FAQ
Why is Opaque not yet 1.0?
This library is built on top of opaque-ke(https://github.com/facebook/opaque-ke (opens in a new tab)) which implements the OPAQUE protocol (opens in a new tab). Since the protocol is not af finshed RFC yet, we are waiting for the final version before we release a 1.0 version of this library.
Note: According to authors of the RFC it's unlikely that the protocol will change.
In addition opaque-ke has been audited and is used in production for the WhatsApp end-to-end backups.
How does it compare to opaque-wasm (opens in a new tab)?
opaque-wasm was there first and allowed us (Serenity team) to explore the OPAQUE protocol as a authentication mechanism. However it didn't fulfill our needs. That's why we set out to build this package.
| @serenity-kit/opaque and react-native-opaque | opaque-wasm | |
|---|---|---|
| Environments | Bundler, Node, React Native | Bundler, Node (requires custom build) |
| Typescript types | Yes | No |
| API style | functional | class based |
| WebAssembly loading | inlined WASM as base64 | WASM imports require bundler configuration |
| Server setup | CLI and API | API only |
| Documentation | Examples, guides, specification (in progress) | Examples |
| Tests | E2E tests, Unit tests | Unit tests |
| OPRF & group mode | ristretto255 (default), P256 via separate package | P256 (default) |
| Custom identifiers | client & server | Not supported |
| Server static public key | available | not available |
In our case it led to a simplification of our setup as you can see in this PR (opens in a new tab). Keep in mind this was an early version of @serenity-kit/opaque and the API changed after some initial feedback.