Network Upgrades and Forks
Coordinated dYdX chain software upgrades, hard forks, and network halts that require validators to upgrade node binaries at specific block heights. Includes consensus-breaking changes, state machine migrations, and mandatory client releases. Validator operators, exchanges, and custodians monitor this group to plan downtime, test compatibility, and avoid slashing or service disruption during upgrade windows.
dYdX Chain Upgrade History and Roadmap
A chronological index of all past mainnet upgrades, including version numbers, block heights, and breaking changes. Serves as the canonical reference for operators to understand the chain's evolution, plan for future roadmap milestones, and assess the cumulative impact of consensus-breaking changes on their infrastructure.
v4.0 Genesis and Mainnet Launch
The definitive guide to the initial launch of the dYdX application chain. Covers the genesis file creation, the transition from StarkEx, initial validator set bootstrapping, and the specific binaries and configurations required for the historic launch block. Essential for any team reconstructing the chain's origin state or auditing the migration from the legacy system.
Coordinated Upgrade Execution Guide
A practical, step-by-step operational playbook for validators, exchanges, and custodians on how to execute a planned, non-contentious software upgrade. Covers the timeline from governance proposal passing to post-upgrade verification, emphasizing pre-upgrade health checks and the halt at the target block height to minimize slashing risk.
Emergency Upgrade and Unplanned Hard Fork Procedures
Documents the protocol's social and technical process for responding to critical consensus bugs or security vulnerabilities requiring an out-of-band hard fork. Focuses on coordination channels, decision-making authority, and accelerated deployment steps, providing a framework for incident response teams and risk assessors.
Consensus-Breaking Change Log
A technical deep-dive into each specific consensus-breaking change introduced in every upgrade. A filterable log for developers and integrators to identify exactly which transaction types, message formats, or state machine logic were altered, causing a hard fork and requiring downstream integration updates.
State Machine Migration and State Sync
Covers the technical process of state machine migrations between versions. Explains how validators perform in-place state migrations during an upgrade versus using state sync or snapshots to bootstrap a new node, including risks of state corruption and recovery methods critical for node operators.
Testnet-to-Mainnet Upgrade Path
Details the lifecycle of a protocol upgrade as it moves from internal devnets to the public testnet and finally to mainnet. Explains how operators should use testnet upgrades as a rehearsal to test compatibility, performance, and operational procedures before mainnet activation, reducing the risk of a failed mainnet launch.
Mandatory Client Release and Compatibility Matrix
A definitive compatibility table for each upgrade, specifying the minimum required `dydxprotocold` binary version, compatible Cosmos SDK version, and any critical IBC or CometBFT dependencies. The single source of truth for operators to avoid running incompatible software and getting slashed.
Slashing Avoidance During Upgrade Windows
A risk-focused guide on how validators can avoid downtime slashing and double-signing (tombstoning) during the critical window of a network halt and restart. Covers sentry node architecture, signing key management, and the exact sequence for restarting the node, directly addressing a primary operational risk.
Indexer and Data Service Upgrade Impact
Analyzes how consensus-breaking upgrades and state machine changes impact downstream indexers, data aggregators, and analytics platforms. Covers breaking changes to event structures and new transaction types, providing a timeline for data service providers to update their parsers and maintain data integrity.
Exchange and Custodian Upgrade Readiness Checklist
A dedicated checklist for centralized exchanges and custodians to manage deposit/withdrawal pauses, internal ledger reconciliation, and node re-synchronization during a network upgrade. Focuses on minimizing user-facing service disruption and ensuring accounting integrity, a critical need for institutional operators.
IBC Client and Connection Upgrades
Documents the specific procedures and risks when a dYdX chain upgrade requires updating IBC clients, connections, or channels on counterparty chains. Covers governance proposals on connected chains and the liveness risks if counterparty relayers are not updated in time, crucial for cross-chain infrastructure teams.
dYdX Protocol Versioning and Deprecation Policy
Explains the protocol's semantic versioning scheme for software releases and the formal policy for deprecating old API endpoints, transaction formats, or market types. Helps integrators plan their own maintenance cycles and avoid sudden breaking changes by understanding the protocol's long-term support commitments.
Rollback and Recovery Scenarios
A contingency-focused page detailing the scenarios in which a coordinated chain rollback might be considered after a failed upgrade, the technical and social coordination required, and the catastrophic risks (like double-spends) that make it a near-impossible last resort. A key resource for risk teams modeling worst-case operational failure.