key per account. Generating a new key invalidates the old one.

API Reference

Initialization

use nova_sdk_rs::{NovaSdk, NovaSdkConfig};

// Standard usage (mainnet) - API key required
let config = NovaSdkConfig::default()
    .with_api_key(&std::env::var("NOVA_API_KEY")?);
let sdk = NovaSdk::with_config("alice.nova-sdk.near", config)?;

// Testnet
let config = NovaSdkConfig::testnet()
    .with_api_key(&std::env::var("NOVA_API_KEY")?);
let sdk = NovaSdk::with_config("alice.nova-sdk-6.testnet", config)?;

// Force session token refresh if needed
sdk.refresh_token().await?;

Group Management

// Check authorization
sdk.auth_status(Some("my-group")).await?;

// Register group
sdk.register_group("my-group").await?;

// Add member
sdk.add_group_member("my-group", "bob.near").await?;

// Revoke member
sdk.revoke_group_member("my-group", "bob.near").await?;

File Operations

// Upload (encrypts locally, uploads to IPFS, records on NEAR)
let result = sdk.upload(group_id, &data, filename).await?;
// Returns: UploadResult { cid, trans_id, file_hash }

// Retrieve (fetches from IPFS, decrypts locally)
let retrieved = sdk.retrieve(group_id, ipfs_hash).await?;
// Returns: RetrieveResult { data, ipfs_hash, group_id }

Deprecated methods (still work, but emit warnings):

// Use upload() instead
sdk.composite_upload(group_id, &data, filename).await?;

// Use retrieve() instead  
sdk.composite_retrieve(group_id, ipfs_hash).await?;

Error Handling

The SDK uses a custom NovaError enum:

use nova_sdk_rs::NovaError;

match sdk.upload("my_group", b"data", "file.txt").await {
    Ok(result) => println!("CID: {}", result.cid),
    Err(NovaError::Near(msg)) => eprintln!("RPC error: {}", msg),
    Err(NovaError::Mcp(msg)) => eprintln!("MCP server error: {}", msg),
    Err(NovaError::Auth(msg)) => eprintln!("Authentication error: {}", msg),
    Err(NovaError::Token(msg)) => eprintln!("Token error: {}", msg),
    Err(NovaError::InvalidCid(cid)) => eprintln!("Invalid CID: {}", cid),
    Err(NovaError::ParseAccount) => eprintln!("Invalid account ID"),
    Err(NovaError::Http(msg)) => eprintln!("HTTP error: {}", msg),
    Err(NovaError::Encryption(msg)) => eprintln!("Encryption error: {}", msg),
    Err(NovaError::Decryption(msg)) => eprintln!("Decryption error: {}", msg),

🔐 Security Considerations

1. Never commit API keys - Use environment variables

2. Verify network - Check sdk.network_id() before operations

3. Validate file hashes - Compare after retrieval

4. Use TLS - Always connect over secure connections

5. Regenerate API keys - If compromised, generate a new key at nova-sdk.com

6. Client-side encryption - Keys are fetched from TEE and used locally; encrypted data travels separately from keys

Examples

See the examples directory for complete working examples:

• simple_upload.rs - Basic file upload

• group_management.rs - Managing groups and members

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository

2. Create a feature branch

3. Add tests for new functionality

4. Ensure all tests pass (cargo test)

5. Submit a pull request

License

MIT LICENSE - Copyright (c) 2026 CivicTech OÜ

Resources

• NOVA Documentation

• NEAR Protocol

• IPFS

• Pinata

• Shade Agent

• Phala TEEs

Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues

• Discussions: GitHub Discussions