Content Credentials, from zero
This course is an independent, unofficial learning resource. It has no association or relationship with the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI), the Creator Assertions Working Group (CAWG), the Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF), or any of their members. None of them wrote, reviewed or endorse it. It may contain errors or fall behind the current specifications. For anything that matters, rely on the official sources.
An interactive course on C2PA, the open standard behind “Content Credentials”, and the CAWG extensions that let real people and organisations attach verifiable identity to what they make.
No background is assumed. Before C2PA itself, you will build a working understanding of the cryptography it stands on: hash functions, public and private keys, digital signatures, certificates, chains of trust and time-stamps. Every concept comes with a hands-on demo running real cryptography in your browser. In chapter 10 you will inspect real Content Credentials with the official C2PA SDK.
Work through the chapters in order. Each one builds on the last. Play with every demo: they are the fastest way to build intuition. Each chapter ends with a short quiz that explains every answer. Your progress is saved only in this browser’s local storage, on your own device. Nothing is sent to a server, there are no cookies, and you can reset it at any time with the button below. Total time: roughly 7 hours, easily split across several sittings.
Official sources
These are the authoritative places to learn about Content Credentials. This course is not affiliated with any of them.
- C2PA, the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity: the standards body behind the specification.
- C2PA specifications: the technical specification, explainer and guidance documents.
- CAWG, the Creator Assertions Working Group: the identity, training and data mining, and metadata assertion specifications.
- DIF, the Decentralized Identity Foundation: the home of the CAWG working group.
- Content Authenticity Initiative: community and adoption of Content Credentials.
- CAI open-source documentation: the official C2PA SDKs and tools, including the one used in chapter 10.
- Content Credentials and the Verify tool: check the credentials on a real file.
Spec versions referenced: C2PA Technical Specification 2.x (2.4, April 2026); CAWG Identity Assertion 1.3 (DIF ratified, August 2026); CAWG Training and Data Mining Assertion 1.1 (DIF ratified, May 2025). The simulated structures in chapters 7–12 are simplified for teaching (JSON instead of CBOR/JUMBF), but the hashes and signatures are real. Sample images in chapter 10 are C2PA public test files, CC BY-SA 4.0.