Five ways to use the office.

1 · Through the website

The simplest path. Open orphograph.com, drag any file onto the dotted region, and press anchor. The browser computes the file's SHA-256 fingerprint locally; only the fingerprint is sent. A receipt with a sixteen-character identifier is returned in about thirty seconds and a confirmation can be emailed to an address of your choice. Nothing needs to be installed.

The same page also accepts a folder. The browser walks the folder, hashes each file in place, and submits a single Merkle root. See folder anchoring by Merkle root for the algorithm.

2 · Python SDK

For pipelines written in Python — backup scripts, evidence-intake jobs, batch processing of working sets. The package targets Python 3.9 or newer and depends on the standard library only.

pip install orphograph

from orphograph import anchor_folder, verify_folder

result = anchor_folder("/path/to/folder")
receipt_id = result["receipt_id"]
root_hex   = result["root_hex"]

# Later, from a clean machine, given only the folder and the id:
ok = verify_folder("/path/to/folder", receipt_id)
assert ok is True

File bytes are not transmitted. The library streams each file through SHA-256 in one-megabyte chunks and submits only the manifest (paths, per-file digests, leaf hashes, and the thirty-two-byte root). Full reference is in the Python SDK README.

python -m orphograph anchor /path/to/folder
python -m orphograph verify /path/to/folder <receipt_id>
python -m orphograph inclusion-proof <receipt_id> <posix/rel/path>

from orphograph import inclusion_proof, verify_inclusion

proof = inclusion_proof(receipt_id=receipt_id, path="sub/photo.jpg")
ok = verify_inclusion(
    file_path="/path/to/sub/photo.jpg",
    rel_path="sub/photo.jpg",
    proof=proof["proof"],
    root_hex=proof["root_hex"],
)

3 · Node SDK

The same surface, in TypeScript, for Node 20 or later. Zero runtime dependencies; the standard library modules node:crypto, node:fs, node:http, node:https, and node:path are the only requirements.

npm install orphograph

import { anchorFolder, verifyFolder } from "orphograph";

const result = await anchorFolder("/path/to/folder", {
  serverUrl: "https://orphograph.com",
  apiKey: process.env.ORPHO_API_KEY, // optional
  clientLabel: "Case file 2026-05-20",
});

const { receipt_id, root_hex } = result;

// Later, given only the folder and the id:
const ok = await verifyFolder("/path/to/folder", receipt_id, {
  serverUrl: "https://orphograph.com",
});

The TypeScript implementation is bit-for-bit compatible with the Python module and the browser implementation. Full reference is in the Node SDK README.

npx orphograph anchor /path/to/folder
npx orphograph verify /path/to/folder <receipt_id>
npx orphograph proof  <receipt_id> <posix/rel/path>

import { inclusionProof, verifyInclusion } from "orphograph";

const proof = await inclusionProof(receipt_id, "sub/photo.jpg", {
  serverUrl: "https://orphograph.com",
});

const ok = await verifyInclusion(
  "/path/to/sub/photo.jpg",
  "sub/photo.jpg",
  proof.proof,
  proof.root_hex,
);

4 · Offline command-line verifier

A standalone verifier that can confirm any receipt years from now, without any service to call. Standard library only; no pip install step; no network calls beyond the optional OpenTimestamps sub-check. The verifier is published under MIT so the format outlives the office.

curl -O https://orphograph.com/dist/orphograph-verify.zip
unzip orphograph-verify.zip
cd orphograph-verify

# Verify a folder against its manifest:
python3 verify.py folder --dir path/to/folder \
                         --manifest path/to/manifest.json \
                         --ots path/to/root.ots

# Verify a single file via an inclusion proof:
python3 verify.py file --file path/to/original.jpg \
                       --proof path/to/proof.json \
                       --ots path/to/root.ots

The verifier re-derives the Merkle root from the bytes on disk and, when --ots is supplied, invokes the OpenTimestamps reference client to confirm the Bitcoin-chain witness references the same anchor. See why a Bitcoin-anchored hash matters for the evidentiary background.

verify.py       entry point (subcommands: file, folder)
merkle.py       vendored RFC 6962 reference (SHA-256 banner in header)
README.md       usage and rationale
LICENSE         MIT
examples/       sample receipts and folders for smoke testing

pip install opentimestamps-client
ots verify path/to/root.ots

5 · MCP server

The office also publishes a Model Context Protocol server that exposes anchoring and verification as tools an AI assistant can call. Full installation instructions, including configuration for the common host applications, are at /mcp.html. The server is a thin wrapper over the same Python module described in section two; its receipts are interchangeable with receipts issued by any other path on this page.

Verifying a receipt

Any of the five paths above can issue a receipt; verification is described separately at /docs/verify.html. The receipt is the instrument; the chain is the trust anchor. A receipt issued through path one verifies under path four, and vice versa.

Further reading

• Quickstart · a five-minute walkthrough for first-time visitors
• How to verify a receipt independently
• Folder anchoring by Merkle root
• Why a Bitcoin-anchored hash matters
• HTTP API reference
• Webhooks reference
• github.com/Orphograph/Orphograph