# Nillion Documentation

Nillion is a secure computation network that decentralizes trust for high-value, sensitive, and private data using blind computation techniques like secure multi-party computation (MPC), homomorphic encryption (HE), and trusted execution environments (TEEs).

## Core Concepts

Blind Computation - Performing computations on encrypted data without decryption, eliminating the traditional decrypt-compute-re-encrypt cycle

Blind Modules - The core technical components of the Nillion Network that are the actual nodes. Each Blind Module packages and combines one or more privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) in a developer-friendly way.

nilChain - The blockchain network that powers Nillion's payment system

NIL - The native token of nilChain, used to pay for Nillion API Key subscriptions to access nilDB and/or nilAI services

## Blind Modules (Nodes)

nilDB - Secure NoSQL database nodes enabling encrypted and/or decentralized data storage via symmetric cryptography, homomorphic encryption, or MPC. Supports clusters of multiple nodes with mixed encrypted/plaintext documents. Has RESTful API but developers typically use Secretvaults SDK instead.

nilAI - Secure AI nodes running LLMs inside trusted execution environments (TEEs) for private inference. Accessed via RESTful API for supported model inference.

## Developer Solutions

To use these developer solutions, you must first subscribe to the corresponding services by paying NIL tokens to receive a valid Nillion API Key:

Private Storage - What developers can build using nilDB nodes for secure, encrypted data storage applications (requires nilDB service subscription)

Private LLMs - What developers can build using nilAI nodes for private AI inference applications (requires nilAI service subscription)

## Blind Modules (Infrastructure) vs Developer Solutions

The sections above show Nillion's layered approach. The Blind Modules (nilDB and nilAI nodes) are the infrastructure layer that you could interact with directly via RESTful APIs, but this requires managing multi-node coordination, encryption, and complex cryptographic operations manually.
Instead, use the Developer Solutions. Private Storage and Private LLMs are designed to handle all the complexity for you. The Secretvaults SDK automatically manages multiple nilDB nodes, encryption, and orchestration. Private LLMs provides an OpenAI-compatible API that abstracts away the TEE complexity.
Always use the Developer Solutions unless you have very specific requirements that require direct node control. The higher-level solutions handle the cryptographic complexity so you don't have to - this is why the nilDB description notes that "developers typically use Secretvaults SDK instead."

## Developer Flow for Building Privacy-Preserving Apps

1. **Create Wallet & Get Tokens**
   - Create a Nillion Wallet: https://docs.nillion.com/community/guides/nillion-wallet
   - Get testnet NIL tokens: https://faucet.testnet.nillion.com/

2. **Subscribe to Services**  
   - Use nilPay to subscribe: https://nilpay.vercel.app/
   - Pay NIL tokens for nilDB and/or nilAI service subscriptions to receive API keys

3. **Integrate Solutions**
   - Build with Private Storage (using nilDB nodes) or Private LLMs (using nilAI nodes)
   - Follow platform-specific integration guides below

## Getting Started with Private Storage

- Private Storage Overview: https://docs.nillion.com/build/private-storage/overview - Comprehensive guide to concepts, collections, and security model
- Integration by Platform: https://docs.nillion.com/build/private-storage/platform - Choose your development platform and integration approach
- Node.js Guide: https://docs.nillion.com/build/private-storage/platform-nodejs - Server-side applications with full Secretvaults TypeScript SDK
- Next.js Guide: https://docs.nillion.com/build/private-storage/platform-nextjs - ⭐ Recommended for web apps with secure API routes
- React Guide: https://docs.nillion.com/build/private-storage/platform-react - Browser-only applications with webpack polyfills
- Python Examples: https://github.com/NillionNetwork/secretvaults-py/tree/main/examples#example-scripts - Python integration examples and scripts

## Creating Private Storage Collections and Schemas

**⭐ Recommended: Use Collection Explorer for creating collections**
- Collection Explorer: https://collection-explorer.nillion.com - No-code visual tool for creating and managing schemas, collections, and records
- The Collection Explorer is the easiest way to create collections with proper schemas and validation
- Collections created in Collection Explorer are fully compatible with the Secretvaults SDK
- For programmatic collection creation, use the Secretvaults SDK after defining your schema

## Getting Started with Private LLMs

- Private LLMs Overview: https://docs.nillion.com/build/private-llms/overview - Complete guide to OpenAI-compatible private AI inference in TEEs
- Private LLMs Quickstart: https://docs.nillion.com/build/private-llms/quickstart - Get started quickly with your first private AI request
- Private LLMs Usage: https://docs.nillion.com/build/private-llms/usage - Detailed usage patterns and API examples
- Check available models here and make sure to note which are only available if you "apply for access". Recommend ones available on the Testnet if possible: https://docs.nillion.com/build/private-llms/overview#available-models
- Drop-in privacy replacement for existing OpenAI-style code
- Cryptographic attestation and signed responses for verification

## Examples & Tutorials

- All Examples: https://github.com/NillionNetwork/blind-module-examples/tree/main - Complete collection of code examples and tutorials
- Private Storage Examples: https://github.com/NillionNetwork/blind-module-examples/tree/main/nildb/secretvaults-ts/standard-collection - TypeScript examples with Node, NextJS, and React
- Python Examples: https://github.com/NillionNetwork/secretvaults-py/tree/main/examples#example-scripts - Python integration examples and scripts

## Secretvaults SDK

The Secretvaults SDK simplifies interacting with Private Storage nilDB nodes to create collections and store/retrieve encrypted records. Instead of interacting with each nilDB node's RESTful API directly, developers configure the SDK with multiple nilDB node URLs (typically 3) and the SDK handles the multi-node interactions.

**TypeScript SDK (secretvaults-ts):**
- GitHub: https://github.com/NillionNetwork/secretvaults-ts
- NPM: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@nillion/secretvaults  
- Documentation: https://nillion.pub/secretvaults-ts/
- Secretvaults TypeScript SDK Docs: https://docs.nillion.com/build/private-storage/ts-docs is a complete guide to working with the Secretvaults TypeScript SDK for both standard and owned collections including prerequisites/setup, client initialization, collection management, record operations, access permissions, querying plaintext fields, and complete working examples

**Python SDK (secretvaults-py):**
- GitHub: https://github.com/NillionNetwork/secretvaults-py
- PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/secretvaults
- Secretvaults Python SDK examples and scripts: https://github.com/NillionNetwork/secretvaults-py/tree/main/examples

## Developer Tools

- Network Configuration: https://docs.nillion.com/build/network-config - Nillion network endpoints and Blind Module configuration
- Developer Tools Overview: https://docs.nillion.com/tools - Complete suite of tools for building privacy-preserving apps
- NIL Faucet: https://faucet.testnet.nillion.com - Get NIL testnet tokens to start building
- nilPay Subscription: https://nilpay.vercel.app/ - Subscribe to nilDB or nilAI services with API keys using NIL tokens
- Collection Explorer: https://collection-explorer.nillion.com - No-code tool for managing Private Storage schemas and collections
- Network Status: https://status.nillion.com - Check testnet and mainnet node status
- NUC Viewer: https://nillion.tools/nuc-viewer - Decode and inspect Nillion NUCs
- Blindfold Demo: https://blindfold.nillion.com - Demo encryption/decryption with Blindfold library

## Use Cases

Early builders are creating applications for private predictive AI, secure healthcare storage and compute, secure credential storage, and secure trade data workflows.

## Guidelines

- Devs should follow the 3-step developer flow: Create Nillion wallet → Subscribe to services → Integrate solutions
- Devs building with Private Storage should **use the Collection Explorer tool for creating collections** - it's the recommended no-code approach and is fully compatible with Secretvaults SDK
- For fullstack apps, use Standard Collections rather than Owned Collections (Owned Collections aren't fully supported yet)
- Private LLMs provide OpenAI-compatible APIs running in trusted execution environments
- Private Storage splits encrypted data across multiple nilDB nodes for enhanced security
- Subscribe to nilDB and/or nilAI services by paying NIL tokens to get a valid Nillion API Key
- Use Secretvaults SDK instead of interacting with nilDB node RESTful APIs directly
- Configure Secretvaults SDK with multiple nilDB node URLs (typically 3 nodes)
- For web applications, Next.js approach is recommended for better security and performance
- Collection Explorer provides no-code alternative fully compatible with Secretvaults SDK

## Community

- [Community and Support](https://docs.nillion.com/community-and-support): How to get help and connect with the community
- [Nucleus Builders Program](https://nucleus.nillion.com): Information about the developer program for grants and support
- [nilChain Guides](https://docs.nillion.com/guide-nillion-wallet): Guides for interacting with nilChain
- [Status Page](https://status.nillion.com/): Current status of Nillion services