The Po.et team is excited to formally introduce the beta release of Frost — an open API layer for publishers.

Frost provides a user-friendly way for content publishers and developers to interact with the Po.et network, without having to deal with private key infrastructure. Frost enables users to timestamp — and subsequently retrieve — the metadata of digital content using a basic username and password login flow. This API is an integral part of Po.et’s middleware infrastructure (for more information regarding our technology stack, please read our detailed post).

Frost makes it simple for developers to build applications across the web that access the Po.et network. Developers will be able to easily integrate the API into their web stack. Easy access will enable a multitude of new integrations to be built on top of Frost, which will catalyze the use of the platform and make it a known standard online.

All information regarding Frost can be accessed at frost.po.et, including instructions on how to make an account, how to retrieve your API token and general API documentation. We also have a dedicated gitter community where anyone can interact directly with the Po.et development community.

This beta release will be the first widely-accessible Po.et developer tool. Since we expect a large uptick in usage, it is important to note that all timestamps are currently being posted to the Bitcoin testnet. The Po.et development team is still working through the technical specifications associated with moving testnet timestamps over to the Bitcoin blockchain. We’re also updating our production environment, so do not be alarmed if your timestamps aren’t showing up in the old block explorer. We will soon roll out an updated block explorer UI that is connected to the new node.

WordPress Plugin

One of the most immediate value-adds of Frost is its compatibility with popular, open-source CMS systems. The API’s versatility allows developers to build simple integrations that access the Po.et network directly within the CMS. Our development team has already completed the first step by creating the Po.et WordPress Plugin. This plugin will allow content creators to easily publish their written works within the WordPress CMS.

The plugin’s power stems from its simplicity. Content creators can download the plugin directly from the WordPress Plugin Directory or from our GitHub repository. Once the WordPress plugin is installed, all works posted through a creator’s account will automatically be registered with Po.et. Little effort is required to get everything set up; we’ve included the directions below. Side note: users should also remember that we’re currently timestamping to the testnet as we’re still in the beta release.

Check out our overview on how to get up and running with the Wordpress Plugin: https://blog.po.et/the-po-et-wordpress-plugin-is-live-1f1c5a7a9cb9

Another powerful aspect of the Po.et WordPress Plugin is its potential to reach wide audiences. WordPress currently makes up roughly 30 percent of the web’s content, more than any other CMS platform. Content creators using WordPress will now have a cheap and easy way to access the benefits of blockchain-enabled timestamping. As usage increases, we expect Po.et to become a well-recognized tool for content creators around the world.

Frost Client

Another component of the Frost launch is the Frost client, a JavaScript library that allows developers to interact with the Frost API. The Frost client is another abstraction layer that will make it easy for web developers to integrate Po.et into all types of applications. The Frost client repository contains instructions on how to install and interact with the library.