# Indexing @handles

## Building an indexer

These instructions explain the protocol logic and instructions for extracting and validating names so you can properly index them and determine the first instance of each name.

***

### Fetch the data

These instructions assume you have access to the entire ordinals data structure with basic details like content type, ID, as well as the content.

Validate that the inscription's content type is any of these: 

* text/plain
* application/JSON

Fetch text as the raw text contents of an inscription. For example, the text would be the raw contents returned at [https://ordinals.com](https://ordinals.com/content/8071eff74cfa709e9ef2802a9fc78b6fe8ba224c1ef77a62447b6095d26f0f28i0)

###

### Extracting the name from JSON5

Validate the text according to the JSON5 standard. 

To check if the inscription is JSON, try parsing the text. \
If an error is thrown (invalid JSON), extract the plain text using the ruleset under "Validate Names".

#### Check that the JSON has the required keys:

* p equals "@handles" 
* op equals "data" 
* name is present and is type string

Once the name is extracted, follow the steps and proceed to the Validate names steps.

###

### Validate names

* Validate that the string begins with an @
* Validate accepted characters: \
  (Letters (English), Numbers, Underscore (\_), and hyphens (-) only
* Validate length is between 2 and 21 characters (to include the @)
* Turn the string into lowercase 
* Delete everything after the first whitespace or newline (\n) 
* Trim all whitespace and newlines


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://handles.gitbook.io/handles/spec/handles-protocol/indexing-handles.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.