Identity is optional
A license credential can prove ownership on its own. No email, profile, or personal identity is needed for the primary flow.
SOFTWARE AUTHORIZATION, RECONSIDERED
Let software know
it belongs here.
Cardinal authorizes a license, its device, and the software it can run. No account required. No universal secrets buried in the client.
License first. Human identity optional.
ROOT AUTHORITYCardinal
LICENSESESSIONRELEASE
ISSUERISSUERISSUER
Three independent signing domains
BUILT FOR SOFTWARE RUNNING ON MACHINES YOU DON’T CONTROLPROTOCOL SPECIFICATION V1—RV2
01 / THE FOUNDATION
Trust the math.
Respect the machine.
Cardinal treats the client as an open book and keeps authority where it belongs: with the server and its cryptographic keys.
The server decides
License state, device binding, relinks, and launch permission remain under server authority.
Open by design
Established cryptography carries the security. The design does not depend on hidden algorithms or client side secrets.
Authorities stay separate
License, session, and release keys serve distinct purposes. A compromised download host cannot issue a license.
02 / A SMALL TRUST SURFACE
Three keys.
Clear boundaries.
Separate signing domains limit the damage any one system can cause.
01
License authority
Creates and signs portable license credentials.
License Root→Issuer→
.cardinal02
Session authority
Grants short lived permission to launch or download.
Session Root→Issuer→
LaunchGrant03
Release authority
Authenticates each published build by its digest.
Release Root→Issuer→
Manifest03 / TRY THE PROTOCOL
See what happens
under the surface.
Small, hands on models of the decisions Cardinal makes. Change a value and watch the policy respond.
LICENSE CREDENTIAL
A file that carries authority.
A .cardinal file contains a public license ID and a private 256 bit credential. The server stores a verifier, never the plaintext secret.
sakura-overlay.cardinal
LICENSE ID PUBLIC
019f34a2-7100-7bb0-8021-39e120f8ab99CREDENTIAL PRIVATE
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••SIGNATURE
Ed25519 · CARDINAL:LICENSE:V1GENERATION 01
SERVER STORES
HMAC-SHA-256(pepper, "CARDINAL:CREDENTIAL-VERIFIER:V1" || 019f34a2... || secret)↗04 / BUILT TO SHIP
Bring Cardinal
to your product.
License the protocol as a client SDK, a managed platform, or a tailored deployment for your team.
C++ Client SDK
Client libraries and wrapper patterns for teams building desktop software.
Discuss the SDK ↗Managed platform
Backend services, release signing, device policy, and license issuance.
Discuss the platform ↗Enterprise & HSM
Key isolation, custom policy, air gapped issuance, and security review.
Plan a deployment ↗