This section provides a breakdown of Enclave’s architecture, focusing on the essential components and workflows to help you implement it effectively.

Core Components

1. Key Actors

Requesters

• Initiate and define computation requests, including parameters and requirements
• Retrieve and utilize final computation results
• Can be applications or other entities

Data Providers

• Supply private input data required for computation
• Are responsible for encrypting data before submission
• Can be end users, systems, or other applications

Ciphernodes

• Provide cryptographic services as staked network nodes
• Handle distributed key generation and decryption operations
• Form Ciphernode Committees (CiCos) for specific computations

2. Smart Contracts

Enclave Contract

• Central coordinator of the E3 ecosystem
• Manages computation requests and lifecycle
• Coordinates Ciphernode selection and CiCo formation
• Maintains input integrity via Merkle trees
• Emits events for off-chain services

E3 Program (E3P) Contract

• Defines computation logic
• Validates program parameters
• Verifies computation proofs
• Interfaces with the Enclave contract
• Ensures correct execution of the E3P

InputValidator Contract

• Validates and sanitizes input data
• Verifies Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs)
• Prevents malicious input injection

Decryption Verifier Contract

• Validates Ciphernode decryption shares
• Ensures correct result decryption
• Verifies threshold signature schemes

3. Compute Infrastructure

Compute Provider (CP)

• Runs the E3 Program over the published inputs
• Reports computation reults of the E3P to the Enclave contract

Enclave supports multiple CPs with a variety of different trust, scalability, and cost properties.

Supported systems:

1. Verifiable Systems

   • RISC Zero zkVM (opens in a new tab)
   • Succint SP1 (opens in a new tab) (coming soon)
   • Jolt (opens in a new tab) (coming soon)

2. Oracle-Based Systems

   • zkTLS VMs (coming soon)
   • Committee-based oracles (coming soon)
   • Game theory-based oracles (coming soon)

Interaction Flow

The following steps outline how these components interact in a typical computation:

1. Computation Request: A Requester submits a computation request with specific parameters.
2. Node Selection: Ciphernodes are selected via sortition to form a Ciphernode Committee (CiCo).
3. Key Generation: The CiCo generates and publishes a shared public key for encryption.
4. Data Submission: Data Providers encrypt their inputs using the CiCo's shared public key and publish commitments to the encrypted inputs onchain.
5. Computation Execution: The Compute Provider (CP) runs the E3 Program (E3P) over the published inputs.
6. Decryption: The CiCo collectively decrypts the final result.
7. Result Retrieval: The Requester retrieves and consumes the decrypted output of the E3P.

Developer's Perspective

As a developer, you'll interact with:

• Enclave's Smart Contracts: To submit requests and retrieve results.
• Compute Providers: To run your E3P using verfiable or oracle-based systems.
• E3 Smart Contracts: To verify the inputs and computation result.