b-open-io/better-auth-plugin/bitcoin-auth-diagnostics

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Diagnose and troubleshoot bitcoin-auth token generation and verification issues. This skill should be used when users encounter authentication failures, signature verification errors, or integration problems with the bitcoin-auth library.

Install

npx vskill@latest install b-open-io/better-auth-plugin/bitcoin-auth-diagnostics

SKILL.md

Bitcoin Auth Diagnostics

Overview

This skill enables comprehensive diagnosis of bitcoin-auth authentication issues across client and server implementations. Use this skill when encountering token generation failures, signature verification errors, or integration problems with the bitcoin-auth library.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

  • Bitcoin auth token verification is failing
  • Investigating "invalid signature" or "invalid token" errors
  • Debugging integration with bitcoin-auth in APIs (especially Sigma Auth)
  • Token generation produces unexpected results
  • Time skew or timestamp-related authentication failures occur
  • Body hash mismatches are suspected
  • Scheme confusion between bsm and brc77 exists

Bitcoin Auth Token Format

All bitcoin-auth tokens follow this pipe-delimited format:

pubkey|scheme|timestamp|requestPath|signature

Components:

  • pubkey: Hex-encoded public key (66 characters)
  • scheme: Either bsm (legacy) or brc77 (recommended)
  • timestamp: ISO8601 format (e.g., 2025-01-15T14:30:00.000Z)
  • requestPath: Full path including query parameters (e.g., /api/endpoint?param=value)
  • signature: Base64-encoded signature

Example valid token:

02a1b2c3d4e5f6...|brc77|2025-01-15T14:30:00.123Z|/api/status|dGVzdHNpZ25hdHVyZQ==

Diagnostic Workflow

Step 1: Token Structure Validation

First, validate the token structure before checking cryptographic validity:

typescript
import { parseAuthToken } from 'bitcoin-auth';
const token = "..."; // The failing token
const parsed = parseAuthToken(token);
if (!parsed) {
console.error("FAILED: Token structure is invalid");
// Check: Does token have exactly 5 pipe-delimited parts?
const parts = token.split('|');
console.log(`Token has ${parts.length} parts (expected 5)`);
console.log("Parts:", parts);
// Common issues:
// - Missing parts (incomplete token)
// - Extra pipes in requestPath or other fields
// - Invalid scheme (not 'bsm' or 'brc77')
} else {
console.log("✅ Token structure is valid");
console.log("Parsed token:", parsed);
}
Step 2: Component Validation

Validate each component individually:

typescript
const { pubkey, scheme, timestamp, requestPath, signature } = parsed;
// Validate public key
console.log("Public key length:", pubkey.length); // Should be 66 chars
console.log("Public key starts with 02/03:", pubkey.startsWith('02') || pubkey.startsWith('03'));
// Validate scheme
console.log("Scheme:", scheme); // Must be 'bsm' or 'brc77'
// Validate timestamp
const tokenTime = new Date(timestamp);
console.log("Token timestamp:", tokenTime.toISOString());
console.log("Current time:", new Date().toISOString());
console.log("Age (minutes):", (Date.now() - tokenTime.getTime()) / 60000);
// Default timePad is 5 minutes - token older than 5 minutes will fail
// Validate request path
console.log("Request path:", requestPath);
// Must match EXACTLY including query parameters and their order
// Validate signature
console.log("Signature (base64):", signature);
console.log("Signature length:", signature.length);
Step 3: Signature Verification

If structure is valid, diagnose verification failures:

typescript
import { verifyAuthToken } from 'bitcoin-auth';
import type { AuthPayload } from 'bitcoin-auth';
const authPayload: AuthPayload = {
requestPath: "/api/endpoint?param=value", // Must match token exactly
timestamp: new Date().toISOString(), // Server's current time
body: requestBody // Optional, must match if token was signed with body
};
const isValid = verifyAuthToken(
token,
authPayload,
5, // timePad in minutes (default 5)
'utf8' // bodyEncoding: 'utf8', 'hex', or 'base64'
);
if (!isValid) {
console.error("FAILED: Signature verification failed");
// Diagnose specific failures:
// 1. Request path mismatch
if (parsed.requestPath !== authPayload.requestPath) {
console.error("❌ Request path mismatch:");
console.error(" Token path:", parsed.requestPath);
console.error(" Verify path:", authPayload.requestPath);
// Common issue: Query parameter order differs
}
// 2. Timestamp issues
const tokenTimestamp = new Date(parsed.timestamp);
const targetTime = new Date(authPayload.timestamp);
targetTime.setMinutes(targetTime.getMinutes() + 5); // Add timePad
if (tokenTimestamp > targetTime) {
console.error("❌ Token timestamp too far in future");
console.error(" Token time:", tokenTimestamp.toISOString());
console.error(" Target time:", targetTime.toISOString());
}
// 3. Body hash mismatch
if (authPayload.body) {
console.log("Verifying with body present");
console.log(" Body encoding:", 'utf8'); // Check encoding matches
console.log(" Body length:", authPayload.body.length);
// Try different encodings if utf8 fails
}
// 4. Scheme-specific issues
if (parsed.scheme === 'bsm') {
console.log("Using legacy BSM signature scheme");
// BSM uses different signature format than BRC77
} else {
console.log("Using BRC77 signature scheme (recommended)");
}
}
Step 4: Common Integration Issues

Check for common integration mistakes:

Server-side (verification):

typescript
// ❌ WRONG: Using token's timestamp (defeats the purpose)
const authPayload = {
requestPath,
timestamp: parsedToken.timestamp, // DON'T DO THIS
body
};
// ✅ CORRECT: Use server's current time
const serverTime = new Date().toISOString();
const authPayload = {
requestPath,
timestamp: serverTime,
body
};

Client-side (generation):

typescript
// ✅ Token generation
import { getAuthToken } from 'bitcoin-auth';
const token = getAuthToken({
privateKeyWif,
requestPath: '/api/endpoint?param=value', // Include full path with query
body: JSON.stringify(requestBody), // If POST/PUT with body
scheme: 'brc77', // Default, recommended
bodyEncoding: 'utf8' // Default
});
// Include in request headers
fetch(url + requestPath, {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'X-Auth-Token': token,
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
},
body: JSON.stringify(requestBody)
});

Common Error Patterns

"Invalid bitcoin-auth token format"

Cause: Token doesn't have exactly 5 pipe-delimited parts

Solutions:

  • Check token isn't truncated or corrupted
  • Verify no extra pipes in requestPath or signature
  • Ensure token is properly URL-encoded if passed in query params
"Bitcoin signature verification failed"

Cause: Signature doesn't match the payload

Solutions:

  1. Verify request path matches exactly (including query params)
  2. Check timestamp isn't older than timePad (default 5 minutes)
  3. Ensure body hash matches (if body present)
  4. Confirm correct bodyEncoding (utf8, hex, base64)
  5. Verify scheme matches (bsm vs brc77)
"Invalid token: time skew"

Cause: Token timestamp too far from server time

Solutions:

  • Increase timePad parameter (default 5 minutes)
  • Check client/server clock synchronization
  • Verify timestamp format is ISO8601
"Request path mismatch"

Cause: Token requestPath doesn't match verification path

Solutions:

  • Include full path with query parameters
  • Ensure query parameter order is consistent
  • Don't include domain/protocol in requestPath
  • Match case sensitivity
"Body hash mismatch"

Cause: Body used for signing doesn't match verification body

Solutions:

  • Use exact same body string (not re-serialized JSON)
  • Check bodyEncoding matches (utf8, hex, base64)
  • Verify body isn't modified between signing and verification
  • Ensure Content-Type header matches body encoding

Integration with Sigma Auth

When working with Sigma Auth (auth.sigmaidentity.com), common patterns:

Better Auth / Sigma Plugin issues (403 on token exchange, CSRF/trustedOrigins, callback URL mismatches) are covered in references/common-issues.md under "Better Auth / Sigma Plugin Issues".

Token verification endpoint:

typescript
// POST /api/auth/token-for-endpoint
// Body: { authToken: "...", requestBody: "..." }
// Server parses and verifies:
const parsed = parseAuthToken(authToken);
const authPayload = {
requestPath: "/api/auth/token-for-endpoint",
timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
body: requestBody
};
const isValid = verifyAuthToken(authToken, authPayload);

Wallet connect flow:

typescript
// Uses BSM scheme for compatibility
const token = getAuthToken({
privateKeyWif,
requestPath: "/wallet/connect",
scheme: 'bsm'
});

Reference Documentation

For detailed API documentation and implementation examples, see:

  • references/bitcoin-auth-api.md - Complete API reference
  • references/common-issues.md - Detailed troubleshooting guide
  • references/identity-terminology.md - BAP ID vs BRC-31 identity key terminology matrix
  • Bitcoin Auth GitHub: https://github.com/b-open-io/bitcoin-auth
  • BRC-77 Specification: https://github.com/bitcoin-sv/BRCs/blob/master/peer-to-peer/0077.md

Environment Requirements

  • Node.js/Bun runtime with @bsv/sdk peer dependency
  • bitcoin-auth library installed: bun add bitcoin-auth
  • For testing: Access to bitcoin-auth repository test suite

Security Considerations

Never log private keys or WIF strings - Only log public keys, tokens, and diagnostic information.

When diagnosing authentication issues:

  • Use test/development keys for diagnostics
  • Sanitize logs before sharing (remove signatures/private data)
  • Verify token expiry (timePad) is appropriate for your use case
  • Use BRC77 scheme (default) for new implementations

Security

  • Security scanPassed, 95 of 100Pattern checks on the skill's files.
  • Model reviewPassed

Quality evaluation

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Source

Popularity

Repository npm downloads, 7 days
255
7-day trend score
15

Downloads are for the repository's npm package. Refreshed 17 Mar 2026, 7 months ago.

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