Class Ed25519

java.lang.Object

com.frostwire.jlibtorrent.Ed25519

public final class Ed25519
extends Object

Ed25519 elliptic curve cryptography for DHT and security operations.

Ed25519 provides a modern elliptic curve public-key signature system used in BitTorrent for DHT node identification, secure peer communication, and data integrity. Ed25519 is a variant of the Twisted Edwards curve offering better security and performance than RSA or traditional ECDSA, with signatures and keys only 32-64 bytes.

Understanding Ed25519:

• Public Key (32 bytes): Shared openly, verifies signatures and receives encrypted messages
• Secret Key (64 bytes): Private key kept secret, used for signing and decryption
• Signature (64 bytes): Proof that a message was signed with a specific secret key
• Seed (32 bytes): Random data that generates a keypair (deterministic)
• Scalar (32 bytes): Parameter for key tweaking operations

Key Generation:

 // Create a new random seed
 byte[] seed = Ed25519.createSeed();  // 32 random bytes

 // Generate keypair from seed
 Pair<byte[], byte[]> keypair = Ed25519.createKeypair(seed);
 byte[] publicKey = keypair.first;    // 32 bytes - can be shared
 byte[] secretKey = keypair.second;   // 64 bytes - keep private

 System.out.println("Public key: " + Hex.encode(publicKey));
 System.out.println("Secret key: " + Hex.encode(secretKey));
 

Digital Signatures:

 // Sign a message
 byte[] message = "Important data".getBytes();
 byte[] signature = Ed25519.sign(message, publicKey, secretKey);

 // Verify signature (can be done with public key only)
 boolean isValid = Ed25519.verify(signature, message, publicKey);

 if (isValid) {
     System.out.println("Signature is valid - message is authentic");
 } else {
     System.out.println("Signature is invalid - message was tampered with or wrong key");
 }

 // Verification fails if message, signature, or key is changed
 byte[] tamperedMessage = "Modified data".getBytes();
 Ed25519.verify(signature, tamperedMessage, publicKey);  // false
 

Typical Workflow - DHT Node Identity:

 // Node setup (done once, saved for later)
 byte[] nodeSeed = Ed25519.createSeed();
 Pair<byte[], byte[]> nodeKeys = Ed25519.createKeypair(nodeSeed);
 byte[] nodePublicKey = nodeKeys.first;
 byte[] nodeSecretKey = nodeKeys.second;

 // Save these to disk for node persistence
 // On startup, load the same nodePublicKey and nodeSecretKey

 // Later: Sign DHT messages
 byte[] dhtMessage = constructDhtMessage(...);
 byte[] messageSignature = Ed25519.sign(dhtMessage, nodePublicKey, nodeSecretKey);

 // Peers verify our identity using nodePublicKey
 // They can verify without knowing nodeSecretKey
 

Key Tweaking Operations:

 // Scalar operations for advanced key derivation
 byte[] scalar = ...; // 32-byte scalar parameter

 // Add scalar to public key (for key derivation)
 byte[] derivedPublic = Ed25519.addScalarPublic(publicKey, scalar);

 // Add scalar to secret key (for key derivation)
 byte[] derivedSecret = Ed25519.addScalarSecret(secretKey, scalar);
 

Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH):

 // Key exchange to establish shared secret
 byte[] peerPublicKey = receivePeerPublicKey();

 // Both parties can compute the same shared secret
 byte[] sharedSecret = Ed25519.keyExchange(peerPublicKey, localSecretKey);

 // Peer does: Ed25519.keyExchange(localPublicKey, peerSecretKey)
 // Result should be identical (symmetric)

 // Shared secret can be used as encryption key for further communication
 

Size Reference:

Ed25519 Cryptography Key Information

Component	Size (bytes)	Bits	Usage
Seed	32	256	Random data for key generation
Public Key	32	256	Shared openly, for verification/encryption
Secret Key	64	512	Private, for signing/decryption
Signature	64	512	Proof of signing with secret key
Scalar	32	256	Parameter for key operations
Shared Secret	32	256	Symmetric key from ECDH

Security Properties:

• 256-bit security level (pre-quantum)
• Deterministic signatures (no randomness needed)
• Immune to side-channel timing attacks
• Small key size (32 bytes public key)
• Fast signing and verification
• Used by Signal, WireGuard, and modern protocols

BitTorrent Uses:

• DHT v2 Node IDs: Ed25519 public keys identify nodes (replaces 20-byte SHA-1 IDs)
• Mutable Items: Signed DHT items require Ed25519 signatures
• Peer Authentication: Secure peer verification without certificates
• Protocol Encryption: Key exchange for encrypted peer connections

See Also:

• - For complementary network configuration

Field Summary

Fields

Modifier and Type	Field	Description
static final int	PUBLIC_KEY_SIZE	Size of public key: 32 bytes.
static final int	SCALAR_SIZE	Size of scalar parameter for key tweaking: 32 bytes.
static final int	SECRET_KEY_SIZE	Size of secret (private) key: 64 bytes.
static final int	SEED_SIZE	Size of the random seed for key generation: 32 bytes.
static final int	SHARED_SECRET_SIZE	Size of shared secret from key exchange: 32 bytes.
static final int	SIGNATURE_SIZE	Size of signature: 64 bytes.

Method Summary

Modifier and Type	Method	Description
static byte[]	addScalarPublic(byte[] publicKey, byte[] scalar)
static byte[]	addScalarSecret(byte[] secretKey, byte[] scalar)
static Pair<byte[],byte[]>	createKeypair(byte[] seed)
static byte[]	createSeed()
byte[]	keyExchange(byte[] publicKey, byte[] secretKey)
static byte[]	sign(byte[] message, byte[] publicKey, byte[] secretKey)
static boolean	verify(byte[] signature, byte[] message, byte[] publicKey)

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

Field Details

SEED_SIZE

public static final int SEED_SIZE

Size of the random seed for key generation: 32 bytes.

See Also:

• Constant Field Values

PUBLIC_KEY_SIZE

public static final int PUBLIC_KEY_SIZE

Size of public key: 32 bytes. This is shared openly.

See Also:

• Constant Field Values

SECRET_KEY_SIZE

public static final int SECRET_KEY_SIZE

Size of secret (private) key: 64 bytes. Keep this private.

See Also:

• Constant Field Values

SIGNATURE_SIZE

public static final int SIGNATURE_SIZE

Size of signature: 64 bytes. Proof of signing with secret key.

See Also:

• Constant Field Values

SCALAR_SIZE

public static final int SCALAR_SIZE

Size of scalar parameter for key tweaking: 32 bytes.

See Also:

• Constant Field Values

SHARED_SECRET_SIZE

public static final int SHARED_SECRET_SIZE

Size of shared secret from key exchange: 32 bytes.

See Also:

• Constant Field Values

Method Details

createSeed

public static byte[] createSeed()

createKeypair

public static Pair<byte[],byte[]> createKeypair(byte[] seed)

sign

public static byte[] sign(byte[] message,
 byte[] publicKey,
 byte[] secretKey)

verify

public static boolean verify(byte[] signature,
 byte[] message,
 byte[] publicKey)

addScalarPublic

public static byte[] addScalarPublic(byte[] publicKey,
 byte[] scalar)

addScalarSecret

public static byte[] addScalarSecret(byte[] secretKey,
 byte[] scalar)

keyExchange

public byte[] keyExchange(byte[] publicKey,
 byte[] secretKey)