GuideSystem3 min read
KEEL on Tezos / TEZ
Learn how the HoldKEEL's native onchain storage for the file bytes and the instructions for joining them back together.For exampleYour sketch and its shared drawing library are stored as separate objects in the Hold.Full glossary entry →, SlabThe collectible token recorded in your wallet. It identifies an owned item and points to its work.For exampleYou collect Tidal Study #7. That token is your Slab; the artwork files have their own storage records.Full glossary entry →, and ShellThe opening program and interface around creator content. The canonical KEEL verification shell owns the protected checks and K controls.For exampleOpen the K control to inspect the files and checks behind the displayed work.Full glossary entry → use Tezos storage, token records, and wallet operations.
Select an underlined word to see what it means.
In this guide
- Hold
- File pieces, called Slugs, live in Tezos storage. A second option follows OnchFS, a shared file-storage standard.
- Die / Slab
- The Die uses Tezos’s FA2 token interface to record Slabs, ownership, transfers, and minting limits.
- Sleeve
- The token’s metadata describes the Slab. Tezos galleries use their own media fields to find the artwork and its preview.
- Wallet review
- Review the Tezos network, your sending account, the receiving contract, the requested action, and the tez amount.
Creator editions and the full Inline publishing workflow are not currently available through the Tezos tools.
The Hold is still the Hold.
Tezos runs native contracts rather than EVM bytecode. KEEL keeps the same vocabulary because the jobs stay recognizable: storing files, composing a HarnessThe composition that runs the work: its selected resources, runtime context, and isolated environment.For exampleThe Harness connects your sketch to its drawing library and runs it inside the Cage.Full glossary entry →, checking MarkA file's computed fingerprint, also called a digest or hash. A reader recomputes it to check the bytes.For exampleChanging the sketch's background color changes its Mark. A filename alone would not reveal that change.Full glossary entry →, and recording tokens.
The native HoldKEEL's native onchain storage for the file bytes and the instructions for joining them back together.For exampleYour sketch and its shared drawing library are stored as separate objects in the Hold.Full glossary entry → stores SlugOne small piece cut from a larger file so it can be stored and recovered in manageable amounts.For exampleA large image needs several Slugs. Their order matters when rebuilding the image.Full glossary entry → in a big_map, a large onchain key–value record. The separate OnchFS-compatible carrier also speaks the OnchFS standard interface. Tezos does not use EVM IngotOn Ethereum, each Slug is saved inside its own small contract, called an Ingot.For exampleThe EVM Hold reads bytes from Ingots. Tezos stores Slugs in native maps instead.Full glossary entry →.
Technical detail: SmartPy, Michelson, and OnchFS
SmartPy is used to author these contracts; Michelson is the native contract language they compile to. KEEL methods include cast_slug, haul_slug, weld_object, and haul_object. The OnchFS interface uses read_chunk, create_file, create_directory, read_file, and get_inode_at for its file and directory operations.
Slabs use the native token interface.
Creator editions and the full Inline publishing workflow are not currently available through the Tezos tools.
FA2 is Tezos’s token interface. A KEEL DieThe artist's token contract. It records the Slabs, their owners or balances, supply, and presentation bindings.For exampleA Die can issue a series of 100 individually identified works.Full glossary entry → uses it to record each SlabThe collectible token recorded in your wallet. It identifies an owned item and points to its work.For exampleYou collect Tidal Study #7. That token is your Slab; the artwork files have their own storage records.Full glossary entry →, its owner, transfers, and minting limits.
Token metadata supplies a name and other information about the SlabThe collectible token recorded in your wallet. It identifies an owned item and points to its work.For exampleYou collect Tidal Study #7. That token is your Slab; the artwork files have their own storage records.Full glossary entry →. A gallery uses media fields to find the artwork and its preview.
Technical detail: FA2 and media metadata
FA2 defines token transfers, balances, and operator behavior. TZIP-21 describes media fields such as artifactUri for the work, displayUri for its display image, thumbnailUri for a small preview, and formats for media type information. Tezos integrations use these native fields rather than Ethereum’s animation_url convention.
Review a native Tezos operation.
A Tezos contract address starts with KT1. A proposed call identifies the destination, named entrypoint, typed parameters, and amount in tez. The account and network must be explicit.
An entrypoint is a contract operation’s name. Preparing its inputs does not call it. A displayed zero amount does not mean a submitted operation has no network fee.
Prepare a Shell registration, update, or freeze.
A ShellThe opening program and interface around creator content. The canonical KEEL verification shell owns the protected checks and K controls.For exampleOpen the K control to inspect the files and checks behind the displayed work.Full glossary entry → record identifies the presentation used to open a work. Register creates a record, update selects a new revision, and freeze locks the supported selection.
The SDK and MCP can prepare these requests for Tezos. They return unsigned operation data for the account with permission to make the change.
Technical detail: Tezos Shell preparation
keel-tezos-shell-prepare builds Micheline parameters for register, update, or freeze. It validates the supplied address and network format and returns an expected sender and unsigned transaction. Check the selected registry and objects with a chain reader before submitting through a wallet; this preparation tool does not query the network or submit operations.