Key Scheme

• CURIE: gmeow:KeyScheme
• IRI: https://blackcatinformatics.ca/gmeow/KeyScheme
• Category: class
• Defined by: gmeow:slices/trust
• Box roles: TBox role (What is this?)

The cryptographic scheme/format of a key (OpenPGP, X.509, SSH, Nostr, …). Modelled as a value, not a key subclass: the set of schemes is open-ended and they carry no distinct key structure here, so a new scheme is a new individual, not a new class.

Structure

Subclass of: gufo:QualityValue

Practical Pattern

Use gmeow:KeyScheme as a specialized kind of gufo:QualityValue. Add statement metadata or a standpoint when the assertion needs provenance, confidence, or vantage.

Usage Advice

Use when

• Use as the value vocabulary behind gmeow:keyScheme — the open set of individuals naming a key's format (OpenPGP, X.509, SSH, Nostr, …) so consumers can filter or align keys by scheme.

Avoid when

• Avoid minting per-scheme key subclasses (schemes are individuals, not classes) and avoid using it for the key's algorithm (that is the literal gmeow:keyAlgorithm, e.g. ed25519); the scheme is the format family, not the primitive.

How to use

• Reference the seeded scheme individuals from a key via the functional gmeow:keyScheme; extend the vocabulary by adding a new gmeow:KeyScheme individual when a new format appears, never a subclass.

Examples

• ex:keySchemeMinisign a gmeow:KeyScheme; rdfs:label "Minisign"@en.