In Holochain, the Source Chain is your personal, private ledger. And the fundamental units that make up this ledger are called Entries.
Think of Entries as the individual “records” or “actions” you take inside a Holochain application (hApp).
What Are Source Chain Entries?
Every time you do something meaningful in a hApp — post a message, create a profile, send a payment, update information, etc. — the system creates a new Entry on your personal Source Chain.
Key Characteristics of Entries
1. Immutable
Once an Entry is written to your Source Chain, it cannot be changed or deleted. This creates a permanent, tamper-proof record of your actions.
2. Sequentially Linked
Each new Entry contains a cryptographic reference (hash) to the previous Entry, forming a personal chain. This ensures the entire history is verifiable.
3. Two Main Parts:
- Header: Metadata (timestamp, author, previous header hash, etc.)
• Content: The actual data (text, files, numbers, etc.)
4. Types of Entries:
• Create Entry: When you add new data
• Update Entry: When you modify existing data (creates a new entry that references the old one)
• Delete Entry: Marks previous data as deleted (doesn’t actually remove it for cryptographic reasons)
5. Private vs Public
You can choose whether an Entry stays completely private on your device or gets shared with the network (via the DHT).
Why This Design is Powerful
• Full data ownership — Your history belongs to you.
• High efficiency — The network doesn’t need to store every user’s complete history.
• Strong auditability — Everything is cryptographically verifiable.
• Great flexibility — Different hApps can define their own rules for what Entries are allowed.
My Personal Take
I really appreciate how elegant and user-focused this system is. Instead of broadcasting every action to the entire world (like on most blockchains), you maintain your own clean, personal record. You only share what’s necessary, and only when it makes sense.
This makes Holochain feel much more practical for everyday applications like social networks, collaborative tools, or personal finance apps, where users want control and privacy.
Of course, this model trades some of the absolute global transparency of traditional blockchains for better scalability and sovereignty.
What about you?
Does the idea of having your own personal Source Chain with individual Entries appeal to you more than a global shared ledger?
Would you like me to explain any specific part (like Updates, Deletes, or how linking works) in more detail? Drop your questions below 🔥
We Analyze. We HODL. We Win.
This is not financial advice. Always do your own research (DYOR).
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