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Cardano library conformance

This repository provides pinned, executable interface and behavioral conformance checks for Cardano libraries. Conformance is organized by capability domain: each new Cardano developer skill contributes a new domain, with its own evidence, examples, and cross-library validation, while the repository keeps one root Nix flake as the unified gate.

At a hard fork, the heavy cardano-ledger/cardano-api reference checks move first and define the new era's target behavior. Floating runs across the other surfaces then show, cell by cell and PR by PR, which libraries have caught up: a falsifiable era-readiness dashboard when the ecosystem needs it most.

Domains

Domain Capability Evidence
balance-fixpoint Bounded transaction balancing when outputs or redeemers depend on the candidate transaction 30 light interface checks, one documentation-drift check, four light worked-example checks, two runtime cross-validations, and three heavy Haskell checks

The first domain retains its original check names for compatibility. Future domains should prefix check names with their domain when ambiguity is possible.

Run the conformance gate

nix flake check

The default gate is intentionally light. Build the upstream unit suite and the two GHC 9.12.3 examples separately:

nix build --accept-flake-config .#heavy-checks

The flake declares the IOG binary cache. For a machine-wide equivalent:

extra-substituters = https://cache.iog.io
extra-trusted-public-keys = hydra.iohk.io:f/Ea+s+dFdN+3Y/G+FDgSq+a5NEWhJGzdjvKNGv0/EQ=

flake.lock fixes all upstream sources. See each domain README for its claim map, falsification protocol, floating-drift commands, and known limits.

This site

  • Balance-fixpoint domain — claim map, gap matrix, worked examples, cross-validation, falsification, and the two preserved audits.
  • Running the gate — pinned run, per-check invocations, falsification, and floating drift mode.
  • Roadmap — where this repository is going, and what is tracked versus intended.
  • Constitution — the principles the evidence and the gate are held to.