This repository is a team-based project which presents the development of a Blockchain-based Educational Certificate Verification decentralized application (DApp) aimed at enhancing the security, transparency, and efficiency of certificate verification processes. Traditional methods of certificate issuance and verification are often slow, insecure, and prone to fraud. In response, this project explores the potential of blockchain technology to address these challenges. The DApp streamlines certificate generation and validation by leveraging blockchain’s decentralized and tamper-proof nature. Through automation and transparency, the system aims to reduce the risk of fraud and improve the reliability of certificate records. The report outlines the system architecture, implementation details, and future directions for research and development. Overall, the project represents a significant step towards creating a more secure and efficient certificate verification ecosystem in the digital age.
Proposed Approach: System Architecture:- The system consists of two main entities: the Institute and the Verifier. • Institute: Responsible for generating and issuing certificates. The Institute has the functionality to create certificates and store them securely on the blockchain. Additionally, a digital PDF copy of each certificate is stored on IPFS to ensure easy access and retrieval. • Verifier: Responsible for verifying the authenticity of certificates. The Verifier can upload a certificate PDF or input the certificate ID to validate its authenticity against the blockchain records.
Technology Stack: The proposed system utilizes the following technologies: • Ganache-CLI: A local blockchain network for development and testing. GanacheCLI simulates the Ethereum blockchain, allowing for efficient testing of smart contracts in a controlled environment. • Truffle: A development framework for Ethereum that facilitates the development, testing, and deployment of smart contracts. • Streamlit: A framework for building the front-end of the DApp. Streamlit is used to create an interactive and user-friendly web interface for both the Institute and the Verifier. • Pinata: An IPFS client used for decentralized storage of certificate PDFs. Pinata ensures that the certificates are accessible and tamper-proof.
System Workflow: The workflow of the proposed certificate verification system is as follows: Certificate Issuance (Institute)
- Certificate Creation: • The Institute generates a certificate with relevant details such as the recipient’s name, course details, date of issuance, and unique certificate ID. • The certificate details are then hashed and stored on the Ethereum blockchain to ensure immutability.
- Storing the Certificate: • A digital PDF copy of the certificate is created and uploaded to IPFS via Pinata. • The IPFS hash of the certificate PDF is stored on the blockchain, linking the digital document to the blockchain record.
- Viewing Certificates: • The Institute can view all issued certificates through the web interface, providing transparency and easy access to certificate records. Certificate Verification (Verifier)
- Verification Request: • The Verifier can either upload the certificate PDF or input the unique certificate ID through the web interface.
- Blockchain Validation: • The system retrieves the stored hash and IPFS link from the blockchain based on the provided certificate ID. • If a certificate PDF is uploaded, its hash is compared to the hash stored on the blockchain. • If the hashes match, the certificate is considered authentic. If not, the certificate is flagged as potentially fraudulent.
- Result Display: • The verification result, along with the details of the certificate, is displayed to the Verifier through the web interface.
Implementation: To install Truffle and Ganache-CLI globally, execute the following command in the terminal: npm install -g truffle ganache-cli
Project Initialization To initialize the project directory as a Truffle project, follow these steps:
- Create a new directory named CertificateValidationSystem.
- Open the directory in the terminal/command prompt.
- Run the following command to initialize the project: truffle init This command will create the necessary project structure with directories for contracts, migrations, and tests.
The frontend of the DApp is developed using Streamlit, a Python library for building interactive web applications. Streamlit provides a simple and intuitive interface for users to interact with the DApp. The frontend interface includes the following functionalities: • Certificate Generation Form: Allows the Institute to input certificate details and generate new certificates. • Certificate Verification Form: Enables the Verifier to verify the authenticity of certificates by entering the certificate ID or uploading a certificate PDF.
Once deployed, the DApp is accessible through a web browser, allowing users to generate and verify certificates securely. Comprehensive testing is essential to ensure the functionality, reliability, and security of the Certificate Validation DApp. Testing includes unit tests for smart contracts, integration tests for frontend-backend interactions, and end-to-end tests for the complete DApp workflow. The testing process involves: 1.To run it, first open a terminal and enter the command: ganache-cli -h 127.0.0.1 -p 8545 2.Next, to deploy our contracts on ganache-cli, open command prompt in our project’s root directory and enter the following command: truffle migrate 3.Now, to finally start the streamlit app, open the application directory inside our project in command prompt and enter the command: streamlit run app.py • Writing test cases to cover all functionalities and edge cases. • Executing tests using Truffle for smart contracts and automated testing frameworks for frontend and backend components. • Analyzing test results and debugging any issues encountered. By conducting thorough testing, any potential bugs or vulnerabilities can be identified and addressed before deploying the DApp to production.