Overview
Dingo is node software, a program that keeps a copy of a blockchain, checks new blocks and transactions against the network's rules, and passes them on to other computers1. Developers can run Dingo to supply their apps with chain data through built-in connections2. Stake pool operators, the people who run the servers that produce new blocks, can use it to make blocks on Cardano's test networks3.
Dingo is built by Blink Labs, a software company that publishes open-source libraries, nodes, and operator tools for Cardano4. Most of Cardano's core software is written in Haskell5, while Dingo is written in the Go programming language1. Blink Labs' funding proposal argues that running several independent node programs, such as Dingo, keeps a serious bug in one from taking down the whole network at once5. Described by Blink Labs as under heavy development and not yet ready for production use1, Dingo makes blocks on test networks3, and its treasury-funded plan6 is aimed at block production on the main network5.
Key Features
- Faster setup from a snapshot. Dingo can sync the chain from its very first block or start from a Mithril snapshot, a ready-made copy of chain data that gets a new node running sooner2.
- Chain data for apps from one program. Built-in APIs, ready-made connection points that apps use to request data, cover Blockfrost-compatible, Mesh (formerly Rosetta), and UTxO RPC formats, so developers can query their own Dingo node directly7.
- Works with the official Cardano CLI. The Cardano CLI, the command-line tool operators use to query a node, works against a synced Dingo node8.
- Storage that fits your setup. Dingo stores block data in Badger, a database built into Dingo, or in cloud storage, and keeps indexed details in SQLite, PostgreSQL, or MySQL, so operators can choose the database they already run2.
- Guided test stake pools. A step-by-step guide walks stake pool operators through generating pool keys, registering a stake address and pool, and running a Dingo block producer on the Preview test network3.
What to Expect
Developers get a single program to download, with builds for Linux, macOS on Apple Silicon, and FreeBSD9. The quick start guide explains the settings file and switches on the built-in APIs7. The source code is open-source under the Apache 2.0 license10.
Stake pool operators will find a guide series covering node setup, keys, registration, and monitoring. The guides mark block production as compatible with the Preview, Preprod, and Musashi test networks, and not with the main network3.
Readers following Cardano's development can trace how Dingo is funded. Early work came from a Project Catalyst grant, Cardano's community funding program, and that proposal is marked complete11. Intersect, the member organization that coordinates Cardano development, reported that the network's governance bodies approved a 6.9 million ADA withdrawal from the Cardano treasury for Dingo6. Blink Labs CEO Chris Gianelloni walked through Dingo's design and roadmap in a Cardano Developer Office Hours session12.
