Node ID

A node ID serves a dual purpose in Staex MCC: it is both the node's address in the network and its public key. This tight coupling between address and cryptographic identity is a fundamental security property -- to impersonate a node (spoof its ID), an attacker would need to steal the node's private key. Standard network spoofing techniques are ineffective.

Node, network, and Staex public keys form a verification chain that authenticates every participant in the network. Each node certificate is signed by the network private key, and each network certificate is signed by the Staex root key. This layered structure ensures that every node can be independently verified without relying on a central authority at runtime.

Node IDs are BASE32-encoded strings. They can be used anywhere that a DNS name or IP address would normally appear -- in configuration files, CLI commands, and tunnel specifications -- provided the host is running Staex MCC with proper resolution configured.

Use the following commands to inspect your node's identity:

mcc id

This displays the current node's identifier. To view the full node and network certificates:

mcc certificates