How to issue your own credentials

Verifiable credentials (or VCs) are a standard format for the digital representation of credentials (documents that collect attributes about a subject) that are cryptographically secure, verifiable through machines, and that guarantee privacy by enabling methods such as minimum disclosure.

With Gataca Studio, you can create, validate, and digitally sign identity credentials according to W3C standards for global interoperability.

You can easily create credential issuance templates to integrate an issuance process into your website or application.

Below the introductory video, you can see the detailed step-by-step tutorial on how to issue your first credential.

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1. Create an Issuance Template

To ensure credentials are shared and interpreted correctly, each of these credentials requires a template.

When accessing Gataca Studio, you can create a new issuance template from the main dashboard or click New issuance in the issuance templates section.

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Creating an Issuance template involves a 4-step process:

Step 1: Basic configuration

Issuance ID - Name the issuance template

The first step is to define your issuance template name. We recommend this name be descriptive of the credential to be issued.

This name will be associated with the issuance process and will serve as the primary reference to the process when adding it to API Keys and throughout the platform.

Requester DID

You will have to select which DID you want to state as the Issuer of this credential.

By default, a DID has already been created for you with the alias name “My DID.” This DID can be selected for issuing your first issuance template. You can also decide to create another DID first.

Step 2: Issuance

In this step, you define which credential type you want to use and what claims will be issued in this process.

Credential Types

All verifiable credentials must declare their type in their template. A credential type defines the content and format of a specific credential. Gataca Studio covers a significant number of credential types. New credential types will be added soon.

Depending on the service you provide, select the most appropriate one.

Credential Attributes - What credential attributes should be included?

Credential attributes are claims made about the subject. When selecting a credential Type, Studio will show all available attributes within the schema. Select which attributes will be contained in the credential you will be issuing.

Step 3: Requirements

In this step, you define which personal information (in the form of verifiable credentials) is necessary to verify your user before issuing your credential. Users will need to ensure they have these credentials in their wallets before requesting the issuance of their credentials.

Add credentials claims - What credentials should I request from the user?

Select which credentials you require your user to share with you by clicking the Add Credential Claims button.

Scroll the list and tick those credentials you want to select or use the search bar on top.

How to select required credentials and optional credentials

Required credentials mean that the information is critical to fulfilling the credential issuance. Any other nice-to-have information should be marked as optional.

Select those that will be required or will remain optional from the list of credentials you will be requesting.

Step 4: Constraints

Credential trust level - How to determine which credentials are trusted?

In this section, you will determine if the credentials you request from the user for authentication purposes need to be trusted.

Credential data agreement - How to select the credential purpose

In this section, you will determine the reason why you are requesting the previously required credentials from your users. This will be shown to your users.

Security configuration

In this last section, you’ll define the extra security mechanisms, such as 2FA via biometrics, OTPs, or in-app authentication.

The available security mechanisms will depend on your subscription.

Step 5: Successful configuration

Once you finish the configuration of an Issuance Template, you’ll see confirmation that the process has been successfully saved. You can now test your Issuance Template by adding it to an API Key.

Select an API Key

When clicking on Add to API Key, a list of the available API keys for your templates will open.

2. Create an API Key

An API Key is a unique identifier and authentication key providing access to specific issuance and/or verification templates to your applications calling the Gataca Studio APIs.

Once you reach the end of creating an issuance template, you can select to add this template to an API Key. If you don’t have an API Key yet, you’ll have to create one to test your Template. The following steps show you how to create a new API Key.

On the left menu, click on API Keys.

Click on New API Key and set the basic configuration:

• API Key Name: Choose an identifier for your API Key

• DID: Select the DID associated with the new API Key. This will determine which administrators can access this API Key (only those with permission to manage the corresponding DID).

• SSI Operations: Select the credential issuance template you want to associate with this API Key from the SSI Operations dropdown.

You will be presented with the ID and password of the API Key created.

3. Test it

Step 1: Associate an API Key to your Issuance Template

Navigate to Issuance templates on the left menu. Find the desired Issuance template you want to test, click on the three dots, and then click Edit.

Once the issuance template opens, click on Add to API Key on the top right.

Fill up the API Key information:

1. Select API Key: Select an API Key you want to associate with the new template created.

2. Password: Insert the password provided when creating the API Key. If you lost your password, you could regenerate a new password from the API Keys menu.

3. Callback: This field is optional and not needed for testing purposes. Insert the URL of a service that is notified by a post notification with the session data when the session has been validated.

Step 2: Link your wallet to your Sandbox

You need to link your Wallet with your Sandbox to test your Issuance Template and issue this credential into your Wallet. If you have not yet linked your Wallet with your Sandbox, click the Scan Now button to access the QR Code to join your Sandbox. The Sandbox will allow you to perform private and secure tests of the platform.

Scan the QR code with your Wallet.

You will see confirmation in your Wallet if the connexion with your Sandbox has been successful.

Step 3: Generate a testing QR

Now click on Generating test and scan the QR code generated to start testing.

Scan the QR code with your Wallet.

Your Wallet will then ask you to share the requested credentials. Click on consent.

Step 4: Manually issue your credential

As an organization, you have the option to make the issuance process automatic by means of internal integrations.

Alternatively, you may issue a credential by filling up the information manually. This manual issuance is intended to facilitate testing of your issuance templates without the need to execute internal integrations.

To test a credential issuance template or to manually issue a credential, navigate to the Pending tab in the Credential Activity menu. Here you will see the list of credential issuance requests that users have done using one of your Issuance templates.

The credential will now appear under Issued Credentials and in your Wallet.

The credential will now appear under Issued Credentials and in your Wallet.