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web3names

web3names are user-friendly aliases for KILT DIDs. They serve the same purpose as domain names for IP addresses. Do you know the IP address for the "kilt.io" domain name? 🤷🏽‍♀️ There is a one-to-one relationship between DIDs and web3names. This means that you can link a KILT DID to only one web3name, and a web3name can only claim one DID.

Each web3name is globally unique within the KILT blockchain and consists of a sequence of a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 32 characters taken from a specific character set to enhance human readability and reduce the chances of two web3names looking the same, despite being different.

The character set includes only:

  • lowercase letters, from a to z
  • digits from 0 to 9
  • the symbols - and _

A regex that matches all and only the allowed web3names is the following:

^[a-z0-9_-]{3,32}$

In the global URI space, web3names are prefixed with the w3n: URI namespace. For example, the full URI for the web3name example-web3name is w3n:example-web3name.

Linking multiple accounts to a web3name​

Beyond linking a web3name, KILT lets DID owners link multiple accounts to a single DID. These accounts aren't specific to the KILT blockchain. They can reference any chain within the Polkadot ecosystem. Each account to DID link requires paying a small deposit.

For DIDs that have also claimed a web3name, the linking feature opens the way to a host of possibilities. For example, showing the web3name of a collator's account on the KILT Stakeboard.

DID lookup diagramDID lookup diagram

For a detailed developer-oriented guide to web3names and account linking, read the web3name Cookbook section and the account linking Cookbook section.

KILT DIDs vs. KILT accounts​

While you can link multiple accounts to a DID, it's important to notice the difference between the two.

KILT accounts are classical blockchain accounts, that can hold and send KILT tokens, and sign and submit transactions.

KILT DIDs are a higher level construct derived from KILT accounts, but are completely separated from them.

This means that KILT DIDs can't hold any KILT tokens.

You use DIDs to authorize (sign) some operations, but you must submit the resulting signature to the KILT blockchain with a KILT account, which must pay for the transaction fees.

Don't consider a DID did:kilt:4rp4rcDHP71YrBNvDhcH5iRoM3YzVoQVnCZvQPwPom9bjo2e the same as the account 4rp4rcDHP71YrBNvDhcH5iRoM3YzVoQVnCZvQPwPom9bjo2e, although they share the same identifier.

caution

There's no (immediate) relationship between the two, so you should consider a DID only as a DID and never as an account. If instructed to "send some funds to the DID by using the account after the did:kilt prefix". Ignore the advice, as without the required technical expertise, sending funds to a DID can result in loss of those funds.

The cost for storing a web3name​

Storing a web3name on the KILT blockchain requires providing a constant deposit, which is currently around 0.11 KILT. The deposit amount is calculated based on the worst-case scenario for a web3name, which is when a user provides a name with 32 characters. The deposit serves as a security measure to ensure the integrity of the KILT blockchain and incentivize users to manage their web3names responsibly. A deposit discourages spamming or unnecessary creation of web3names. You can reclaim the deposit can by deleting a web3name.