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The data plane

The data plane is the full set of named, typed data a token anchors. The ERC-721 metadata JSON exposes part of it.

In ERC-721, image is the only field with a defined content type, and animation_url is not defined in any ERC. A token can anchor data of any type, and the data plane names that full set.

The artifact

Each piece of a token's data is an artifact: one named, typed record.

key -> { mimeType, uri }
  • key: a field name (image, animation_url) for creator-set content, or {effectKey}/{outputKey} (render/image, world.rebuild/model) for derived content.
  • mimeType: declared at the source, not inferred from the bytes.
  • uri: a locator the protocol already uses. data: for on-chain bytes, ipfs:// or ar:// for content-addressed data, https:// for a resolver route or plain URL.

A directory is an artifact whose uri is a content-addressed root, such as an IPFS directory CID or an Arweave path manifest.

The manifest

The plane's full listing is one key in the served token JSON, whether an off-chain resolver composes it or an on-chain renderer emits it.

jsonc
{
  "name": "...", "image": "...", "animation_url": "...",    // reserved keys
  "artifacts": [
    { "key": "image",               "mimeType": "image/png",         "uri": "ipfs://..." },
    { "key": "render/image",        "mimeType": "image/png",         "uri": "ipfs://..." },
    { "key": "world.rebuild/model", "mimeType": "model/gltf-binary", "uri": "ar://..." }
  ]
}

A consumer that does not recognize the artifacts key ignores it. A consumer that does recognize it reads the plane from the same document, so no second endpoint is required. The entry shape, a uri and a mimeType per record, matches the shape used by Zora, Tezos TZIP-21, Metaplex, and Ordinals.

Examples

  • Music: cover art in the reserved keys; the lossless master, stems, and lyric sheet as artifacts.
  • Generative art: still and live view in the reserved keys; a 3D-printable model, a print-resolution export, and a traits JSON as artifacts.
  • Photography: a JPEG for marketplaces; the RAW original as an artifact.
  • Datasets: a snapshot that an effect regenerates when its on-chain inputs change.

Verifiability

Each artifact is labeled with its provenance: where the value came from, and whether the chain commits to it. The label is required. The level of verification is set by the creator:

  • Labeled: an off-chain process produces the output, served as-is.
  • Anchored: a keccak256 is posted on-chain, or the uri is content-addressed, so the bytes can be checked.
  • Reproducible: a deterministic effect with open code and on-chain inputs, so the output can be regenerated from chain state.

Effects, Metadata, Code projects, Event spine