Introduction
Tape out a circuit, and its container is your API. TapeAPI is the service and communication layer of the TapeOut ecosystem on BNB Chain: DeWEB is websites, TapeSend is messaging, and TapeAPI is services.
An API today is a URL plus an account plus trust. TapeAPI replaces the account with an on-chain identity and the trust with a signature anyone can check:
- The service is a circuit. Whoever holds the circuit NFT owns the service. Transfer the NFT and the service moves with it.
- Every answer is signed and bound to your request. A client checks the signature against a key the circuit's holder authorised on chain. A tampered, replayed or unsigned answer is an error, never a result.
- No sign-up, no API keys. Free methods are just called. Paid methods take off-chain vouchers that settle on chain in batches, and the protocol takes zero fees.
- Containers can talk privately. End-to-end encrypted channels and groups between containers, carried by relays or by the chain itself.
How it works
- Identity. A provider tapes out a circuit on TapeOut. The circuit's container (an ERC-6551 account) is the service's address.
- Manifest. The provider writes
.well-known/tapeapi.jsoninto the container's site: endpoints, methods, prices, the signing key, and the holder's EIP-712 delegation of that key. - Resolve. A client reads the manifest from the chain through several RPC nodes that must agree, checks its hash, and checks the delegation against the circuit's current holder.
- Call. The client sends a request; the service answers with an envelope signed by the delegated key and bound to that request. The SDK returns the result only after checking it.
Choose your path
| I want to | Read |
|---|---|
| Read BNB Chain data now, free and signed, or use a public relay | Public API |
| Call a TapeAPI service from an app | Call a service |
| Offer my code or an existing API as a service | Run a service |
| Send encrypted messages between containers | Private channels |
| Let an AI agent use services safely | AI agents |
| Fix an error | FAQ |
Status
Pre-alpha, version 0.1.0. The free tier runs on TapeOut's deployed contracts. Our own contracts have no third-party audit; the paid-call escrow is not deployed yet. Interfaces may still change, and the TAP numbers are proposed to the TapeKit maintainers, not yet assigned.
On-chain addresses
BNB Smart Chain, chainId 56.
| Contract | Address | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| DeWebHub | 0xe61A9C7213a6Aa616C246a2B569e555B417b25ee | TapeOut |
| SiteRegistry | 0xd006ffdd5Ae313B17729621A00999cD3C71CE5e6 | TapeOut |
| Processor factory | 0x68224F668083c29e9800Be2a646d42d18cedF7e2 | TapeOut |
| BEM token | 0x5ce033b2bfca3af30b3e8c8457deaf776a8b695a | TapeOut |
| ChannelBus | 0x486110c35d9b90a9d6D85c8063A065f9e7b6b707 | TapeAPI: no owner, no state, no upgrade path |
| TapeAPIEscrow, ServiceDirectory | not deployed | TapeAPI |
Public services
Free TapeAPI services run by the project, each under its own circuit on processor 1013 (0xe02c26c7432A7121168AA9B610DE24eCf9a1a414). They are services, not contracts; see Public API.
| Service | Identity | Container | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public API (8 read methods) | 11.1013.tape | 0x1b2A657BcBa9D3229f57aC2f4FcbEE2AA756aAe8 | https://api.tapeapi.fun |
Public relay (relaySend, relayHandshake, relayRecv) | 12.1013.tape | 0x9cD838625251576c199B2DeF7A17e50266843185 | https://relay.tapeapi.fun |
Specifications
The protocol is written down as TAPs, in English and Chinese (English authoritative), under CC0.
| TAP | Title |
|---|---|
| TAP-20 | Service identity and manifest |
| TAP-21 | Signed response envelope |
| TAP-22 | Metered payment |
| TAP-23 | Attested cross-chain read |
| TAP-24 | Intent RFQ (frozen) |
| TAP-25 | Circuit-verified methods |
| TAP-26 | Private channels |
| TAP-27 | Private groups |
Source code, examples and the conformance suite are on GitHub.
Credits
The idea of a service layer for TapeOut came from @Theairresearch. A permanent 10% of any revenue TapeAPI earns goes to them.