cardano.build
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Fig. 1
Cardano mark
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30 nodes, 5 rings of 6, scale 1 col = 5.4 u
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Build on Cardano.

An open index of 516 tools, SDKs, docs, people and places to get help, kept by the community and free to reuse under CC0. Browse it here, or hand it to your coding agent as plain text and JSON.

New to Cardano? Start with where do I start or a hello-world quick start.

For your agent

mainnet epoch – [----------] –% slot – 516 resources in 27 sections updated 2026-10-08
Jump to a section (27)
  1. start/ 25
  2. quickstarts/ 9
  3. tools/ 47
  4. ai/ 12
  5. network/ 120
  6. infrastructure/ 10
  7. identity/ 8
  8. open-source/ 37
  9. cheat-sheets/ 2
  10. education/ 19
  11. research/ 7
  12. diagrams/ 4
  13. services/ 27
  14. project-resources/ 13
  15. safety/ 12
  16. infosec/ 11
  17. utxo-family/ 13
  18. depin/ 5
  19. gaming/ 11
  20. related/ 17
  21. help/ 4
  22. community/ 55
  23. channels/ 15
  24. alliances/ 14
  25. events/ 1
  26. inspiration/ 5
  27. about/ 13

Where do I start?

#start25

First steps, guides and orientation for new Cardano builders.

Guides

Hello-world quick starts

#quickstarts9

The shortest path from zero to a working transaction or validator, per language.

  • Lucid
    Create wallets & submit transactions — JavaScript/TypeScript
    lucid.spacebudz.io
  • PyCardano
    Submit transactions — Python
    github.com
  • Atlas
    Submit transactions — Haskell
    atlas-app.io
  • plu-ts
    On-chain scripts — TypeScript
    pluts.harmoniclabs.tech
  • Aiken
    On-chain scripts — Aiken
    aiken-lang.org
  • Helios
    On-chain scripts — Helios
    helios-lang.io
  • OpShin
    On-chain scripts — Python
    github.com
  • Plutus Tx
    On-chain scripts — Haskell
    plutus.readthedocs.io
  • Demeter
    Hosted Cardano infrastructure with starter kits
    demeter.run

Tools, SDKs & languages

#tools47

Smart contract languages, off-chain SDKs, APIs and hosted infrastructure.

Start here

On-chain languages & toolchains

Off-chain SDKs & libraries

APIs, indexers & hosted infrastructure

Integrations, scaffolds & examples

More tool directories

AI & agents

#ai12

AI resources for Cardano builders — and the endpoints that let your agent read this index.

Use this index from an agent

  • llms.txt
    This index as an llms.txt — the short map for LLM context windows #agent
    cardano.build
  • llms-full.txt
    Every resource, every link, as markdown #agent
    cardano.build
  • index.json
    Structured index (JSON) — the source of truth for this page #agent #json
    cardano.build
  • Agent card
    A2A protocol AgentCard describing what this index can answer #agent #a2a
    cardano.build
  • SKILL.md
    Drop-in skill so a coding agent knows how to use & update this index #agent
    cardano.build

Resources

Network, scaling & governance

#network120

Explorers, Hydra, Mithril, CIP-1694 governance, CIPs and partner chains.

Main chain · settlement layer

Scaling · Hydra & Mithril

Governance · CIP-1694, Voltaire & SanchoNet

CIPs & CPSs of interest

  • What are CIPs?
    Cardano Improvement Proposals & full list
    cips.cardano.org
  • What are CPSs?
    Cardano Problem Statements (listed below the CIPs)
    github.com
  • CIP-8
    Message Signing (Hardware Wallet)
    cips.cardano.org
  • CIP-30
    Cardano dApp-Wallet Web Bridge
    cips.cardano.org
  • CIP-31
    Reference Inputs
    cips.cardano.org
  • CIP-32
    Inline Datums
    cips.cardano.org
  • CIP-33
    Reference Scripts
    cips.cardano.org
  • CIP-57
    Plutus Contract Blueprint
    cips.cardano.org
  • CIP-67 & CIP-68
    Asset name label registry; datum metadata standard (dynamic NFTs)
    cips.cardano.org
  • CIP-88
    Native Asset Policy Registration/Information Certificates
    github.com
  • VeriGlyph
    Verifiable, on-chain registration certificates (CIP-88)
    github.com
  • CIP-93
    Authenticated Web3 HTTP requests
    cips.cardano.org
  • CIP-94
    Polls
    github.com
  • CIP-95
    Cardano dApp-Wallet Web Bridge Governance Extension
    github.com
  • CIP-100?
    Governance Metadata
    github.com
  • CPS-0010
    Wallet Connector Standards / API
    github.com

Interconnections · bridges

Infrastructure

#infrastructure10

Stake pools, devnets, snapshots, batchers and decentralised storage.

Identity / SSI

#identity8

Self-sovereign identity, DIDs, verifiable credentials and KERI.

SSI dev resources

  • bs58
    Base58 Encoder/Decoder JS Library
    cryptocoinjs.com
  • Elliptic
    Fast elliptic-curve cryptography for JavaScript
    npmjs.com
  • W3C DID Specs
    Methods Registry
    github.com
  • Cardano Foundation
    Identity Wallet (Open-Source)
    identity.cardanofoundation.org

Open source

#open-source37

Production Cardano codebases to read and learn from, plus the indexes that track them.

Projects

Indexes & trackers

Cheat sheets

#cheat-sheets2

Printable references for the CLI, governance and indexers.

Education

#education19

Courses, academies, books and explainers.

Research

#research7

Peer-reviewed research behind Cardano and where to find it.

Diagrams

#diagrams4

How it all fits together — tech stack, network, transaction types.

Services & platforms

#services27

Minting, oracles, storage, payments, DAO tooling and APIs you can build on.

Project resources

#project-resources13

Funding, hiring, delivery partners and project tooling.

Staying safe on-chain

#safety12

Tips to protect yourself — and to share with the users of your dApps.

Information security & QA

#infosec11

Building and hosting Cardano apps securely; auditing and testing services.

Auditing & testing services

UTXO family

#utxo-family13

Where UTXO architectures and builders meet — Bitcoin, Ergo and friends.

Things · DePIN

#depin5

Decentralised physical infrastructure on Cardano.

Gaming

#gaming11

Engines, SDKs and communities for games on Cardano.

Gaming community

Discussions & help

#help4

Where to ask questions and get unstuck.

Community

#community55

Town halls, people offering tech advice, and builders to follow.

Tech advice — code review & guidance

Tech community — people to follow

Channels to follow

#channels15

YouTube channels and pools that teach.

Alliances

#alliances14

Alliances and member-based organisations.

Events

#events1

What's on.

I need inspiration!

#inspiration5

Why we build, and ideas for what to build next.

About this index

#about13

Community-maintained, CC0, open to pull requests.