⚠️ EARLY DEVELOPMENT VERSION

This gem is in early development and has not been thoroughly tested in production environments. Use at your own risk and test extensively before deploying to production.

Digital PDF Signatures for Rails Applications

Sphragis (Σφραγίς - Greek for "seal") is a Rails Engine that provides multi-provider PDF digital signatures with interactive placement preview. Perfect for academic institutions and commercial use.

gem 'sphragis'

• 🔐 Multi-Provider Support: Hardware tokens (Fortify WebCrypto), cloud e-signatures (Harica), and more
• 🎯 Interactive Placement: Drag-and-drop signature placement with PDF.js preview
• 🏛️ Greek Academic Focus: FREE integration with Harica for Greek universities
• 💰 Cost-Effective: Multiple FREE and low-cost options (€0-50)
• 🔒 High Security: Support for qualified electronic signatures (eIDAS)
• 🎨 Rails Engine: Drop-in integration with existing Rails apps
• ⚡ Simple API: Easy programmatic and UI-based signing

Add to your Gemfile:

gem 'sphragis'

Run:

bundle install
rails sphragis:install:migrations
rails db:migrate

Mount the engine in config/routes.rb:

mount Sphragis::Engine, at: "/signatures"

Create config/initializers/sphragis.rb:

Sphragis.configure do |config|
  # Choose your provider
  config.default_provider = :harica  # or :fortify_webcrypto, :itsme

  # Harica configuration (FREE for Greek academic institutions)
  config.harica_username = Rails.application.credentials.dig(:harica, :username)
  config.harica_password = Rails.application.credentials.dig(:harica, :password)
  config.harica_api_key = Rails.application.credentials.dig(:harica, :api_key)

  # OR Fortify WebCrypto (FREE software + ~€50 hardware token)
  # config.fortify_url = "https://localhost:31337"
  # config.fortify_certificate_id = "your_cert_id"
end

# Programmatic signing
signer = Sphragis::PdfSigner.new("document.pdf", {
  provider: :harica,
  reason: "Official approval",
  location: "University of Aegean",
  contact: "admin@aegean.gr"
})
signed_path = signer.sign

# Interactive UI
redirect_to sphragis.preview_path(path: "document.pdf")

*With qualified certificate from CA like Harica

Perfect for Greek universities and research institutions:

config.default_provider = :harica
config.harica_username = "you@aegean.gr"
config.harica_password = Rails.application.credentials.dig(:harica, :password)

• ✅ Cost: €0 for .gr.ac domains
• ✅ Security: eIDAS qualified electronic signatures
• ✅ Setup time: 15 minutes
• 📚 Documentation: PROVIDERS.md

For maximum security with hardware tokens:

config.default_provider = :fortify_webcrypto
config.fortify_url = "https://localhost:31337"

• ✅ Software: FREE (MIT license)
• ✅ Hardware: YubiKey ~€50 (one-time)
• ✅ Source: https://github.com/PeculiarVentures/fortify-releases
• 📚 Documentation: FORTIFY_WEBCRYPTO.md

Extend BaseProvider for your own signature service:

module Sphragis::Providers
  class MyProvider < BaseProvider
    def sign(data)
      # Your implementation
    end
  end
end

See PROVIDERS.md for details.

Sphragis includes a complete web interface for signature placement:

# In your controller
def sign_document
  @document = Document.find(params[:id])
  redirect_to sphragis.preview_path(path: @document.pdf.path)
end

Features:

• 📄 PDF.js viewer
• 🖱️ Drag-and-drop signature placement
• 📏 Real-time coordinate preview
• 🔄 Provider selection dropdown
• ✅ Live signature preview

signer = Sphragis::PdfSigner.new(pdf_path, options)
signed_path = signer.sign

Options:

• provider: :harica, :fortify_webcrypto, :itsme (default: configured default)
• reason: Reason for signing (e.g., "Approved")
• location: Signing location (e.g., "Athens, Greece")
• contact: Contact info (e.g., "admin@example.com")
• x, y, width, height: Signature box coordinates (points)
• page: Page number (0-indexed)

Sphragis.configure do |config|
  config.default_provider = :harica

  # Harica
  config.harica_username = "user@aegean.gr"
  config.harica_password = "secret"
  config.harica_api_key = "api_key"
  config.harica_certificate_id = "cert_id"
  config.harica_environment = "production"  # or 'sandbox'

  # Fortify WebCrypto
  config.fortify_url = "https://localhost:31337"
  config.fortify_certificate_id = "cert_id"

  # Itsme
  config.itsme_client_id = "client_id"
  config.itsme_client_secret = "secret"
  config.itsme_user_email = "user@example.com"
  config.itsme_environment = "production"
end

# List available providers
Sphragis::ProviderFactory.available_providers
# => [:harica, :fortify_webcrypto]

# Create provider instance
provider = Sphragis::ProviderFactory.create(:harica)
provider.connect
signature = provider.sign(data)
provider.disconnect

Sphragis gem: FREE
Harica: FREE (academic)
Total: €0

Sphragis gem: FREE
Fortify WebCrypto: FREE
YubiKey: €50 (one-time)
Certificate: €0-200/year
Total: €50-250 first year

Sphragis gem: FREE
Simulated provider: FREE
Total: €0

See LICENSING_SUMMARY.md for complete details.

• Ruby 3.2+
• Rails 6.1+
• For Fortify WebCrypto:
  • Fortify app (FREE): https://github.com/PeculiarVentures/fortify-releases
  • Hardware token: YubiKey or similar (~€50)
• For Harica:
  • Greek academic email (.gr.ac)
  • Harica account (FREE)

bundle exec rake test

All tests use Minitest with Mocha for mocking.

# Run RuboCop
bundle exec rubocop

# Security audit
bundle exec bundle-audit check

# Static security analysis
bundle exec rake brakeman

• PROVIDERS.md - Provider comparison and configuration
• FORTIFY_WEBCRYPTO.md - Fortify setup guide
• LICENSING_SUMMARY.md - Complete cost breakdown
• MULTIPLE_PROVIDERS.md - Multi-provider usage
• DSS_FUTURE.md - EU Digital Signature Service (future provider)
• LOGO.md - Logo design and branding

The Sphragis logo is inspired by ancient Greek σφραγιδόλιθοι (sealstones) - precious carved stones used for 3,000 years to authenticate documents. Just as ancient seals authenticated documents through physical impression, Sphragis authenticates digital documents through cryptographic signatures.

See LOGO.md for design details.

Current Version: 0.1.0 (Early Development)

⚠️ Important Notes:

• This gem is in early development
• Not yet tested in production environments
• API may change in future versions
• Test thoroughly before production use
• Contributions and feedback welcome

Completed:

• ✅ Multi-provider architecture
• ✅ Harica integration
• ✅ Fortify WebCrypto integration
• ✅ Interactive UI with PDF.js
• ✅ Minitest test suite
• ✅ RuboCop configuration
• ✅ Security audit setup

Planned:

• 🔄 Production testing and hardening
• 🔄 Additional provider support (DSS for institutional batch signing)
• 🔄 Batch signing operations
• 🔄 Signature verification
• 🔄 Audit logging
• 🔄 Performance optimization

Contributions welcome! This gem is developed at the University of the Aegean.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Run tests (bundle exec rake test)
4. Run RuboCop (bundle exec rubocop)
5. Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Add amazing feature')
6. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
7. Open a Pull Request

Please ensure:

• All tests pass
• RuboCop violations are resolved
• New features include tests
• Documentation is updated

MIT License - See LICENSE for details.

Michail Pantelakis

• Email: mpantel@aegean.gr
• Institution: University of the Aegean
• GitHub: https://github.com/mpantel/sphragis

• Peculiar Ventures for Fortify WebCrypto (FREE, open source)
• HARICA for FREE academic certificates
• University of the Aegean for supporting this project
• Ancient Greek craftsmen who created the original σφραγιδόλιθοι

Sphragis is an independent open-source project. We are NOT affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of the third-party providers, services, or products mentioned in this documentation, including but not limited to:

• Peculiar Ventures (Fortify) • Harica • Yubico (YubiKey) • Nitrokey • ItsMe • OpenSC Project • EU Digital Signature Service (DSS) • European Commission • Any certificate authorities or hardware manufacturers

All trademarks and product names are property of their respective owners. This gem provides integration code only. Users are responsible for complying with third-party terms of service and any associated costs.

• Issues: https://github.com/mpantel/sphragis/issues
• Email: mpantel@aegean.gr
• Documentation: See docs/ directory

• Fortify by Peculiar Ventures
• HARICA
• Prawn PDF
• PDF.js

Σφραγίς - Bringing 3,000 years of document authentication tradition to the digital age 🔏