Network Upgrades and Forks
Covers Stellar Core releases, protocol version bumps, and network-wide upgrades that require validator coordination. Includes Soroban environment upgrades and WASM runtime changes that alter smart contract execution. Node operators and infrastructure providers rely on this group to plan mandatory upgrades, test compatibility, and avoid ledger divergence.
Protocol 20 and the Soroban Activation
Impact analysis of the landmark upgrade that introduced Soroban smart contracts to Stellar Mainnet. Covers the validator quorum coordination, phased activation process, and immediate post-upgrade operational changes for node operators, exchanges, and wallet providers. Includes monitoring requirements and why teams may need an upgrade readiness review.
Protocol 21 and the Soroban Maturity Era
Technical overview of upgrades focused on stabilizing the Soroban smart contract environment. Covers host function interface changes, cost model refinements, and new cryptographic primitives. Affected actors include contract developers, node operators, and infrastructure providers who must test compatibility and update deployment patterns.
Validator Coordination for Protocol Bumps
Practical guide for node operators on the lifecycle of a Stellar protocol vote. Covers setting the upgrade ledger sequence, monitoring quorum agreement, and the step-by-step process for installing new Stellar Core versions. Includes rollback planning and why operators may need a coordination readiness assessment.
The Upgrade Voting Process and SCP Mechanics
Deep dive into how the Stellar Consensus Protocol triggers network-wide upgrades. Explains validator signaling, quorum thresholds, and how to interpret the upgrades array in ledger headers. Relevant for protocol architects, risk teams, and infrastructure operators who need to understand upgrade activation guarantees.
Soroban WASM Runtime Upgrades
Tracks breaking changes to the WebAssembly execution engine for Soroban smart contracts. Covers new WASM features, deprecated instructions, and how runtime changes can alter contract determinism. Contract developers and auditors must re-compile, re-test, and potentially re-deploy affected contracts.
Soroban Host Function Versioning
Documents the lifecycle of host functions—the system calls Soroban contracts use to interact with the ledger. Covers introduction, deprecation, and metering changes across protocol versions. Developers and security reviewers need this to assess contract compatibility and gas cost implications.
Soroban Resource Fee and Cost Model Changes
Analysis of evolving economics for Soroban smart contract execution. Covers CPU instruction costs, memory pricing, and read/write fees that directly impact deployment and execution budgets. Critical for developers, exchanges integrating Soroban assets, and risk teams modeling operational costs.
Soroban State Expiration and Archival Upgrades
Details the implementation and refinement of state archival for long-term ledger sustainability. Covers rent mechanics, contract instance lifecycle from live to archived, and restoration procedures. Node operators and infrastructure providers must support archival and restoration to maintain data availability.
Testnet-to-Mainnet Upgrade Paths
Guide for developers on how protocol changes propagate from Futurenet to Testnet to Mainnet. Covers typical timelines, compatibility testing at each stage, and risks of building against pre-release protocol versions. Helps teams plan integration testing and avoid deployment surprises.
Preparing for a Mandatory Upgrade: An Operator's Checklist
Durable procedural page for infrastructure providers facing a mandatory Stellar Core upgrade. Covers release note review, staging environment testing, ledger backup, quorum health monitoring, and rollback planning. Positions Chainscore for upgrade readiness and verification engagements.
Managing Ledger Divergence Risks
Technical deep-dive on how non-standard validator configurations or buggy Core releases can cause nodes to diverge from the network. Covers common causes, detection using SCP tooling, and recovery procedures. Essential for exchanges, custodians, and validators who must maintain consensus integrity.
Stellar Core Release Compatibility Matrix
Reference page mapping Stellar Core major versions to the protocol versions they support. Helps operators quickly determine which Core binary is required for safe consensus participation. Reduces risk of running incompatible software during upgrade transitions.
Horizon API Changes from Protocol Upgrades
Documents how new protocol features manifest in the Horizon data API. Covers new endpoints, new fields in existing resources like Soroban transaction meta, and deprecated response formats. Exchanges, wallets, and data indexers must handle these changes to avoid integration breakage.
SDK and XDR Schema Evolution
Tracks downstream impact of protocol upgrades on developer tooling. Covers XDR schema changes that define transaction and ledger structures, and how these force major version bumps in Stellar SDKs. Developers and integration engineers need this to plan SDK migration work.
Core Configuration Parameter Changes
Details new, deprecated, or modified settings in stellar-core.cfg that accompany protocol upgrades. Covers quorum set configuration, history archive settings, and resource limits. Node operators must adjust these during release to maintain correct validator behavior.
Monitoring Quorum Health During an Upgrade
Practical guide on using metrics and logs to monitor network health during the critical upgrade window. Covers key Prometheus metrics, log patterns indicating trouble, and confirmation that the network has externalized the new protocol version. Positions Chainscore for monitoring setup and health verification services.
Post-Soroban Protocol Roadmap
Forward-looking page tracking proposed protocol versions beyond Protocol 21. Covers planned changes to core protocol efficiency, state archival mechanisms, and further integration between classic Stellar operations and the Soroban environment. Helps protocol architects and investors anticipate future network evolution.