Guide · Ananke Trust

Verify a document

Verify an Ananke Trust document's integrity and status. Covers both SDK and raw API approaches, result interpretation, and frontend display advice.

Use case

You have a document reference (e.g. TRF-ABCD1234) or a document file, and you want to confirm it is authentic, untampered, and currently valid.

Prerequisites

A document reference or the document's content hash
The SDK installed (optional — verification also works with plain HTTP)

Note: Verification endpoints do not require an API key. They are public by design.

1. Choose your verification input

Input	When to use
Reference	You have the document reference code (e.g. from the credential itself).
Hash	You have the document file and want to verify it hasn't been modified.

2. Verify by reference

SDK — Verify by reference

const result = await client.trust.verify.byReference("TRF-ABCD1234");

console.log(result.verdict);      // "valid"
console.log(result.status);       // "Active"
console.log(result.issuerName);   // "Acme Corp"
console.log(result.recipientName);// "Jane Doe"
console.log(result.issuedAt);     // "2026-03-18T10:00:00Z"

curl — Verify by reference

curl -X POST https://api.anankelabs.net/v1/trust/verify/by-reference \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "reference": "TRF-ABCD1234" }'

3. Verify by hash

Compute the SHA-256 hash of the document content and submit it:

SDK — Verify by hash

import { createHash } from "node:crypto";
import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";

const pdf = readFileSync("./certificate.pdf");
const hash = createHash("sha256").update(pdf).digest("hex");

const result = await client.trust.verify.byHash(hash);
console.log(result.verdict);  // "valid" | "revoked" | "not_found"

4. Interpret the result

Verdict	Meaning	User action
`valid`	Document is authentic and currently active.	Show green success state with document details.
`suspended`	Document is authentic but temporarily disabled.	Show amber warning — document may be reinstated later.
`revoked`	Document is authentic but permanently invalidated.	Show red error — document is no longer valid.
`expired`	Document is authentic but past its expiration date.	Show grey or amber state noting expiration.
`not_found`	No matching document exists.	Show neutral state — input may be incorrect.

5. Display the result

Map the verification result to your UI:

React component mapping

function VerificationResult({ result }) {
  switch (result.verdict) {
    case "valid":
      return (
        <div className="bg-green-50 border-green-200 p-6 rounded-lg">
          <h2>✓ Document Verified</h2>
          <p>Issued by {result.issuerName}</p>
          <p>Recipient: {result.recipientName}</p>
          <p>Issued: {new Date(result.issuedAt).toLocaleDateString()}</p>
        </div>
      );
    case "suspended":
      return (
        <div className="bg-amber-50 border-amber-200 p-6 rounded-lg">
          <h2>⚠ Document Suspended</h2>
          <p>This document has been temporarily disabled by the issuer.</p>
        </div>
      );
    case "revoked":
      return (
        <div className="bg-red-50 border-red-200 p-6 rounded-lg">
          <h2>✕ Document Revoked</h2>
          <p>This document has been permanently invalidated.</p>
        </div>
      );
    case "not_found":
      return (
        <div className="bg-neutral-50 border-neutral-200 p-6 rounded-lg">
          <h2>No Match Found</h2>
          <p>No document matching this reference was found.</p>
        </div>
      );
  }
}

Edge cases

Network failure — Show a loading state, then retry with exponential backoff. Never show "invalid" on network error.
Replaced documents — A revoked document that has been replaced may include a pointer to the new version.
Multiple verifications — Each verification is recorded in the verification history for the issuer's analytics.

Next steps

Build a verification page — Complete frontend implementation.
Ananke Trust verification reference — Full verification documentation.
Ananke Trust API Reference — Endpoint details.