OpNS Names

Register and manage identity key bindings on OpNS names using @1sat/actions.

What is OpNS?

OpNS (Op = "operation", a key field in the original Ordinals protocol; NS = like DNS) is a decentralized name system on BSV where:

• Names are ordinal inscriptions (1-sat outputs) with content type application/op-ns
• Names can bind to an identity public key via MAP metadata
• Binding is done on-chain via the opns.idKey MAP field
• The overlay only tracks the mine tree (not individual name transfers) — ORDFS handles ordinal-level resolution
• OpNS names can serve as paymail identifiers via BRC-29 address derivation

Architecture (Current)

• Mine tree: Tracked by the OpNS overlay in 1sat-stack (pkg/opns/). Once a name's origin is indexed, it's permanent (origins don't change).
• Name resolution: Handled by ORDFS, not the overlay. The overlay route is GET /opns/mine/:name.
• Identity binding: MAP metadata opns.idKey on a self-transfer of the OpNS ordinal.
• Paymail: OpNS name -> ORDFS MAP metadata lookup -> idKey -> BRC-29 address derivation for payment delivery.
• Genesis: 58b7558ea379f24266c7e2f5fe321992ad9a724fd7a87423ba412677179ccb25

Actions

Action	Description
opnsRegister	Bind wallet's identity key to an OpNS name
opnsDeregister	Remove identity binding from an OpNS name

Register Identity on a Name

import { opnsRegister, createContext } from '@1sat/actions'

const ctx = createContext(wallet, { services })

// 1. List OpNS ordinals from the wallet (uses 'opns' basket, not 'ordinals')
const result = await ctx.wallet.listOutputs({
  basket: 'opns',
  includeTags: true,
  includeCustomInstructions: true,
  include: 'entire transactions',
})
const outputs = result.outputs
const BEEF = result.BEEF

// 2. Find the OpNS name to register
const opnsOrdinal = outputs.find(o =>
  o.tags?.some(t => t === 'type:application/op-ns')
)

if (!opnsOrdinal || !BEEF) {
  throw new Error('No OpNS name found in wallet')
}

// 3. Register identity key
const result = await opnsRegister.execute(ctx, {
  ordinal: opnsOrdinal,
  inputBEEF: Array.from(BEEF),
})

if (result.txid) {
  console.log('Registered! txid:', result.txid)
}

What Registration Does

1. Gets the wallet's identity public key via wallet.getPublicKey({ identityKey: true })
2. Transfers the OpNS ordinal to self with MAP metadata: { 'opns.idKey': identityPubKey }
3. Adds the opns:published tag to the output
4. Signs and broadcasts the transaction
5. The overlay picks up the transaction via the mine tree — no client-side overlay submission needed

Deregister Identity from a Name

import { opnsDeregister, createContext } from '@1sat/actions'

const ctx = createContext(wallet, { services })

const result = await ctx.wallet.listOutputs({
  basket: 'opns',
  includeTags: true,
  includeCustomInstructions: true,
  include: 'entire transactions',
})
const { outputs, BEEF } = result
const opnsOrdinal = outputs.find(o =>
  o.tags?.some(t => t === 'opns:published')
)

const result = await opnsDeregister.execute(ctx, {
  ordinal: opnsOrdinal,
  inputBEEF: Array.from(BEEF),
})

What Deregistration Does

1. Transfers the OpNS ordinal to self with MAP metadata: { 'opns.idKey': '' } (empty string)
2. Removes the opns:published tag
3. The overlay detects the cleared binding via the mine tree — no client-side overlay submission needed

Looking Up OpNS Names

Use the 1sat-stack API to resolve names:

// Lookup by name
const res = await fetch('https://api.1sat.app/1sat/overlay/lookup', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    service: 'ls_opns',
    query: { name: 'alice' },
  }),
})
const result = await res.json()
// Returns identity public key bound to the name

OpNS Baskets and Tags

OpNS ordinals are stored in the opns basket (not ordinals):

// List only OpNS names
const opnsOutputs = await wallet.listOutputs({
  basket: 'opns',
  includeTags: true,
  includeCustomInstructions: true,
  include: 'entire transactions',
})

Tags on OpNS outputs

Tag	Meaning
type:application/op-ns	This is an OpNS name
opns:published	Identity key is currently registered
origin:{outpoint}	Origin outpoint of the name
name:{value}	The name string

Requirements

bun add @1sat/actions @1sat/wallet @bsv/sdk

OpNS operations require services for wallet and transaction context. Overlay submission is handled automatically by the mine tree — client code does not need to submit to the overlay directly.