DPAChain – Blockchain-based Thesis Authentication System

DPAChain is a proof-of-concept system developed as part of an engineering thesis at Warsaw University of Technology. It provides a decentralized way to verify the authenticity of diploma theses using blockchain technology.

The system stores thesis metadata in a distributed ledger backed by a custom blockchain with a Proof of Authority (PoA) consensus. It supports digital signatures, JWT-based verification, and peer-to-peer communication between academic institutions in the blockchain system -- to share blocks.

🛠️ Components

• dpachain-api: FastAPI-based backend with a custom blockchain and P2P communication layer.
• dpachain-frontend: Node.js + Express.js web frontend (available at localhost:3000 or 3001).
• dpachain-app: Tkinter-based desktop application for independent verification of JWT tokens.
• docs/: Thesis document (in Polish with the concept aviable in english), UML diagrams, and screenshots.

📦 Directory Structure

├── docker-compose.yml                # Default single-node system
├── docker-compose-second-node.yml   # Compose file for second node instance (to communicate with the first node)
├── docs/                             # Documentation, UML, thesis PDF (in Polish)
├── dpachain-api/                     # Backend API with custom blockchain
├── dpachain-app/                     # Desktop verifier app (Tkinter)
├── dpachain-frontend/                # Node.js web interface
└── README.md

Prerequisites

To run the system, you need to have Docker and Docker Compose installed on your machine. You can find installation instructions for your operating system in the Docker documentation.

The RSA keys are provided and stored in the dpachain-api/signing_keys directory.

🚀 Running the System

To run the first node of the system, use the following command:

docker compose up --build

This command will build and start the backend API, frontend, and MongoDB database.

To run second node and test peer-to-peer communication:

docker compose -f docker-compose-second-node.yml up --build

• Frontends will be available at:

  • Node 1: http://localhost:3000
  • Node 2: http://localhost:3001

• Swagger API docs:

  • Node 1: http://localhost:8000/docs
  • Node 2: http://localhost:8001/docs

🧠 The genesis block must be created via the Swagger interface before using the system - just use the /generate_genesis_block API endpoint.

📄 Thesis

The full engineering thesis (in Polish) can be found in:

docs/Projekt_dyplomowy_2_0-5.pdf

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This project was developed as part of a Computer Science engineering degree at Warsaw University of Technology. It demonstrates the feasibility of decentralized diploma verification using blockchain.