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what is cardano-sl fr?

input-output-hk/cardano-sl — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-26

3,763HaskellAudience · researcherComplexity · 5/5Setup · hard

tl;dr

The original Haskell source code for the Cardano cryptocurrency base layer, implementing the Ouroboros proof-of-stake protocol for recording and transferring ADA, now a historical archive as development has moved to successor repositories.

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mindmap
  root((cardano-sl))
    What it is
      Cardano base layer
      ADA ledger
      Historical codebase
    Key technology
      Ouroboros protocol
      Proof of stake
      Formal security proof
    Language
      Haskell
      Functional style
      Formal verification
    Status
      Archived
      Succeeded by upgrades
      Academic reference

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what do people make with this?

VIBE 1

Study the original implementation of Ouroboros, the first formally proven proof-of-stake blockchain consensus protocol

VIBE 2

Use as an academic reference for understanding how energy-efficient block production was first implemented at scale

VIBE 3

Explore how Haskell and formal verification techniques were applied to build a production cryptocurrency network

what's the stack?

Haskell

how it stacks up fr

input-output-hk/cardano-slhigherorderco/kindsimonmichael/hledger
Stars3,7633,7434,490
LanguageHaskellHaskellHaskell
Setup difficultyhardhardmoderate
Complexity5/54/52/5
Audienceresearcherresearchergeneral

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

how do i run it?

Difficulty · hard time til it works · 1day+

This is a historical codebase with sparse setup instructions, active Cardano development has moved to successor repositories.

No license information is provided in this repository's README.

in plain english

Cardano SL (Settlement Layer) is the original source code for the Cardano cryptocurrency, developed by IOHK, a blockchain research and engineering company. It represents the first full implementation of the Cardano blockchain, written in Haskell, a programming language known for its emphasis on mathematical correctness and formal verification. The Settlement Layer is the base layer of the Cardano network: it handles recording and transferring ownership of ADA, the native coin of the Cardano blockchain. The name "Settlement Layer" comes from the original Cardano architecture, which separated the currency ledger (settlement) from the computation and smart contract layer (a separate planned component at the time). The key technical feature this codebase implements is the Ouroboros proof-of-stake protocol. In most early blockchains, new blocks were added by computers competing to solve computational puzzles (proof of work), which consumes large amounts of energy. Ouroboros instead selects block producers based on how much of the currency they hold and have staked, which achieves the same network security properties with far less energy use. Ouroboros was notable at the time of release because it came with a formal academic security proof, published in peer-reviewed research. The README for this repository is sparse and points to external documentation for installation instructions, building from source, and contributing guidelines. This codebase is historical in nature: Cardano has since undergone multiple major upgrades (Shelley, Goguen, Basho, Voltaire) and the active development has moved to successor repositories.

prompts (copy fr)

prompt 1
Explain how the Ouroboros proof-of-stake protocol in cardano-sl selects block producers without using energy-intensive mining.
prompt 2
What is the Settlement Layer in Cardano SL and how does it differ from the computation layer that was planned separately?
prompt 3
How does cardano-sl use Haskell to achieve mathematical correctness guarantees that most blockchain codebases lack?
prompt 4
Walk me through the key modules in the cardano-sl codebase that implement the core ledger and transaction validation logic.

Frequently asked questions

what is cardano-sl fr?

The original Haskell source code for the Cardano cryptocurrency base layer, implementing the Ouroboros proof-of-stake protocol for recording and transferring ADA, now a historical archive as development has moved to successor repositories.

What language is cardano-sl written in?

Mainly Haskell. The stack also includes Haskell.

What license does cardano-sl use?

No license information is provided in this repository's README.

How hard is cardano-sl to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated hard, with roughly 1day+ to a first successful run.

Who is cardano-sl for?

Mainly researcher.

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