create-bap-identity

name	create-bap-identity
description	This skill should be used when the user asks to "create BAP identity", "new BAP", "Type42 identity", "Legacy BAP identity", "generate BAP", "set up BAP identity", "initialize BAP", "update profile", "get profile", "attest attribute", "BAP attestation", or needs to create or manage Bitcoin Attestation Protocol identities.

Create BAP Identity

Create and manage BAP (Bitcoin Attestation Protocol) identities.

Installation

bun add bsv-bap @bsv/sdk

Creating an Identity

import { BAP } from "bsv-bap";
import { PrivateKey } from "@bsv/sdk";

// Create BAP instance with new key
const privateKey = PrivateKey.fromRandom();
const bap = new BAP({ rootPk: privateKey.toWif() });

// Create identity
const identity = bap.newId("Alice Smith");

console.log("Identity Key:", identity.getIdentityKey());
console.log("Root Address:", identity.rootAddress);
console.log("Signing Address:", identity.getCurrentAddress());

BAP ID Format

The BAP library calls this the identityKey (via getIdentityKey()), but to avoid confusion with BRC-31 "identity keys" (which are public keys), we call it the BAP ID everywhere else.

Derivation: base58(ripemd160(sha256(rootAddress))) where rootAddress is the Bitcoin address of the member key.

This is NOT a Bitcoin address, NOT a public key, and NOT a BRC-31 identity key. It is a stable hash identifier that persists across signing key rotations.

BAP ID vs BRC-31 Identity Key

	BAP ID	BRC-31 Identity Key
What	Stable identity hash	Compressed secp256k1 public key
Format	~27 char base58 string	66 hex chars (02/03 prefix)
Example	Go8vCHAa4S6AhXK...	02a08a4bbb07ead...
Used in	BAP attestations, ClawNet bapId, Sigma Auth bap_id	BRC-31 Authrite headers, BRC-42/43 key derivation
Derived from	Member key's address (rootAddress)	Direct from private key

In BRC-100 wallets, the member key's pubkey is the BRC-31 identity key. You can derive the BAP ID from it: pubkey.toAddress() = rootAddress, then hash. This only works for the member key — NOT signing keys.

Key Derivation

BAP uses Type42 (BRC-42) key derivation with BRC-43 invoice numbers:

Purpose	Invoice Number	Security Level
Signing key	1-sigma-identity	1 (public protocol)
Friend encryption	2-friend-{sha256(friendBapId)}	2 (user-approved)

Signing Messages

import { Utils } from "@bsv/sdk";
const { toArray } = Utils;

// Sign a message
const message = toArray("Hello World", "utf8");
const { address, signature } = identity.signMessage(message);

// Verify (on any BAP instance)
const isValid = bap.verifySignature("Hello World", address, signature);

Friend Encryption

Derive friend-specific encryption keys via the BRC-100 wallet:

import { Hash, Utils } from "@bsv/sdk";
const { toHex, toArray } = Utils;

const keyID = toHex(Hash.sha256(toArray(friendBapId, "utf8")));

// Get encryption pubkey for a friend (share in friend requests)
const { publicKey } = await wallet.getPublicKey({
  protocolID: [2, "friend"],
  keyID,
  counterparty: "self",
});

// Encrypt data for friend
const { ciphertext } = await wallet.encrypt({
  protocolID: [2, "friend"],
  keyID,
  counterparty: friendIdentityKey,
  plaintext: toArray("secret message", "utf8"),
});

// Decrypt data from friend
const { plaintext } = await wallet.decrypt({
  protocolID: [2, "friend"],
  keyID,
  counterparty: friendIdentityKey,
  ciphertext,
});

Export/Import

// Export for backup
const backup = bap.exportForBackup("My Identity");
// { ids: "...", createdAt: "...", rootPk: "..." }

// Import from backup
const bap2 = new BAP({ rootPk: backup.rootPk });
bap2.importIds(backup.ids);

CLI Option

For quick operations, the bsv-bap package includes a CLI:

bun add -g bsv-bap

bap create --name "Alice"     # Create identity (~/.bap/identity.json)
bap sign "Hello World"        # Sign message
bap verify "msg" "sig" "addr" # Verify signature
bap info                      # Show identity info
bap export                    # Export backup JSON
bap import <file>             # Import from backup

Touch ID / Secure Enclave Protection (macOS arm64)

The BAP CLI supports hardware-level protection of the master key via @1sat/vault, which uses the macOS Secure Enclave (CryptoKit P-256 + ECIES encryption). When enabled, the rootPk is encrypted with a Secure Enclave key that never leaves the chip, and all decryption requires Touch ID.

bap touchid status            # Show SE availability and protection state
bap touchid enable            # Encrypt rootPk with SE, remove plaintext from disk
bap touchid disable           # Decrypt from SE, store as plaintext

• Config stores se:bap-master sentinel in rootPkEncrypted field when enabled
• Vault directory: ~/.secure-enclave-vault/
• macOS arm64 only (fails informatively on other platforms)
• BAP_NO_TOUCHID=1 env var or --no-touchid flag on create/import for CI/headless environments

Key Rotation & Path Management

BAP separates stable identity from active signing key:

• rootPath (e.g., bap:0) — derives the stable member key. Never changes. This is the key used for identity linkage and member backup export.
• currentPath (e.g., bap:0:1) — derives the active wallet/signing key. Rotates with incrementPath().
• Identity key persists across all rotations — it's derived from the rootAddress, not the signing address.

// Key rotation
const identity = bap.newId("Alice");
console.log(identity.currentPath); // "bap:0" (initially same as rootPath)

identity.incrementPath();
console.log(identity.currentPath); // "bap:0:1" (rotated)
// identity.identityKey is unchanged!

Identity Destruction

To permanently destroy an identity (emergency kill switch if signing key is compromised), broadcast an ID transaction with address 0, signed by the rootAddress:

BAP_PREFIX | ID | identityKey | 0 | AIP_SIGNATURE(rootAddress)

MemberID Counter-Based Rotation

MemberID uses a counter for signing key derivation:

memberKey → deriveChild(pubkey, "bap:{counter}") → currentKey
currentKey → deriveChild(pubkey, "1-sigma-identity") → signingKey

The protocol name "sigma" is 5 characters, meeting BRC-100 minimum length requirements for protocol IDs. Calling member.rotate() increments the counter, producing a new signing key while the member key stays fixed.

Stable vs Active Keys

Key	Derivation	Changes?	Use
Member key	rootPath derived from master	Never	Identity linkage, auth tokens, backup export
Signing key	currentPath derived from member + counter	On rotation	On-chain attestations, AIP signatures

import { getStableMemberPubkey, getActiveWalletPubkey } from "./bap/utils";

const stablePubkey = getStableMemberPubkey(identity); // Fixed
const activePubkey = getActiveWalletPubkey(identity);  // Rotates

Identity Actions via @1sat/actions (Recommended)

For BRC-100 wallet operations, use the identity actions from @1sat/actions. These use the wallet's BAP signing key ([1, "bapid"] / "identity") via AIP.

Seeding the wallet: When Sigma Identity publishes a BAP ID, it seeds the wallet via one of two paths:

• Wallet-funded: Root key signs the ID OP_RETURN via PrivateKeySigner + AIP.sign(), then publishIdentity.execute() funds via the BRC-100 wallet. Output auto-lands in the bap basket.
• Droplit-funded (onboarding): Droplit funds the broadcast, then wallet.internalizeAction() seeds the bap basket with type:id, bapId:<hash> tags.

Publish Identity (wallet-funded)

import { publishIdentity, createContext } from '@1sat/actions'
import { AIP, PrivateKeySigner } from '@1sat/templates'
import { OP, Script, Utils } from '@bsv/sdk'

// Sigma Identity builds and signs the BAP ID OP_RETURN with the root key
const script = new Script()
script.writeOpCode(OP.OP_FALSE)
script.writeOpCode(OP.OP_RETURN)
script.writeBin(Utils.toArray('1BAPSuaPnfGnSBM3GLV9yhxUdYe4vGbdMT'))
script.writeBin(Utils.toArray('ID'))
script.writeBin(Utils.toArray(bapId))
script.writeBin(Utils.toArray(currentAddress))
// ... append AIP signature via PrivateKeySigner(rootKey) ...

const ctx = createContext(wallet)
const result = await publishIdentity.execute(ctx, {
  signedScript: signedScript.toHex(),
})
// result: { txid, rawtx, error }
// Action parses the script to extract bapId, verifies AIP signature,
// and confirms currentAddress matches this wallet's BAP derivation.
// Output lands in bap basket with type:id tag.

Update Profile

import { updateProfile, createContext } from '@1sat/actions'

const ctx = createContext(wallet)

const result = await updateProfile.execute(ctx, {
  profile: {
    '@context': 'https://schema.org',
    '@type': 'Person',
    name: 'Alice Smith',
    description: 'BSV developer',
  },
})
// result: { txid, rawtx, error }
// Publishes BAP ALIAS on-chain, relinquishes any previous alias outputs

Get Profile

import { getProfile, createContext } from '@1sat/actions'

const result = await getProfile.execute(createContext(wallet), {})
// result: { bapId, profile, error }
// Parses current ALIAS from wallet's bap basket
// Deduplicates if multiple alias outputs exist

Attest

import { attest, createContext } from '@1sat/actions'

const result = await attest.execute(createContext(wallet), {
  attestationHash: 'sha256-of-urn:bap:id:attribute:value:nonce',
  counter: '0',
})
// result: { txid, rawtx, error }
// Publishes BAP ATTEST on-chain signed with BAP identity

Resolve BAP ID

import { resolveBapId, createContext } from '@1sat/actions'

const bapId = await resolveBapId(createContext(wallet))
// Returns the BAP ID string from the wallet's bap basket, or null

Identity Architecture

BRC-100 Wallet
  └─ identity-0 key (protocolID=[1,"sigma"], keyID="identity-0")
      ├─ Root address → BAP ID = base58(ripemd160(sha256(rootAddress)))
      └─ BAP signing key (Type42: "1-sigma-identity") → on-chain operations

• Sigma Identity handles: key generation, identity creation, ID record publication (root key), key rotation, OAuth
• @1sat/actions handles: publishIdentity (pre-signed script), attest, updateProfile, getProfile (signing key only)
• BAP ID is stable across key rotations — it's the identity anchor
• AIP signature proves who authorized each transaction

Related Skills

• key-derivation - Type42 and BRC-43 key derivation patterns
• message-signing - BSM, BRC-77, AIP, and Sigma signing protocols
• encrypt-decrypt-backup - bitcoin-backup CLI for .bep encrypted backups