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🐤 Getting Started

A core component of the Fhenix ecosystem is the FHE.sol Solidity library.

FHE.sol is a Solidity library designed to facilitate the use of Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) within Ethereum smart contracts. FHE enables computations to be performed on encrypted data (ciphertexts) without needing to decrypt them first. The results of such computations, when decrypted, are identical to what would have been obtained if the operations had been performed on the unencrypted data (plaintexts).

A full list and description of Fhenix functions is provided in FHE.sol documentation.

Installation​

To get started with FHE.sol, first install FHE.sol as a dependency in your Solidity project. Do this using npm, yarn or pnpm. Open the terminal and navigate to the project's directory. Now, run one of the following:

npm install @fhenixprotocol/contracts;

Usage​

Key Concepts and Types​

euintxx - Encrypted Unsigned Integers​

  • Description: Represents an encrypted unsigned integer. This type is used for encrypted variables within smart contracts. The currently supported types are: euint8, euint16, euint32, euint64, euint128 & euint256.
  • Usage: Store and manipulate encrypted values within smart contracts.

ebool - Encrypted Boolean​

  • Description: Represents an encrypted boolean value. This type can be used as an encrypted variable and for encrypted logical operations upon other encrypted variables e.g. by using select.
  • Usage: Store and manipulate encrypted values within smart contracts. Use in encrypted conditional statements.

eaddress - Encrypted Address​

  • Description: Represents an encrypted address. This type can be used to hide the address variables within contracts.
  • Usage: Store and compare encrypted addresses.

inEuintxx - Input Encrypted Unsigned Integers​

  • Description: A type used for passing encrypted values as function arguments. It's the format in which encrypted data is input into the smart contract functions that process encrypted values. The currently supported types are inEuint8, inEuint16, inEuint32, inEuint64, inEuint128 & inEuint256.
  • Usage: Pass typed encrypted values as function arguments.

inEbool - Input Encrypted Boolean​

  • Description: Similarly as with inEuint the inEbool type is used for passing encrypted boolean values as function arguments.
  • Usage: Pass typed encrypted boolean values as function arguments.

inEaddress - Input Encrypted Address​

  • Description: Similarly as with inEuint the inEaddress type is used for passing encrypted address values as function arguments
  • Usage: Pass typed encrypted address values as function arguments.

Core Functions of FHE.sol​

asEuint - Convert to Encrypted Unsigned Integer​

  • Purpose: Converts a plaintext number, encrypted variable or an inEuint encrypted input into an euint type.

asEbool - Convert to Encrypted Unsigned Integer​

  • Purpose: Converts a plaintext number, encrypted variable or an inEbool encrypted input into an ebool type.

asEaddress - Convert to Encrypted Unsigned Integer​

  • Purpose: Converts a plaintext number, encrypted variable or an inEaddress encrypted input into an eaddress type.

decrypt - Decrypt Encrypted Data​

  • Purpose: Decrypts euint, ebool or eaddress encrypted value back to its plaintext form. If the value should only be revealed to a specific address, the sealoutput function should be used instead. Learn more abut sealing here.

Arithmetic Operations​

FHE.sol supports encrypted arithmetic operations like addition and subtraction. These operations can be performed directly on euint types, enabling encrypted computations.

Comparison Operations​

  • Purpose: Perform comparisons between encrypted values (e.g., greater than, less than).
  • Usage Example: Make decisions based on encrypted values without revealing their contents.

Example Use Cases​

Encrypting a Value​

To encrypt a value, convert a plaintext uint32 into an euint32:

uint32 plaintextValue = 123;
euint32 encryptedValue = FHE.asEuint32(plaintextValue);

Decrypting a Value​

To decrypt an encrypted value back to plaintext, use the following syntax:

uint32 decryptedValue = FHE.decrypt(encryptedValue);
warning

Decrypt data with caution. Be careful not to expose decrypted data to unauthorized parties.

Performing Encrypted Arithmetic​

You can perform arithmetic operations directly on encrypted values. For example, adding two encrypted values:

euint32 sum = encryptedValue1 + encryptedValue2;

Conditional Logic with Encrypted Values​

Use a comparison operation to implement logic based on encrypted values. Consider the following code:

euint32 result = FHE.select(encryptedValue1.gt(encryptedValue2), encryptedValue1, encryptedValue2);

This example chooses between encryptedValue1 and encryptedValue2 by comparing their encrypted values with the gt function.

Integrating FHE into Smart Contracts​

When incorporating FHE.sol into your smart contracts, consider the following:

  • Privacy vs. Gas Cost: FHE provides strong privacy guarantees but is computationally intensive and can lead to high gas costs. Balance the need for privacy with its cost.
  • Data Types: Ensure that your use cases are compatible with the data types and operations supported by FHE.sol.
  • Security: Understand the security model of FHE and how it fits into the overall security posture of your application.