Hash

The hash command computes the canonical Strata hash of a value.

This hash is the cryptographic fingerprint of Strata data. If two hashes are equal, the underlying canonical bytes are equal.

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Purpose

hash exists to provide:

• Content addressing

• Integrity verification

• Deterministic identifiers

• Cross-language equality checks

It is the final arbiter of equality in Strata.

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Command

strata-js hash <input.st | input.scb>

The command accepts either:

• Strata Text (.st)

• Strata Core Binary (.scb)

Both paths must produce the same hash for equivalent data.

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Hashing pipeline

When hashing .st

1. Parse Strata Text into a value

2. Canonically encode the value into .scb

3. Hash the canonical bytes

When hashing .scb

1. Read raw bytes

2. Validate canonical decoding

3. Hash the bytes directly

There is no difference in the final result.

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Hash algorithm

Strata uses:

• BLAKE3

• Fixed output length (32 bytes)

• Hash computed over canonical encoded bytes only

No metadata, framing, or transport context is included.

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Canonical contract

The hash obeys the following rules:

• Hash(value) == Hash(encode(value))

• Hash(.st) == Hash(.scb)

• Hashes are identical across languages

• Hashes never change within a frozen version

If this contract is violated, it is a Strata bug.

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Output format

The CLI prints the hash as:

• Lowercase hexadecimal

• Fixed length

• No prefix

Example: