> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://dedi-global.gitbook.io/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://dedi-global.gitbook.io/docs/resources/the-vision-for-decentralised-directory-dedi.md).

# The vision for Decentralised Directory (DeDi)

#### Decentralized Directory (DeDi): Enhancing Trust in Digital Transactions

**The Problem: Slow, Expensive Verification. High-cost of establishing trust!**

> *DeDi solves costly verification problems. Businesses spend time and resources checking if documents, credentials, and data are valid. DeDi creates a universal way to verify public information instantly.*

Every day, people carry out millions of digital transactions, which underpin the global economy.

Establishing trust by verifying the **integrity, validity, and authenticity** of documents, digital credentials, transactions, or data packets is paramount for seamless execution of these transaction&#x73;**. While integrity can often be verified through digital signatures, ensuring validity** <mark style="background-color:purple;">(</mark><mark style="background-color:orange;">is the information current, not revoked?)</mark> and **authenticity** <mark style="background-color:orange;">(is the source trustworthy?)</mark> **remains a significant challenge.** *(For details on Integrity, Validity, and Authenticity, refer to ‘Understanding Trust Pillars’ in Appendix)*

In our interconnected digital world, trust is established through public information maintained by custodians, registrars, and institutions of authority. These are often referred to as public directories – specialized electronic registries containing publicly available information about entities and things. Examples include directories of companies, banks, courts, language codes, location codes, directories of registered professionals (e.g., doctors, lawyers), a directory of government-authorized service providers, and more such directories. Historically, even "Yellow Pages" served as a form of public directory.

Currently, establishing this trust involves:

* **Inefficient Processes, leading to Higher Costs:**
Organizations spend excessive time and resources manually searching for and verifying critical information. These outdated methods can slow down operations, increase labor costs, and introduce errors that damage reliability.
* **Risk of Bad Decisions due to Delayed or Outdated Information:** 
When up-to-date information isn’t readily available, businesses may miss important updates (like revoked credentials), potentially making wrong decisions or exposing themselves to fraud and security risks.
* **Difficult Integrations result in Missed Opportunities and Slower Growth:**
Inconsistent and custom-built interfaces make it hard for businesses to connect with multiple registries. This adds integration costs, delays time-to-market, and hinders innovation or expansion into new markets where interoperability is key.

DeDi overcomes these challenges by transforming fragmented and inefficient registries—whether manual or digital—into programmable, agent-ready directories. This empowers businesses with instant access to reliable information, streamlined processes, and seamless integration for the demands of the digital age. It provides a unified, machine-readable interface for accessing essential public information, fostering secure and efficient digital transactions.

**Decentralized Directory Protocol – universal way to discover & verify public information**

{% hint style="success" %}
**DeDi is a project under** [**Linux Foundation Decentralised Trust (LFDT)**](https://www.lfdecentralizedtrust.org/) **as part of their**[ **LFDT labs** ](https://lf-decentralized-trust-labs.github.io/labs/lfdt/decentralized-directory-dedi.html)**initiatives.**
{% endhint %}

DeDi unlocks new business value by making public directories accessible through a universal protocol coupled with suggested practices.

> *At its core, **DeDi is an open protocol for publishing public directories so that any party can discover them and verify what they say.** It defines one machine-readable convention for publishing a directory and one interface for reading it, eliminating the need for costly custom integrations with every source.*

### Adopting DeDi

**A publisher adopts DeDi by publishing signed DeDi files.** There is no further requirement. The publisher produces one self-contained, signed DeDi file per directory and serves a signed `/.well-known/dedi.index.json` manifest declaring its signing key. No infrastructure need be operated: any organization with a domain and a signing key can comply.

Reading is a separate role. A **DeDi server** — dedi.global is one — discovers and verifies published files, indexes them, and exposes the DeDi API (`/dedi/lookup`, `/dedi/query`) across many publishers, relaying each publisher's original signature rather than substituting its own. Servers are caches and indexes; they are not authorities, and running one is not how an organization adopts DeDi.

{% content-ref url="/pages/YCVpjFgPUQhK73itQ8hq" %}
[Publishing DeDi files](/docs/resources/publishing-dedi-files.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

DeDi doesn't necessitate changes to existing processes but implements characteristics that make public directories suitable for enhancing trust at a low cost such as:

* **Publicly Accessible:** Allows anyone to look up specific records or query for multiple records, promoting transparency and broad usability.
* **Machine-Readable:** Published as signed JSON with well-known schemas, and readable over standard APIs (HTTPS, RESTful), for easy programmatic interpretation and automation.
* **Tamper-Resistant:** Offers cryptographic guarantees to ensure the immutability and verifiability of records, enabling a "trust, but verify" approach — a published directory is signed by its publisher, and that signature travels with the data wherever it is served from.
* **Provenance-Enabled:** Provides authorship of entries and a history of changes, allowing access to earlier versions for transparency and auditability.
* **Live and Frequently Updated:** Ensures that information such as membership statuses, sanctions, and public keys is always up-to-date, reducing risks associated with outdated data.

| Business Value                                        | How It Helps Your Business                                    | Capability Enabling It                                                     |
| ----------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Instantly access reliable information                 | Make faster, more accurate business decisions with confidence | Machine-Readable APIs: Standardized, programmable access                   |
| Know the source and history of every record           | Simplify compliance and increase transparency                 | Provenance Tracking & Audit Trails: Recorded authorship and change history |
| Trust your data and protect against fraud             | Strengthen security and customer trust                        | Cryptographic Tamper-Resistance: Immutable, verifiable records             |
| Find and use the data you need, without barriers      | Improve efficiency and serve more customers easily            | Public, Interoperable Interfaces: Uniform, open access                     |
| Minimize costs and future-proof your operations       | Stay agile and ready for growth with seamless integration     | Compatibility Layers & Modular Integration: Works with current systems     |
| Always make decisions based on the latest information | Reduce risk by avoiding outdated or incorrect data            | Live Sync & Frequent Updates: Real-time or near-real-time record updates   |

<details>

<summary>dedi.global – ready to use solution</summary>

*For registrars who would rather not host and manage signed files themselves,* [*dedi.global*](http://dedi.global) *is offered by the* [*Network for Humanity Foundation*](https://networksforhumanity.org/) *as a ready to use, Universal Digital Infrastructure, in alignment with DPI (digital public infrastructure)* [*principles*](https://docs.cdpi.dev/the-dpi-wiki/dpi-tech-architecture-principles) *. This philanthropic initiative allows registrars to effortlessly publish and manage their directories on a robust decentralized infrastructure, leveraging blockchain for automated governance, scalability, and enhanced trust—complementing and fully aligned with the open DeDi protocol.*

<a href="/docs/resources/dedi.global.md" class="button primary">Read more</a>

</details>