Content Address

• 1. Property method
• 2. Property hash

Title: Content Address

Description: This schema describes the JSON representation of Nix's ContentAddress type, which conveys information about content-addressing store objects.

Note

For current methods of content addressing, this data type is a bit suspicious, because it is neither simply a content address of a file system object (the method is richer), nor simply a content address of a store object (the hash doesn't account for the references). It should thus only be used in contexts where the references are also known / otherwise made tamper-resistant.

1. Property method

Title: Content-Addressing Method

Description: A string representing the method of content addressing that is chosen.

Valid method strings are:

• flat (provided the contents are a single file)
• nar
• text
• git

Must be one of:

• "flat"
• "nar"
• "text"
• "git"

2. Property hash

Title: Content Address

Description: This would be the content-address itself.

For all current methods, this is just a content address of the file system object of the store object, as described in the store chapter, and not of the store object as a whole. In particular, the references of the store object are not taken into account with this hash (and currently-supported methods).

Examples:

"sha256-ungWv48Bz+pBQUDeXa4iI7ADYaOWF3qctBD/YfIAFa0="

"sha512-IEqPxt2oLwoM7XvrjgikFlfBbvRosiioJ5vjMacDwzWW/RXBOxsH+aodO+pXeJygMa2Fx6cd1wNU7GMSOMo0RQ=="

Examples

Text method

{
  "hash": "sha256-8OTC92xYkW7CWPJGhRvqCR0U1CR6L8PhhpRGGxgW4Ts=",
  "method": "text"
}

Nix Archive method

{
  "hash": "sha256-9vLqj0XYoFfJVmoz+ZR02i5camYE1zYSFlDicwxvsKM=",
  "method": "nar"
}