Cardano Dev Suite: Automated Tools & Templates

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

Cardano Dev Suite: Automated Tools & Templates

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

95000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

6

[Proposal Summary] Translation Information

Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated

No

Original Language

en

[Proposal Summary] Problem Statement

What is the problem you want to solve?

Developing on Cardano can be complex and time-consuming due to repetitive patterns and lack of streamlined tools, hindering efficient dApp creation and slowing down ecosystem growth.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://about.muesliswap.com
,
• https://muesliswap.com/
,
• https://github.com/MuesliSwapTeam

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

No dependencies

[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source

Will your project's outputs be fully open source?

Yes

License and Additional Information

All project outputs, including templates and tools, will be released under the MIT License. This allows anyone to use, modify, and distribute the code freely, promoting transparency and collaboration within the Cardano community. If only certain elements of the code will be open source, we will ensure that all critical components, especially the templates and automated tools, are fully accessible.

[Theme Selection] Theme

Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal

Developer Tools

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

Mention your open source license and describe your open source license rationale.

We will release all project outputs under the MIT License. This permissive license allows anyone to freely use, modify, and distribute the code, even for commercial purposes, as long as the original license notice is included. We chose MIT because it promotes maximum adoption, encourages community contributions, and removes legal barriers that could slow down innovation in the Cardano ecosystem.

How do you make sure your source code is accessible to the public from project start, and people are informed?

As with our previous open source Catalyst projects, we will continuously publish the project’s source code in a public GitHub repository from the start. All commits, branches, and releases will be visible to ensure transparency. We will keep the community informed through regular announcements on our social media channels and relevant Cardano developer forums.

How will you provide high quality documentation?

We will maintain comprehensive, versioned documentation directly in the repository, covering setup, configuration, and API usage. Documentation will be updated for each release to reflect the latest changes. In addition, we will provide step-by-step tutorials, example projects, and use-case guides to support both experienced developers and newcomers to Cardano dApp development.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

We propose to develop a suite of automated tools and templates aimed at simplifying the development process of Cardano dApps. By leveraging our extensive experience with successfully and efficiently implementing both on- and off-chain code for complex decentralized applications on Cardano, we will:

1. Automate Off-chain Code Generation: Build tools that automatically generate off-chain and API infrastructure code in Python, using PyCardano and frameworks like Flask or FastAPI. These tools will infer necessary components from the on-chain code, reducing manual coding efforts. In other words: The developer only writes the essential smart contract code in OpShin (i.e. Python), and our tools automatically generate code for the most important off-chain components such as parsing the dApp-specific datum format of locked UTxOs, maintaining an efficient off-chain database of the dApps on-chain code, and providing a web server with API endpoints for querying dApp state and interacting with the locked smart contract UTxOs.
2. Create Templates: These templates will help developers avoid reinventing the wheel and focus on unique aspects of their project. In particular for smart contract development, many patterns occur frequently. Having a set of such basic code elements at hand greatly speeds up the time from start to the first working on-chain prototype contract.
3. Provide Documentation and Examples: Offer comprehensive documentation and examples to help developers understand and utilize these tools and templates effectively.

Our solution addresses the repetitive nature of dApp development on Cardano by providing ready-to-use components and automating significant portions of the coding process. The development process is streamlined and reduced to only the most essential components (i.e. the parts of the smart contract logic that is unique to each dApp). In our experience, this can enable a single developer to make similar progress as would otherwise be achieved by 3-4 developers building the infrastructure from scratch.

We believe, this represents a great opportunity for developers to focus on innovation, accelerate development cycles, and ultimately contribute to the growth of the Cardano ecosystem.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

Our project will have a significant positive impact on the Cardano community by:

• Lowering the Barrier to Entry: Simplifying the development process makes it easier for new developers to start building on Cardano.
• Increasing Development Efficiency: By reducing repetitive tasks, developers can save time and resources, leading to faster deployment of dApps.
• Accelerating Ecosystem Growth: More efficient development processes will result in a greater number of high-quality dApps, enriching the Cardano ecosystem.
• Promoting Open Source Collaboration: Releasing our tools under an open-source license encourages community involvement and continuous improvement.

[Your Project and Solution] Capabilities & Feasibility

What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

Our team, the MuesliSwap Team, is well-known in the Cardano community for delivering high-tech and innovative solutions. We pioneered the first decentralized exchange (DEX) on Cardano, launching months before any competition, and to date, we provide the only hybrid AMM-Orderbook DEX with an integrated DEX aggregator.

Our team members are particularly strong in developing secure smart-contract-based decentralized applications (dApps), having been at the forefront of DeFi protocol development since the early days of smart contracts on Cardano. The proposed project aligns perfectly with our area of expertise, as we aim to share our accumulated knowledge by providing templates, code examples, and sophisticated tools to simplify on-chain and off-chain development on Cardano.

We have successfully completed multiple projects funded through Catalyst, demonstrating our ability to manage funds responsibly and deliver on our commitments. As a large team of dedicated techies, we have the competence, capacity, and motivation to complete this project on time and with high quality.

Trust and Accountability:

• Transparent Fund Management: We will manage funds with transparency, providing regular financial reports to stakeholders.
• Adherence to Timelines: Commitment to project timelines with regular milestone updates to ensure accountability.
• Open Communication: Maintain open lines of communication with the community and stakeholders throughout the project.

Validating Feasibility:

• Operational Expertise: Leverage our extensive operational experience to ensure technical viability and address potential challenges effectively.
• Rigorous Testing: Engage in thorough testing and code audits to guarantee the quality and security of the templates and tools developed.
• Community Feedback: Actively gather feedback from the developer community during the development process to refine our solutions and ensure they meet the needs of users.

Our proven track record, combined with our commitment to excellence and transparency, positions us as an ideally-suited team to deliver this project with high levels of trust and accountability.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

On-Chain Templates

Milestone Outputs

• Develop and publish templates for common on-chain code patterns using OpShin.
• Examples of such code templates could be: parsing datum and redeemer information, ensuring no double-spending is possible, etc.

Acceptance Criteria

• Creation of a well-structured set of reusable on-chain code templates for common smart contract patterns in OpShin, each accompanied by comprehensive documentation and practical examples.
• All templates must be published in a public GitHub repository, fully tested, and easily adaptable for various Cardano dApp use cases.

Evidence of Completion

• Public access to the repository.
• Availability of documentation and examples.
• Announcement to the Cardano developer community.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

10000

Progress

10 %

Milestone Title

Automated Off-Chain Code Generation

Milestone Outputs

• Create and release tools for automated off-chain and API code generation in Python.
• Tools will generate key infrastructure components from on-chain OpShin contracts, including UTxO parsing, database creation, and web server APIs, significantly reducing manual coding effort.

Acceptance Criteria

• Development of a functional tool capable of generating off-chain code from on-chain components, this includes:
  1. generating code for parsing of on-chain locked UTxOs including dApp-specific datum formats
  2. generating code for building a off-chain DB matching the respecive dApp structure
  3. generating code for a web server for querying dApp state via above DB
• Successful testing with sample smart contracts.
• User guides and documentation created.

Evidence of Completion

• Tool available on GitHub.
• Publication of user guides and documentation.
• Release of demonstration video.

Delivery Month

3

Cost

50000

Progress

60 %

Milestone Title

Full dApp Workflow Demonstration

Milestone Outputs

• Integrate and demonstrate the templates and tools in a sample dApp. This encompasses the full workflow of initially implementing the core smart contract logic, and then automatically generating off-chain code for parsing, DB creation/management, and a API web server. The dApp including all relevant off-chain infrastructure will be ready for testnet deployment based only on the automatically generated components.

Acceptance Criteria

• Development of a sample dApp using the created templates and tools.
• Full functionality and testnet readiness of the generated sample dApp should be verified.
• Deployment instructions should be provided.

Evidence of Completion

• Source code of the sample dApp on GitHub.
• Documentation and deployment guide published.
• Testnet example transactions provided.
• Presentation to the Cardano community.

Delivery Month

5

Cost

25000

Progress

90 %

Milestone Title

Documentation & Project Close-Out

Milestone Outputs

• Finish up the project by completing the following parts:
  1. Record a summary video.
  2. Provide detailed documentation for users to quickly get up-and-running with the provided tools and templates.

Acceptance Criteria

• Publication of comprehensive, beginner-friendly documentation that enables users to quickly install, configure, and use the provided tools effectively.
• Creation of a concise yet engaging summary video showcasing the project’s key outcomes and real-world applications.

Evidence of Completion

• Formal approval of the final project report and summary video by the funding body, confirming all deliverables have been met.
• Public release of the complete documentation, ensuring it is easily accessible to the Cardano developer community.

Delivery Month

6

Cost

10000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Milestone 1 (10,000 ADA):

• Developer Salaries:
  • Chris: 4,000 ADA
  • Pascal: 3,000 ADA
  • Philip: 2,000 ADA
• Documentation and Publishing: 1,000 ADA

Milestone 2 (50,000 ADA):

• Developer Salaries:
  • Josh: 22,000 ADA
  • Pascal: 14,000 ADA
  • Philip: 9,000 ADA
• User Guides and Videos: 5,000 ADA

Milestone 3 (25,000 ADA):

• Developer Salaries:
  • Patrick: 8,000 ADA
  • Josh: 7,000 ADA
• Deployment and Testing: 5,000 ADA
• Documentation and Presentation: 5,000 ADA

Final Milestone (10,000 ADA):

• Creation and Publication of detailed documentation: 8,000 ADA
• Project Close-out Video: 2,000 ADA

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?

Our project offers excellent value for money by providing foundational tools that benefit the entire Cardano developer community:

• Economies of Scale: Investing in reusable templates and tools reduces development costs for countless future projects.
• Time Savings: Developers can significantly reduce development time, accelerating the deployment of new dApps.
• Attracting Talent: Simplifying the development process lowers barriers to entry, attracting new developers to Cardano.
• Open Source Benefits: By releasing our work under an open-source license, we enable continuous improvement and community collaboration, amplifying the project’s value.
• Cost Justification: The budget aligns with industry-standard rates for specialized developers, ensuring fair compensation while delivering high-quality outputs.

By enhancing the developer experience and fostering innovation, our project contributes to the growth and robustness of the Cardano platform, making it a worthwhile investment.

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

Terms and Conditions:

Yes