API Documentation for the Timestamp and Encryption Application

Please add pull requests in github. Always welcome to expand on this project.

This document provides details on all API endpoints for the Timestamp and Encryption Application and explains what each endpoint does.

Base URL

http://localhost:5000/

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CORS Configuration

CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) can be enabled or disabled in the application using an environment variable. The environment variable CORS can be set in the .env file as follows:

• Enable CORS: Set CORS=true or CORS=1 to allow cross-origin requests.
• Disable CORS: Set CORS=false or CORS=0 (default behavior).

CORS is useful when your frontend and backend are running on different domains or ports, and you want to allow them to communicate.

Example .env file:

CORS=true

---

1. /timestamp

Description:

This endpoint generates a timestamp token by signing the provided data with the current timestamp. The response includes the current timestamp and the base64-encoded signature of the timestamped data.

Method:

POST

Request Body (JSON):

• data: The document or message data to be timestamped.

Response (JSON):

• timestamp: The current UTC timestamp.
• timestamp_token: The base64-encoded signature of the data combined with the timestamp.

Example Request:

curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/timestamp \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"data": "Document data to timestamp"}'

Example Response:

{
  "timestamp": "2024-09-23T12:34:56.789123",
  "timestamp_token": "dGltZXN0YW1wX3NpZ25hdHVyZQ=="
}

---

2. /sign

Description:

Signs the provided data using the private key and returns the base64-encoded signature.

Method:

POST

Request Body (JSON):

• data: The data to sign.

Response (JSON):

• signature: The base64-encoded signature of the data.

Example Request:

curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/sign \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"data": "Message to sign"}'

Example Response:

{
  "signature": "c2lnbmF0dXJlX2luX2Jhc2U2NA=="
}

---

3. /decrypt

Description:

Decrypts the base64-encoded encrypted data using the private key and returns the decrypted plaintext.

Method:

POST

Request Body (JSON):

• data: The base64-encoded encrypted data to decrypt.

Response (JSON):

• decrypted_data: The decrypted plaintext data.

Example Request:

curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/decrypt \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"data": "YmFzZTY0X2VuY3J5cHRlZF9kYXRh"}'

Example Response:

{
  "decrypted_data": "Original decrypted message"
}

---

4. /encrypt

Description:

Encrypts the provided data using the public key and returns the base64-encoded encrypted data.

Method:

POST

Request Body (JSON):

• data: The data to encrypt.

Response (JSON):

• encrypted_data: The base64-encoded encrypted data.

Example Request:

curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/encrypt \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"data": "Message to encrypt"}'

Example Response:

{
  "encrypted_data": "YmFzZTY0X2VuY3J5cHRlZF9kYXRh"
}

---

5. /verify

Description:

Verifies if the provided signature was created using the private key for the provided data. The endpoint uses the public key for verification.

Method:

POST

Request Body (JSON):

• data: The original data (message or document) to verify.
• signature: The base64-encoded signature to verify.

Response (JSON):

• message: Either "Signature is valid" or "Signature is invalid".

Example Request:

curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/verify \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"data": "Message to verify", "signature": "YmFzZTY0X3NpZ25hdHVyZQ=="}'

Example Response (valid):

{
  "message": "Signature is valid"
}

Example Response (invalid):

{
  "message": "Signature is invalid",
  "error": "InvalidSignature: Signature verification failed"
}

---

Error Handling

In case of errors, the API returns an appropriate error message in the response body, along with an HTTP 400 status code.

Example Error Response:

{
  "error": "No data provided"
}

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Example Use Cases

• Timestamping: Use the /timestamp endpoint to generate timestamp tokens for document signing or auditing purposes (still work in progress).
• Digital Signatures: Use the /sign endpoint to digitally sign documents or messages.
• Encryption and Decryption: Use the /encrypt and /decrypt endpoints to securely transmit sensitive data.
• Signature Verification: Use the /verify endpoint to verify that a message or document was signed with the corresponding private key.