Documentation
Glossary
Plain-language definitions of the terms you’ll see across PixlKey — the pipeline, the outputs, and the verification workflow. This page focuses on what the site needs to explain; the app does the heavy lifting.
Artefact
Any file PixlKey generates as part of processing — images, identifiers, and documentation outputs intended to travel with the work.
Certificate
A certificate-style document created to summarise what was produced and which licence terms were attached, suitable for sharing with a client, collector, or your own records.
CSRF
Short for Cross-Site Request Forgery. A type of web attack where a malicious site attempts to trick your browser into performing actions you didn’t intend. PixlKey protects against this by verifying that sensitive actions genuinely originate from you and from the PixlKey site itself.
Derivative
An exported version of an artwork produced from the original — for example, a preview image, a social-friendly size, or a signed distribution-ready output.
Fingerprint
A reproducible identifier derived from the file and/or its processing outputs, used to support later verification and provenance checks.
HVF
PixlKey’s internal “hash-style verification fingerprint” concept — a compact way to reference a specific processed work and compare it later during verification.
Identifier
A stable reference string associated with a processed work (or output) that helps you locate it later and validate what it is and where it came from.
Licence
A set of usage terms attached to an artwork (and reflected in PixlKey outputs) — for example, personal use, commercial use, educational use, and so on.
Metadata embedding
Writing creator and usage information into the exported file itself, so the artwork carries context even when it’s moved, reposted, or archived elsewhere.
Preview image
A smaller, shareable derivative intended for websites, messages, or proofs — typically used when you want visibility without distributing the highest-quality original.
Provenance
The “paper trail” of an artwork: who created it, what version it is, which terms apply, and evidence that ties the work to its origin.
QR overlay
An optional, visible QR mark placed on a watermark or corner of a derivative, designed to point viewers back to attribution or verification details.
Signed master
A high-quality “keeper” output that has been processed according to your PixlKey settings (watermark/metadata/licence), intended for controlled distribution.
Verification
The process of checking an identifier or fingerprint against PixlKey’s records/artefacts to confirm the work’s origin and associated details.
Watermark
Visible attribution applied to an exported image. PixlKey watermarks are meant to survive reposting and keep your name attached to the derivative.