Welcome to the Tezos Developer Documentation!

The Project

Tezos is a distributed consensus platform with meta-consensus capability. Tezos not only comes to consensus about the state of its ledger, like Bitcoin or Ethereum. It also attempts to come to consensus about how the protocol and the nodes should adapt and upgrade.

• Developer documentation is available online at https://tezos.gitlab.io/ and is automatically generated from the master branch.

• The website https://tezos.com/ contains more information about the project.

• All development happens on GitLab at https://gitlab.com/tezos/tezos

The source code of Tezos is placed under the MIT Open Source License.

Latest Release

The current version of Tezos is Version 9.1.

The Community

• The website of the Tezos Foundation.

• Tezos sub-reddit is an important meeting point of the community.

• Several community-built block explorers are available:

  • https://tzstats.com

  • https://tezblock.io

  • https://teztracker.com/

  • https://tzkt.io (Baking focused Explorer)

  • https://arronax.io

  • https://mininax.io

  • https://baking-bad.org (Reward Tracker)

  • https://better-call.dev (Smart-contract Explorer)

• A few community-run websites collect useful Tezos links:

  • https://www.tezos.help

  • https://tezos.rocks

• More resources can be found in the Technical Support page.

The Networks

Mainnet

The Tezos network is the current incarnation of the Tezos blockchain. It runs with real tez that have been allocated to the donors of July 2017 ICO (see Activate fundraiser account - Mainnet).

The Tezos network has been live and open since June 30th 2018.

All the instructions in this documentation are valid for Mainnet however we strongly encourage users to first try all the introduction tutorials on some test network to familiarize themselves without risks.

Test Networks

There are several test networks for the Tezos blockchain with a faucet to obtain free tez (see Get Free Tez). It is the reference network for developers wanting to test their software before going to beta and for users who want to familiarize themselves with Tezos before using their real tez.

See the list of test networks in test network.

Getting started

The best place to start exploring the project is following the How Tos in the introduction.

Introduction tutorials:

• How to get Tezos
  • Getting static binaries
  • Installing binaries
  • Using Docker images
  • Building from sources via OPAM
  • Setting up the development environment from scratch
• Getting started with Tezos
  • The Binaries
  • Read The Manual
  • Node
  • Client
  • Other binaries
  • Summary
• How to run Tezos
  • Delegating your coins
  • Running a delegate
• Test Networks
  • Get Free Funds
  • Florencenet
  • Edo2net
  • Future Networks
• Old Networks
  • Delphinet
  • Dalphanet
  • Carthagenet
  • Babylonnet
  • Alphanet
  • Zeronet
• Technical Support

User documentation:

• Key Management
  • Ledger support
  • Signer
  • Activate fundraiser account - Mainnet
• Node Configuration
  • Configuration file
  • RPC parameters
  • P2P parameters
  • Logging
  • Shell parameters
• Snapshots
  • Importing a snapshot
  • Exporting a snapshot
• History modes
  • History modes in a nutshell
  • Setting up a node in full mode
  • Setting up a node in rolling mode
  • Setting up a node in archive mode
  • Preserving additional cycles
  • Switching between node’s modes
• Multinetwork Node
  • Built-In Networks
  • Custom Networks
  • Genesis Parameters
  • Alias Versus Explicit Configuration
  • Development
• Sandboxed mode
  • Run a sandboxed node
  • Use the sandboxed client
  • Tune protocol Alpha parameters
  • Preserve data
• Mockup mode
  • Run a mockup client with persistent state
  • Run a mockup client without persistent state
  • Tune mockup parameters
  • Setting protocol constants for the mockup mode
  • Baking
• Proxy mode
  • Executing commands in proxy mode
  • Examples with the sandbox
  • How to deploy to relieve nodes from some RPCs
• Light mode
  • Executing commands in light mode
  • Examples with the sandbox
  • How to deploy to relieve nodes from some RPCs
• Multi-signature smart contracts
  • Interacting with a multisig contract using tezos-client
  • Supported versions of the multisig contract
  • Interacting with a multisig contract directly
  • Formal verification
• Various
  • Environment for writing Michelson contracts
  • Admin Client
  • Tezos binaries: signals and exit codes
  • Failing_noop operation

Shell doc:

• Tezos Software Architecture
  • The Big Picture
  • Software Architecture and Packages Relationship
• The validation subsystem
  • Validator
  • Prevalidator
  • Distributed DB
• The storage layer
  • Store
  • Context
• Synchronisation heuristic
  • Synchronisation heuristic status
  • Bootstrapped
  • Basic description of the heuristic
  • Acceptable values for parameters
  • Formal description of the heuristic
  • If the heuristic fails
• The peer-to-peer layer
  • General operation
  • Welcome worker
  • Maintenance worker
• P2P message format
  • Block header (shell)
  • fitness.elem
  • Operation (shell)
  • Block_header (alpha-specific)
  • Operation (alpha-specific)
  • alpha.scripted.contracts
  • alpha.contract_id (22 bytes, 8-bit tag)
  • alpha.entrypoint (Determined from data, 8-bit tag)
  • X_0
  • N.t
  • public_key (Determined from data, 8-bit tag)
  • public_key_hash (21 bytes, 8-bit tag)
  • fitness.elem
  • alpha.block_header.alpha.full_header
  • alpha.inlined.endorsement.contents (5 bytes, 8-bit tag)
  • alpha.inlined.endorsement
  • alpha.operation.alpha.contents (Determined from data, 8-bit tag)
• Micheline
  • Syntax
  • Serialization
  • Other tools and resources
• Command Line Interface
  • Admin-client manual
  • Signer manual
  • Benchmark tool manual
  • Codec manual
  • Node manual
• RPCs - Index
  • Protocol
  • Shell
• RPCs - Full description
  • Shell

008 Edo doc:

• Michelson: the language of Smart Contracts in Tezos
  • Semantics of smart contracts and transactions
  • Language semantics
  • Introduction to the type system and notations
  • Core data types and notations
  • Core instructions
  • Operations
  • Domain specific data types
  • Domain specific operations
  • Macros
  • Concrete syntax
  • Annotations
  • Entrypoints
  • JSON syntax
  • Examples
  • Full grammar
  • Reference implementation
• Proof-of-stake in Tezos
  • Brief Overview
  • Blocks
  • Cycles
  • Delegation
  • Accusations
• Sapling integration
  • Sapling
  • Tezos integration
• The Voting Process
  • Periods
  • Super-majority and Quorum
  • Operations
  • Client Commands
• Glossary
  • Tezos
  • Protocol Alpha
• Command Line Interface
  • Client manual
  • Baker manual
  • Endorser manual
  • Accuser manual
• RPCs - Index
  • Shell and Protocol
  • Protocol 008 Edo
• RPCs - Full description
  • Protocol 008 Edo

009 Florence doc:

• Michelson: the language of Smart Contracts in Tezos
  • Semantics of smart contracts and transactions
  • Language semantics
  • Introduction to the type system and notations
  • Core data types and notations
  • Core instructions
  • Operations
  • Domain specific data types
  • Domain specific operations
  • Macros
  • Concrete syntax
  • Annotations
  • Entrypoints
  • JSON syntax
  • Examples
  • Full grammar
  • Reference implementation
• Proof-of-stake in Tezos
  • Brief Overview
  • Blocks
  • Cycles
  • Delegation
  • Accusations
• Sapling integration
  • Sapling
  • Tezos integration
• The Voting Process
  • Periods
  • Super-majority and Quorum
  • Operations
  • Client Commands
• Glossary
  • Tezos
  • Protocol Alpha
• Command Line Interface
  • Client manual
  • Baker manual
  • Endorser manual
  • Accuser manual
• RPCs - Index
  • Shell and Protocol
  • Protocol 009 Florence
• RPCs - Full description
  • Protocol 009 Florence

Alpha Development Protocol doc:

• Michelson: the language of Smart Contracts in Tezos
  • Semantics of smart contracts and transactions
  • Language semantics
  • Introduction to the type system and notations
  • Core data types and notations
  • Core instructions
  • Operations
  • Domain specific data types
  • Domain specific operations
  • Macros
  • Concrete syntax
  • Annotations
  • Entrypoints
  • JSON syntax
  • Examples
  • Full grammar
  • Reference implementation
• Proof-of-stake in Tezos
  • Brief Overview
  • Blocks
  • Cycles
  • Delegation
  • Accusations
• Sapling integration
  • Sapling
  • Tezos integration
• The Voting Process
  • Periods
  • Super-majority and Quorum
  • Operations
  • Client Commands
• Glossary
  • Tezos
  • Protocol
• Command Line Interface
  • Client manual
  • Baker manual
  • Endorser manual
  • Accuser manual
• RPCs - Index
  • Shell and Protocol
  • Protocol Alpha
• RPCs - Full description
  • Protocol Alpha
• Liquidity Baking
  • Contracts
  • Subsidy
  • Escape hatch

Developer Tutorials:

• JSON/RPC interface
• The data_encoding library
  • Examples/Tutorial
  • How the Dataencoding module works
• The Error Monad
  • Why you want the error monad
  • A simple version of the error monad
  • A slight improvement
  • Traces
  • A more descriptive message
  • Putting Lwt.t in the mix
  • The actual Tezos error monad
• Michelson Anti-Patterns
  • Refunding to a list of contracts
  • Avoid batch operations when users can increase the size of the batch
  • Signatures alone do not prevent replay attacks
  • Storing/transferring private data
  • Not setting all state before a transfer
• How to start reading protocol Alpha
  • The TEZOS_PROTOCOL structure
  • The big abstraction barrier: Alpha_context
  • Below the Alpha_context
  • Above the Alpha_context
• Economic protocol sandboxing
• Overview of Testing in Tezos
  • Testing frameworks
  • Executing tests locally
  • Executing tests through the GitLab CI
  • Conventions
• Flexible Network Sandboxes
  • Build
  • Usage
  • MacOSX Users
  • See Also
  • Concepts
  • Examples
  • Implementation Considerations
  • Special Coding Style
• Python Execution and Testing Environment
  • Code organization
  • Installation
  • A simple sandbox scenario
  • Test suite and pytest
  • Regression testing
  • TODO
  • Known issues
  • Adding new dependencies
• Tezt: OCaml Tezos Test Framework
  • How to Run Tests
  • Regression Tests
  • Pre-commit hook
  • Architecture
  • How to Write New Tests
  • Detailed Walkthrough of the Basic Test
• How to Test a Protocol Proposal
  • The master Branch
  • Unit Tests and Sandboxed Mode
  • Testing Migration Code
  • Manual Migration Testing
  • Wrap up the Manual Migration Procedure
  • Automatic Migration Testing With Tezt
  • Wrap up the Automatic Migration Procedure With Tezt
  • Tips and Tricks
  • Anatomy of Migration Code
• Profiling the Tezos node
  • Memory profiling the OCaml heap
  • Memory profiling the C heap
  • Performance profiling
• Benchmarking with Snoop
  • Architecture of tezos-snoop
  • Usage example
  • Rewriting Micheline with tezos-micheline-rewriting
• How to contribute
  • Introduction
  • Our git strategy
  • Workflow of an MR
  • Preparing a Merge Request
  • Creating the Merge Request
  • Special case: MRs that introduce a new dependency
  • Protocol development MRs
  • Code Review
  • The Merge-Request Bot
• Merge Team
  • Merge Dispatcher
• Coding guidelines
  • License
  • Comments in the code
  • Documenting interfaces and implementations
  • README files
  • Logging Levels
  • Code formatting
  • Coding conventions
• The documentation subsystem
  • Building instructions
  • Writing documentation

Protocols:

• Protocol versioning
  • Protocol naming
  • External resources
• Protocol 003_PsddFKi3
  • Description of the patch
  • How to apply the patch
  • More details on fees and cost model
  • FAQ
• Protocol 004_Pt24m4xi Athens
  • Gas and fees
  • Changelog
• Protocol 005_PsBabyM1 Babylon
  • Emmy+
  • Michelson
  • Proposal quorum
  • Quorum caps
  • Make implicit accounts delegatable
  • Replace KT1 accounts with manager.tz script
  • Changes to RPCs
  • Changes to the binary format of operations
  • Migration from scriptless KT1s to manager.tz
  • Bug affecting Bigmaps in 005_PsBABY5H
  • Changelog
• Protocol 006_PsCARTHA Carthage
  • Baking Daemon
  • Smart Contracts
  • Baking and Endorsing
  • Accounts
  • Michelson
  • Changes to RPCs
  • Changes to the binary format of operations
  • Changelog
• Protocol 007_PsDELPH1 Delphi
  • Performance Improvements
  • Gas Changes
  • Lowered storage costs
  • Bug fixes
  • General code cleanup and refactoring
  • Safety of Michelson
• Protocol 008_PtEdo2Zk Edo
  • Environment V1
  • RPCs
  • Encodings
  • Voting procedure
  • Smart contracts/Michelson
  • Internal
  • Changelog
• Protocol 009_PsFLoren Florence
  • Smart Contracts/Michelson
  • Tooling
  • Performance
  • Governance
  • Migration
  • Internal
  • Authors & Invoice
• Protocol Alpha
  • Emmy*
  • Liquidity Baking
  • RPC changes
  • Minor changes

Releases:

• Release system
• Mainnet April 2019
  • Enable the testchain
  • Peers randomization
  • A lighter setup using snapshots
  • Single machine setup
  • Two machine setup
  • Example setup
• Mainnet May 2019
  • Activation of Athens
  • Storage Migration
  • Changelog
• Mainnet September 2019
  • Changelog
• Mainnet-Staging October 2019
  • Changelog
• Mainnet December 2019
  • Changelog
  • Storage Upgrade
  • Guide for mainnet.sh Users
• Mainnet January 2020
  • Changelog
  • Update Instructions
• Version 7.5
  • Update Instructions
  • New Versioning Scheme
  • Note for Remote Signer Users
  • Multinetwork Node
  • Changelog
• Version 8.3
  • Update Instructions
  • Known Issues
  • Changelog
• Version 9.1
  • Update Instructions
  • Changelog

APIs:

• Online OCaml Documentation
• OpenAPI Specification
  • Shell RPCs
  • Florence RPCs
  • Edo RPCs
  • How to Generate
  • How to Test
• RPC Errors
  • Protocol Alpha
  • Shell
  • Michelson parsing/macros
  • Client
  • Miscellaneous

Indices and tables

• Index

• Search Page