Quickstart Guide

Create your first cryptographic receipt in 5 minutes

Prerequisites

✓A CertNode account (sign up at certnode.io/pricing)
✓An API key (get one from your dashboard)
✓Basic knowledge of REST APIs and JSON

Get Your API Key

🔐 Security: API keys are sensitive. Never commit them to version control or expose them in client-side code. Use environment variables.

# .env (example)
CERTNODE_API_KEY=cn_live_abc123xyz789...

Create Your First Receipt

Send a POST request to /api/v1/receipts with your receipt data:

cURL

curl -X POST https://certnode.io/api/v1/receipts \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "type": "transaction",
    "data": {
      "amount": 299.99,
      "currency": "USD",
      "product": "Annual Subscription",
      "customer_email_hash": "a3f2b1c4d5e6..."
    },
    "metadata": {
      "platform": "stripe",
      "environment": "production"
    }
  }'

Node.js / TypeScript

const response = await fetch('https://certnode.io/api/v1/receipts', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'X-API-Key': process.env.CERTNODE_API_KEY,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    type: 'transaction',
    data: {
      amount: 299.99,
      currency: 'USD',
      product: 'Annual Subscription',
      customer_email_hash: 'a3f2b1c4d5e6...'
    },
    metadata: {
      platform: 'stripe',
      environment: 'production'
    }
  })
})

const receipt = await response.json()
console.log('Receipt created:', receipt.id)

Python

import requests
import os

response = requests.post(
    'https://certnode.io/api/v1/receipts',
    headers={
        'X-API-Key': os.getenv('CERTNODE_API_KEY'),
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    json={
        'type': 'transaction',
        'data': {
            'amount': 299.99,
            'currency': 'USD',
            'product': 'Annual Subscription',
            'customer_email_hash': 'a3f2b1c4d5e6...'
        },
        'metadata': {
            'platform': 'stripe',
            'environment': 'production'
        }
    }
)

receipt = response.json()
print(f"Receipt created: {receipt['id']}")

Response

{
  "id": "rcpt_abc123xyz789",
  "type": "transaction",
  "created_at": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "data": {
    "amount": 299.99,
    "currency": "USD",
    "product": "Annual Subscription",
    "customer_email_hash": "a3f2b1c4d5e6..."
  },
  "metadata": {
    "platform": "stripe",
    "environment": "production"
  },
  "signature": "eyJhbGciOiJFUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9...",
  "timestamp_token": "MIIGfQYJKoZIhvcNAQcCoIIGbjCCBmoCAQE...",
  "verified": true,
  "verification_url": "https://certnode.io/verify/rcpt_abc123xyz789"
}

✅ Success! Your receipt is now cryptographically signed with an RFC 3161 timestamp. It cannot be tampered with and meets legal standards.

Verify the Receipt

Anyone can independently verify your receipt using the verification endpoint:

cURL

curl https://certnode.io/api/v1/verify/rcpt_abc123xyz789

Response

{
  "id": "rcpt_abc123xyz789",
  "verified": true,
  "verification_details": {
    "signature_valid": true,
    "timestamp_valid": true,
    "chain_valid": true
  },
  "created_at": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

You can also view the receipt in a browser at:

https://certnode.io/verify/rcpt_abc123xyz789

Link Receipts Together

Create receipt chains by referencing parent receipts. This is useful for tracking multi-step processes (e.g., order → fulfillment → delivery):

// Create child receipt that references parent
curl -X POST https://certnode.io/api/v1/receipts \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "type": "operations",
    "data": {
      "event": "order_fulfilled",
      "tracking_number": "1Z999AA10123456784",
      "shipped_date": "2025-01-16"
    },
    "parent_id": "rcpt_abc123xyz789",
    "metadata": {
      "platform": "shipstation"
    }
  }'

💡 Tip: Receipt chains create an immutable audit trail. Each child receipt proves the parent existed first (verified via timestamp).

Privacy Best Practices

⚠️ Never Include Raw PII

Don't store raw emails, credit card numbers, or SSNs in receipts. Use hashes instead:

import crypto from 'crypto'

// ❌ DON'T: Raw email
const badReceipt = {
  data: {
    customer_email: "john@example.com"
  }
}

// ✅ DO: Hashed email
const goodReceipt = {
  data: {
    customer_email_hash: crypto
      .createHash('sha256')
      .update("john@example.com")
      .digest('hex')
    // Result: a3f2b1c4d5e6...
  }
}

For more details, see our Privacy Guide.