mesh-core-cst

name	mesh-core-cst
description	Use when working with low-level Cardano utilities via MeshJS core-cst package. Covers CBOR serialization and deserialization, Plutus data conversion, address resolution and parsing, CIP-8 message signing and verification, script parameterization with applyParamsToScript, native script hashing, and direct access to cardano-sdk types.
license	Apache-2.0
metadata	{"author":"MeshJS","version":"1.0"}

Mesh SDK Core CST Skill

AI-assisted low-level Cardano utilities using @meshsdk/core-cst.

Package Info

npm install @meshsdk/core-cst
# or
npm install @meshsdk/core  # includes core-cst + transaction + wallet + provider

What is core-cst?

@meshsdk/core-cst provides low-level utilities for:

• Serialization - Convert transactions to/from CBOR
• Resolvers - Extract hashes, addresses, keys from various formats
• Message Signing - CIP-8 COSE sign and verify
• Plutus Tools - Apply parameters to scripts, normalize encodings
• Data Conversion - Plutus data ↔ JSON ↔ CBOR
• Address Utilities - Parse, serialize, convert address formats

Quick Reference

Resolvers

import {
  resolveDataHash,
  resolvePaymentKeyHash,
  resolveStakeKeyHash,
  resolveRewardAddress,
  resolvePlutusScriptAddress,
  resolvePlutusScriptHash,
  resolveNativeScriptAddress,
  resolveNativeScriptHash,
  resolvePoolId,
  resolvePrivateKey,
  resolveTxHash,
  resolveScriptRef,
  resolveScriptHashDRepId,
  resolveEd25519KeyHash,
} from "@meshsdk/core-cst";

// Get data hash from Plutus data
const hash = resolveDataHash({ constructor: 0, fields: [] });

// Get payment key hash from address
const keyHash = resolvePaymentKeyHash("addr_test1qp...");

// Get stake/reward address from base address
const rewardAddr = resolveRewardAddress("addr_test1qp...");

// Get script address from Plutus script
const scriptAddr = resolvePlutusScriptAddress(
  { code: "59...", version: "V2" },
  0, // networkId
);

// Get tx hash from tx CBOR
const txHash = resolveTxHash(txCborHex);

Message Signing (CIP-8)

import { signData, checkSignature } from "@meshsdk/core-cst";

// Sign data
const signature = signData("Hello Cardano!", signer);
// { key: 'a401...', signature: '845846...' }

// Verify signature
const isValid = await checkSignature(
  "Hello Cardano!",
  signature,
  "addr_test1qp...", // optional address verification
);

Plutus Tools

import { applyParamsToScript, normalizePlutusScript } from "@meshsdk/core-cst";

// Apply parameters to parameterized script
const appliedScript = applyParamsToScript(
  rawScriptHex,
  [{ constructor: 0, fields: [{ bytes: "abc123" }] }],
  "Mesh", // or 'JSON' or 'CBOR'
);

// Normalize script encoding
const normalized = normalizePlutusScript(scriptHex, "DoubleCBOR");

Data Conversion

import {
  toPlutusData,
  fromBuilderToPlutusData,
  fromPlutusDataToJson,
  parseDatumCbor,
} from "@meshsdk/core-cst";

// Mesh Data → PlutusData
const plutusData = toPlutusData({ constructor: 0, fields: ["hello", 42] });

// BuilderData → PlutusData (handles Mesh/JSON/CBOR)
const data = fromBuilderToPlutusData({ type: "Mesh", content: myData });

// PlutusData → JSON
const json = fromPlutusDataToJson(plutusData);

// Parse datum CBOR to JSON
const datum = parseDatumCbor<MyDatumType>(datumCborHex);

Address Utilities

import {
  deserializeBech32Address,
  serialzeAddress,
  scriptHashToBech32,
  addrBech32ToPlutusDataHex,
} from "@meshsdk/core-cst";

// Deserialize address to components
const { pubKeyHash, scriptHash, stakeCredentialHash } =
  deserializeBech32Address("addr_test1qp...");

// Script hash to bech32 address
const addr = scriptHashToBech32(scriptHash, stakeKeyHash, 0);

// Address to Plutus data (for on-chain use)
const addrPlutusHex = addrBech32ToPlutusDataHex("addr_test1qp...");

CardanoSDKSerializer

import { CardanoSDKSerializer } from "@meshsdk/core-cst";

const serializer = new CardanoSDKSerializer(protocolParams);

// Serialize transaction body
const txCbor = serializer.serializeTxBody(meshTxBuilderBody);

// Add signing keys to transaction
const signedTx = serializer.addSigningKeys(txCbor, [privateKeyHex]);

// Serialize data
const dataCbor = serializer.serializeData({ type: "Mesh", content: myData });

// Serialize address from components
const addr = serializer.serializeAddress(
  {
    pubKeyHash: "...",
    stakeCredentialHash: "...",
  },
  0,
);

Files

• CORE-CST.md - Complete API reference
• PATTERNS.md - Common usage patterns
• TROUBLESHOOTING.md - Error solutions

Module Exports

Module	Purpose
resolvers	Hash/address resolution functions
serializer	CardanoSDKSerializer class
message-signing	CIP-8 COSE utilities
plutus-tools	Script parameterization
utils	Data, address, encoding utilities
types	Re-exports from @cardano-sdk/core

Important Notes

1. This is a low-level package - Most users should use @meshsdk/transaction instead
2. Used internally by Mesh - Powers MeshTxBuilder serialization
3. Requires understanding of Cardano primitives - CBOR, Plutus data, addresses
4. Re-exports cardano-sdk - Access via Cardano, Serialization, Crypto exports