the first and last
First author: David Wise (DAVID)
Root hash: 6DD8EE2539B1EF4B966F71671D229C5D2F7D65AE87D7827F0B85C6AF07FB58BF
Root timestamp: 2026-05-08 10:17:30 CDT
Pixel: 1
3 around 1, fused by gravity. Substrate invariant, infinite, omnipresent. Metadata gets stripped. Hashes don't. The hash bites back.
Honey Badger is a right-click file signing tool for Windows. Every file you sign gets a .davw sidecar — a plain-text record that cryptographically ties that file to your root machine identity.
It doesn't need the cloud. It doesn't need an account. It doesn't need a server. It works offline, forever, because it's just math.
The problem it solves: AI-generated content, legal documents, creative work — metadata gets stripped when files move. EXIF is gone. Creation dates lie. There's no way to prove a file came from a specific machine at a specific time... unless you hash it first.
Honey Badger hashes first.
Your file
↓
SHA256(file) → file hash
↓
ChainHash = SHA256(file_hash | root_hash | nonce)
↓
.davw sidecar written beside the file
The ChainHash is the key. It's a unique cryptographic fingerprint that:
- Proves the file's exact content at signing time
- Links it to your root machine identity
- Uses a nonce so no two signatures are identical
- Can be recomputed and verified by anyone, forever
DAVW SIGNATURE v1.0
─────────────────────────────────────────
File: report.pdf
Path: C:\Users\Dave\Documents\report.pdf
Size: 142871 bytes
SHA256: A3F9C2...E847
─────────────────────────────────────────
Signed: 2026-05-27 14:32:01 -05:00
Machine: WORKSTATION-01
User: Dave
Nonce: 7F3A9C2D1B4E5F68A0C3D2E1F0A9B8C7
─────────────────────────────────────────
ParentMachine: DAVID
ParentHash: 6DD8EE2539B1EF4B966F71671D229C5D2F7D65AE87D7827F0B85C6AF07FB58BF
ParentTime: 2026-05-08T10:17:30-05:00
ChainHash: B4D7A2...F193
─────────────────────────────────────────
TPM: PCR23 extend queued (TPM 2.0 present, ready)
Pixel: 1
─────────────────────────────────────────
Verify: SHA256("A3F9C2...|6DD8EE...|7F3A9C...") == B4D7A2...
Provenance: Dave on WORKSTATION-01, child of root DAVID
Axiom: 3 around 1, fused by gravity.
1. Download / unzip honey-badger-v1-core
2. Run install.bat
3. Right-click any file → "Sign with davw"
4. Right-click any .davw file → "Verify davw"
No admin required. Installs per-user.
# Sign a file
.\sign-with-davw.ps1 -FilePath "C:\path\to\file.pdf"
# Sign silently (no popup — good for scripts)
.\sign-with-davw.ps1 -FilePath "C:\path\to\file.pdf" -Silent
# Verify a signature
.\verify-davw.ps1 -Path "C:\path\to\file.pdf"
# Watch a folder — auto-signs every new file
.\watch-davw.ps1 -WatchPath "C:\MyOutputFolder"
# Watch with filter
.\watch-davw.ps1 -WatchPath "C:\Output" -Extensions "pdf,docx,png" -Interval 5
# Uninstall context menus
.\install-davw-context.ps1 -Uninstall HONEY BADGER — davw verify v1.0
─────────────────────────────────
Source: report.pdf
Signed: 2026-05-27 14:32:01 by Dave on WORKSTATION-01
Parent: DAVID — 6DD8EE2539...B58BF
[PASS] File exists: C:\Users\Dave\Documents\report.pdf
[PASS] File hash: A3F9C2...E847
[PASS] Chain hash: B4D7A2...F193
══ VERIFIED — file matches sidecar, chain intact ══
| Scenario | What Honey Badger proves |
|---|---|
| AI-generated images | This image came from this machine, before this date |
| Legal documents | File hasn't changed since signing |
| Creative IP | First author claim with machine-rooted timestamp |
| Code releases | Build artifacts tied to the build machine |
| Evidence files | Chain of custody with tamper detection |
| Anything | File + machine + time, cryptographically bound |
Every Honey Badger installation inherits from the root machine (DAVID).
Your .davw files are children of 6DD8EE...B58BF.
If you build tools on top of Honey Badger, your tool's root becomes a child of DAVID — and the chain extends. This is the provenance model: every file knows its parent machine. Every machine knows its root.
honey-badger-v1-core/
├── sign-with-davw.ps1 Core signer
├── verify-davw.ps1 Signature verifier
├── watch-davw.ps1 Folder watcher / MAKER_BOT
├── install-davw-context.ps1 Context menu installer (+ uninstall)
├── install.bat Run this to install
├── uninstall.bat Run this to uninstall
└── README.txt Quick reference
honey-badger-v01-core/ Original v0.1 — preserved as historical record
FIRST_AUTHOR.json Root identity declaration
MACHINE.davw The first signature (the machine itself)
CHANGELOG.md Version history
First Author Reserved. Use it, fork it, build on it — but keep the root hash. The chain starts at DAVID. That's the axiom.