bcfc889f25
This implements a new `Transport` interface and related types for the P2P refactor in #5670. Previously, `conn.MConnection` was very tightly coupled to the `Peer` implementation -- in order to allow alternative non-multiplexed transports (e.g. QUIC), MConnection has now been moved below the `Transport` interface, as `MConnTransport`, and decoupled from the peer. Since the `p2p` package is not covered by our Go API stability, this is not considered a breaking change, and not listed in the changelog. The initial approach was to implement the new interface in its final form (which also involved possible protocol changes, see https://github.com/tendermint/spec/pull/227). However, it turned out that this would require a large amount of changes to existing P2P code because of the previous tight coupling between `Peer` and `MConnection` and the reliance on subtleties in the MConnection behavior. Instead, I have broadened the `Transport` interface to expose much of the existing MConnection interface, preserved much of the existing MConnection logic and behavior in the transport implementation, and tried to make as few changes to the rest of the P2P stack as possible. We will instead reduce this interface gradually as we refactor other parts of the P2P stack. The low-level transport code and protocol (e.g. MConnection, SecretConnection and so on) has not been significantly changed, and refactoring this is not a priority until we come up with a plan for QUIC adoption, as we may end up discarding the MConnection code entirely. There are no tests of the new `MConnTransport`, as this code is likely to evolve as we proceed with the P2P refactor, but tests should be added before a final release. The E2E tests are sufficient for basic validation in the meanwhile.
Tendermint
Byzantine-Fault Tolerant State Machines. Or Blockchain, for short.
| Branch | Tests | Coverage | Linting |
|---|---|---|---|
| master |  |
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Tendermint Core is Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) middleware that takes a state transition machine - written in any programming language - and securely replicates it on many machines.
For protocol details, see the specification.
For detailed analysis of the consensus protocol, including safety and liveness proofs, see our recent paper, "The latest gossip on BFT consensus".
Releases
Please do not depend on master as your production branch. Use releases instead.
Tendermint is being used in production in both private and public environments, most notably the blockchains of the Cosmos Network. However, we are still making breaking changes to the protocol and the APIs and have not yet released v1.0. See below for more details about versioning.
In any case, if you intend to run Tendermint in production, we're happy to help. You can contact us over email or join the chat.
Security
To report a security vulnerability, see our bug bounty program. For examples of the kinds of bugs we're looking for, see our security policy.
Minimum requirements
| Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|
| Go version | Go1.15 or higher |
Documentation
Complete documentation can be found on the website.
Install
See the install instructions.
Quick Start
- Single node
- Local cluster using docker-compose
- Remote cluster using Terraform and Ansible
- Join the Cosmos testnet
Contributing
Please abide by the Code of Conduct in all interactions.
Before contributing to the project, please take a look at the contributing guidelines and the style guide. You may also find it helpful to read the specifications, watch the Developer Sessions, and familiarize yourself with our Architectural Decision Records.
Versioning
Semantic Versioning
Tendermint uses Semantic Versioning to determine when and how the version changes. According to SemVer, anything in the public API can change at any time before version 1.0.0
To provide some stability to Tendermint users in these 0.X.X days, the MINOR version is used to signal breaking changes across a subset of the total public API. This subset includes all interfaces exposed to other processes (cli, rpc, p2p, etc.), but does not include the Go APIs.
That said, breaking changes in the following packages will be documented in the CHANGELOG even if they don't lead to MINOR version bumps:
- crypto
- config
- libs
- bits
- bytes
- json
- log
- math
- net
- os
- protoio
- rand
- sync
- strings
- service
- node
- rpc/client
- types
Upgrades
In an effort to avoid accumulating technical debt prior to 1.0.0, we do not guarantee that breaking changes (ie. bumps in the MINOR version) will work with existing Tendermint blockchains. In these cases you will have to start a new blockchain, or write something custom to get the old data into the new chain. However, any bump in the PATCH version should be compatible with existing blockchain histories.
For more information on upgrading, see UPGRADING.md.
Supported Versions
Because we are a small core team, we only ship patch updates, including security updates, to the most recent minor release and the second-most recent minor release. Consequently, we strongly recommend keeping Tendermint up-to-date. Upgrading instructions can be found in UPGRADING.md.
Resources
Tendermint Core
For details about the blockchain data structures and the p2p protocols, see the Tendermint specification.
For details on using the software, see the documentation which is also hosted at: https://docs.tendermint.com/master/
Tools
Benchmarking is provided by tm-load-test.
Additional tooling can be found in /docs/tools.
Applications
- Cosmos SDK; a cryptocurrency application framework
- Ethermint; Ethereum on Tendermint
- Many more
Research
- The latest gossip on BFT consensus
- Master's Thesis on Tendermint
- Original Whitepaper: "Tendermint: Consensus Without Mining"
- Tendermint Core Blog
- Cosmos Blog
Join us!
Tendermint Core is maintained by Interchain GmbH. If you'd like to work full-time on Tendermint Core, we're hiring!
Funding for Tendermint Core development comes primarily from the Interchain Foundation, a Swiss non-profit. The Tendermint trademark is owned by Tendermint Inc., the for-profit entity that also maintains tendermint.com.