ACOS-ISA: Certify a Quantum Backend

In this tutorial, you'll certify a quantum backend against the ACOS-ISA (Algorithmic Circuit Optimization Standard - Instruction Set Architecture) specification and publish a signed certification report.

Objective

By the end of this tutorial, you will have:

✅ Run ACOS-ISA compliance tests against a backend
✅ Generated a signed certification-report.json
✅ Published the certification to the QCOS registry
✅ Obtained a verifiable badge URL

Prerequisites

# QCOS CLI v2.1+
softqcos --version
# Should show: softqcos v2.1.x

# Authenticated with QCOS
softqcos auth status
# Should show: Authenticated as: your-email@example.com

# Optional: QuantumLock for signing
pip install quantumlock

Step 1: Choose a Backend to Certify

List available backends:

softqcos backends list --format json

Example output:

{
  "backends": [
    {"id": "ibm_brisbane", "provider": "ibm", "qubits": 127, "status": "online"},
    {"id": "ionq_aria", "provider": "ionq", "qubits": 25, "status": "online"},
    {"id": "softquantus_sim", "provider": "softquantus", "qubits": 40, "status": "online"}
  ]
}

For this tutorial, we'll certify softquantus_sim:

export BACKEND_ID="softquantus_sim"

Step 2: Run ACOS-ISA Certification Suite

The certification suite runs standardized tests covering:

Gate fidelity benchmarks
Connectivity validation
Error rates measurement
Transpilation correctness

softqcos acos certify $BACKEND_ID \
  --standard ACOS-ISA-2025 \
  --output ./certification-report.json \
  --sign \
  --verbose

Execution Time

Certification takes 5-15 minutes depending on backend queue times.

Expected output:

🔍 Starting ACOS-ISA-2025 certification for softquantus_sim...

[1/5] Gate Fidelity Tests
  ├── Single-qubit gates: PASS (99.7% avg fidelity)
  ├── Two-qubit gates: PASS (98.2% avg fidelity)
  └── Measurement: PASS (99.1% readout fidelity)

[2/5] Connectivity Validation
  ├── Topology: heavy-hex
  ├── Edges verified: 156/156
  └── Status: PASS

[3/5] Error Rate Measurement
  ├── T1 average: 127.3 µs
  ├── T2 average: 89.7 µs
  └── Status: PASS

[4/5] Transpilation Correctness
  ├── Native gates: {rx, ry, rz, cx, id}
  ├── Circuits tested: 100
  └── Status: PASS

[5/5] Compliance Summary
  ├── Standard: ACOS-ISA-2025
  ├── Result: CERTIFIED ✅
  └── Score: 97.3/100

📄 Report written to: ./certification-report.json
🔐 Report signed with key: sqk_a1b2c3...

Step 3: Verify the Report Locally

Before publishing, verify the report signature:

softqcos acos verify ./certification-report.json

Expected output:

✅ Signature valid
   Signer: SoftQuantus Certification Authority
   Algorithm: ML-DSA-65 (Dilithium)
   Timestamp: 2026-01-04T14:23:17Z
   Hash: sha3-256:a7f8c9d2e1...

Step 4: Examine the Report

The certification-report.json contains all certification data:

{
  "version": "1.0",
  "standard": "ACOS-ISA-2025",
  "backend": {
    "id": "softquantus_sim",
    "provider": "softquantus",
    "qubits": 40,
    "topology": "heavy-hex"
  },
  "certification": {
    "status": "CERTIFIED",
    "score": 97.3,
    "timestamp": "2026-01-04T14:23:17Z",
    "valid_until": "2027-01-04T14:23:17Z"
  },
  "tests": {
    "gate_fidelity": {"status": "PASS", "single_qubit": 0.997, "two_qubit": 0.982},
    "connectivity": {"status": "PASS", "edges": 156},
    "error_rates": {"status": "PASS", "t1_avg_us": 127.3, "t2_avg_us": 89.7},
    "transpilation": {"status": "PASS", "circuits_tested": 100}
  },
  "signature": {
    "algorithm": "ML-DSA-65",
    "public_key_id": "sqk_cert_authority_2026",
    "value": "base64-encoded-signature..."
  }
}

Step 5: Publish to QCOS Registry

Publish the certification for public verification:

softqcos acos publish ./certification-report.json --registry public

Output:

📤 Publishing certification to QCOS Registry...

✅ Published successfully!

   Registry URL: https://registry.softqcos.io/certifications/softquantus_sim/2026-01-04
   Badge URL: https://registry.softqcos.io/badge/softquantus_sim/acos-isa-2025.svg
   Verification: softqcos acos verify --registry softquantus_sim

Step 6: Embed the Badge

Add the certification badge to your documentation:

![ACOS-ISA Certified](https://registry.softqcos.io/badge/softquantus_sim/acos-isa-2025.svg)

Renders as:

Verification Checklist

Artifact	Location	Verification Command
Certification Report	`./certification-report.json`	`softqcos acos verify ./certification-report.json`
Registry Entry	`https://registry.softqcos.io/certifications/...`	`softqcos acos verify --registry $BACKEND_ID`
Badge	`https://registry.softqcos.io/badge/...`	Visual inspection

Troubleshooting

"Authentication required"

softqcos auth login

"Backend offline"

Check backend status:

softqcos backends status $BACKEND_ID

"Signature verification failed"

Ensure you have the latest public keys:

softqcos keys update

Next Steps

Generate an Evidence Bundle — Create audit-ready evidence
ACOS-ISA Specification — Deep dive into the standard
Backend Registry — Explore certified backends

For Vendors

If you're a hardware vendor seeking ACOS-ISA certification, contact certification@softquantus.com for the vendor certification program.

Objective​

Prerequisites​

Step 1: Choose a Backend to Certify​

Step 2: Run ACOS-ISA Certification Suite​

Step 3: Verify the Report Locally​

Step 4: Examine the Report​

Step 5: Publish to QCOS Registry​

Step 6: Embed the Badge​

Verification Checklist​

Troubleshooting​

"Authentication required"​

"Backend offline"​

"Signature verification failed"​

Next Steps​