Ceremony Output Summary

After the ssv-dkg ceremony finishes successfully, the tool creates a ceremony-[timestamp] folder in the directory where you ran the command.

Example output:

ceremony-[timestamp]/
├── 0..[nonce]-0x...[validator-public-key]/
│   ├── deposit_data.json
│   ├── keyshares.json
│   └── proof.json
├── 0..[nonce]-0x...[validator-public-key]/
│   ├── deposit_data.json
│   ├── keyshares.json
│   └── proof.json
├── deposit_data.json
├── keyshares.json
└── proofs.json

What each file is for

• deposit_data.json: deposit data used to activate validators on Ethereum
• keyshares.json: key shares used to register validators on SSV Network
• proof.json: the per-validator proof file stored inside each validator subfolder
• proofs.json: the aggregated proof file for the whole ceremony, stored at the top level

proof.json vs proofs.json

Both files are valid artifacts, but they are used differently:

• proof.json is the proof file for one validator inside that validator's own subfolder.
• proofs.json is the aggregated ceremony-level file that contains proofs for all validators generated in that ceremony.

When docs or tools refer to retaining proofs.json, they usually mean the top-level aggregated file. Keep it safe. You need it later if you want to reshare to a new operator set or update the owner nonce in key shares.

Proof structure

Example proofs.json structure:

[
  {
  "proof": {
    "validator": "VALIDATOR_PUBKEY",
    "encrypted_share": "ENCRYPTED_SHARE_FOR_I-TH_OPERATOR_IN_CEREMONY",
    "share_pub": "PUB_KEY_OF_OPERATOR_THAT_ENCRYPTED_THE_SHARE",
    "owner": "OWNER_ADDRESS_USED_IN_CEREMONY"
  },
  "signature": "CONTENT_OF_PROOF_SIGNED_BY_OPERATOR_PRIVATE_KEY"
  },
  {
  "proof": {...},
  "signature": "..."
  },
...
]

Notes about the structure

• Each validator has one proof from each operator in the ceremony.
• A single aggregated file can include proofs for multiple validators.
• Each proof includes:
  • validator: the validator public key
  • encrypted_share: the encrypted share for one operator
  • share_pub: the operator public key for that share
  • owner: the validator owner address
• signature is the operator signature over the proof content.

Why the proofs matter

The proofs protect both sides of the ceremony:

• the owner cannot change the owner address later without breaking the signed proof
• the operator signatures can be verified against the included operator public keys

Key shares

For the keyshares.json format, see Keyshares Structure.