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NOQTIS

Coming from sha256sum and GPG

A common way to publish files people can check is a digest list signed with GPG:

Terminal window
sha256sum results/* > SHA256SUMS
gpg --armor --detach-sign SHA256SUMS        # SHA256SUMS.asc
# the reader:
gpg --verify SHA256SUMS.asc SHA256SUMS
sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS

NOQTIS does the same job in one step, with a post-quantum signature:

Terminal window
noqtis keygen -a ML-DSA-65 -o me            # once: me (secret), me.pub
noqtis seal -k me results                   # writes noqtis.json, noqtis.sig
# the reader:
noqtis check -p me.pub results

What maps to what

Section titled “What maps to what”
sha256sum + GPG NOQTIS
gpg --full-generate-key noqtis keygen -a ML-DSA-65 -o me
your public key on a key server or web page me.pub, published the same way
SHA256SUMS noqtis.json, the manifest (size, SHA-256 and SHA3-256 of every file)
SHA256SUMS.asc noqtis.sig, the seal
gpg --verify + sha256sum -c noqtis check -p me.pub results
gpg --detach-sign file noqtis sign -k me file (writes file.sig)
gpg --verify file.sig file noqtis verify -p me.pub -s file.sig file

noqtis hash prints and checks the same <hex> <file> lines as sha256sum, so existing SHA256SUMS files keep working:

Terminal window
noqtis hash -c SHA256SUMS                   # like sha256sum -c
noqtis hash -a sha3-256 results/*           # other hashes too

What you gain

Section titled “What you gain”
  • A whole folder, not a list. sha256sum -c checks the files the list names and says nothing about files added next to them. noqtis check fails for an added file (extra), a missing one, a link or special file in place of a file, and an edited manifest.
  • A post-quantum signature. GPG keys are RSA, DSA, ECDSA or EdDSA; a large quantum computer would let someone forge them, including for files signed years earlier. ML-DSA and SLH-DSA are the NIST standards meant to resist that. A hybrid ML-DSA-65+Ed25519 key keeps a classical signature alongside.
  • One file format, no keyring. A public key is one .pub file, and nothing is imported into a keyring or trust database.
  • A time, if you want one. noqtis seal --tsa <url> adds an RFC 3161 timestamp, so a reader can prove the seal existed at that time.

What you give up

Section titled “What you give up”
  • The web of trust. GPG can tell you a key was signed by people you trust. NOQTIS has no key signing: you get the sealer’s .pub through a channel you trust (their web page, a paper, a signed release) and pin it with -p.
  • Encryption. gpg --encrypt encrypts files. NOQTIS has KEMs (noqtis enc, dec) that agree on a shared secret, but it does not encrypt files.
  • Ubiquity. gpg and sha256sum are installed nearly everywhere; your readers need noqtis (install).

Moving over

Section titled “Moving over”

You can do both for a while: seal the folder, and keep publishing a signed SHA256SUMS beside it for readers who do not have NOQTIS yet. Write SHA256SUMS outside the sealed folder, or before you seal it: a file added after sealing fails the check as extra. Ship noqtis.json and noqtis.sig inside the folder, in the same archive as the files.