CardanoWeb3js — Enhancing the TypeScript SDK for Cardano

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

CardanoWeb3js — Enhancing the TypeScript SDK for Cardano

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

15000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

4

[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?

Cardano lacks robust TypeScript SDKs, making dApp development harder and limiting adoption. A versatile TS library will lower entry barriers and accelerate ecosystem growth

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://cardano-web3-js.org/
,
• https://github.com/xray-network/cardano-web3-js

[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

MIT License

[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.

CardanoWeb3js is released under the MIT License to maximize openness, collaboration, and adoption. The permissive nature of MIT encourages developers, startups, and enterprises to freely use, modify, and integrate the library into their projects without restrictive obligations. This lowers friction for innovation, fosters community contributions, and ensures the SDK can become a widely trusted standard within the Cardano ecosystem.

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

From project start, CardanoWeb3js has been publicly available on GitHub under MIT License, ensuring full transparency and accessibility. The library is already published on NPM with 150+ weekly downloads, demonstrating active developer adoption. To keep the community informed, we maintain dedicated X (Twitter) and Telegram channels for updates, discussions, and support.

How will you provide high quality documentation?

High-quality documentation is provided through our website https://cardano-web3-js.org, built with VitePress. It features structured guides, detailed API references, and practical examples, ensuring developers can quickly learn and effectively use the SDK.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

Our proposed solution focuses on enhancing the existing CardanoWeb3js SDK to make it more powerful, secure, and developer-friendly. By extending its capabilities, we aim to provide a comprehensive toolkit that supports governance, secure key management, and seamless integration with key Cardano services, while ensuring the SDK’s architecture is robust and future-proof.

1. Governance Actions: Implement full support for creating, managing, and building transactions for Cardano governance actions, enabling developers to easily integrate on-chain governance features.
2. Hardware Wallets: Add native support for Trezor and Ledger devices, ensuring secure key management and broader adoption by users who rely on hardware wallets.
3. Client Integrations: Integrate and enhance TypeScript clients such as Koios, Kupo, and Ogmios, providing unified and simplified access to essential Cardano services.
4. Architecture Enhancements: Improve the SDK’s internal architecture to ensure better scalability, maintainability, and long-term reliability for developers and projects.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

CardanoWeb3js will significantly lower the barriers for developers entering the Cardano ecosystem. By providing a versatile, well-documented TypeScript SDK, it enables web developers, many of whom are already familiar with TypeScript and JavaScript, to build dApps and integrations more efficiently. This ease of entry is essential for attracting new talent and projects into Cardano.

Support for governance actions will empower developers to build tools that directly connect communities with on-chain decision-making. This fosters greater participation in Cardano’s decentralized governance and helps projects seamlessly integrate governance features into their applications.

Native hardware wallet support ensures that users can interact with Cardano dApps in a secure and trusted way. This is critical for mainstream adoption, as security and usability are key requirements for both individual users and institutional participants.

By integrating and enhancing TypeScript clients like Koios, Kupo, and Ogmios, CardanoWeb3js will unify access to essential services across the ecosystem. This reduces fragmentation, improves reliability, and helps developers build scalable applications faster.

Finally, architectural enhancements will ensure that the SDK remains maintainable and future-proof, enabling it to grow alongside Cardano itself. This will position CardanoWeb3js as a core building block for developers, accelerating innovation and strengthening the entire ecosystem.

[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 has already developed and published CardanoWeb3js, which is live on NPM with 150+ weekly downloads and actively maintained on GitHub. The SDK is built in TypeScript, a language widely adopted in the web development community, ensuring accessibility and familiarity for thousands of potential contributors. We also provide high-quality documentation through https://cardano-web3-js.org, featuring detailed guides, API references, and practical examples.

The project is open source under the MIT License, encouraging collaboration and contributions from the Cardano developer community. With active communication channels on X (Twitter) and Telegram, we engage with developers directly, gather feedback, and ensure continuous improvement. Our proven track record of delivery, adoption, and community support demonstrates that we are capable of executing the proposed enhancements and sustaining long-term maintenance of the SDK.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Architectre Improvements

Milestone Outputs

1. Refactored SDK into a modular and scalable structure that improves maintainability and long-term adaptability.
2. Clear separation of core modules and reusable components with standardized coding patterns for easier collaboration.
3. Updated and expanded documentation reflecting the new architecture, with contribution guidelines for developers.

Acceptance Criteria

1. All core functionality remains fully compatible with existing integrations.
2. Unit tests cover at least 80% of the codebase to ensure stability of the refactored SDK.
3. Modular design demonstrates improved performance, simpler debugging, and better readability for contributors.

Evidence of Completion

Updated GitHub repository with refactored code, updated documentation, examples published, release available via NPM.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

6000

Progress

40 %

Milestone Title

Governance Actions

Milestone Outputs

1. Full support for Cardano Governance Actions including creation, management, and transaction building.
2. Utilities that allow developers to integrate voting, proposal submission, and governance workflows into dApps.
3. Clear examples, API references, and step-by-step developer guides for governance functionality in the SDK.

Acceptance Criteria

1. Developers can build and submit governance transactions on testnet successfully using the SDK.
2. All major governance features are fully implemented and accessible via the SDK APIs.
3. Documentation includes code snippets and usage scenarios, and implementation passes testnet integration tests.

Evidence of Completion

Merged PRs in GitHub repo, updated documentation, examples of transactions published, release available via NPM.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

3000

Progress

60 %

Milestone Title

Client Integrations

Milestone Outputs

1. Integration of Koios, Kupo, and Ogmios clients into the SDK with a unified TypeScript interface.
2. Enhanced querying capabilities for blockchain data such as UTxO sets, history, and state, ensuring reliability.
3. Simplified developer experience allowing seamless switching between clients with minimal code changes.

Acceptance Criteria

1. Unified API enables developers to query blockchain data consistently across Koios, Kupo, and Ogmios.
2. Documentation provides detailed integration examples for each client service with real-world usage guides.

Evidence of Completion

Merged PRs in GitHub repo, updated documentation, examples of data queries published, release available via NPM.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

3000

Progress

80 %

Milestone Title

Hardware Wallets

Milestone Outputs

1. Native SDK support for Ledger and Trezor devices for secure key management and transaction signing.
2. Abstractions for connecting, authenticating, and performing cryptographic operations with hardware devices.
3. Step-by-step examples and guides for integrating hardware wallets into Cardano dApps via the SDK.

Acceptance Criteria

1. Developers can connect Ledger and Trezor devices and sign transactions using the SDK on testnet.
2. Signed transactions can be successfully broadcast to the Cardano network using the hardware wallets.
3. Documentation provides detailed setup instructions and sample workflows for both Ledger and Trezor integration.

Evidence of Completion

Merged PRs in GitHub repo, updated documentation, step-by-step hardware wallet guides in documentation, release available via NPM.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

3000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

• Month 1: 6,000 ADA developer salary for architecture work
• Month 2: 3,000 ADA for governance features and docs
• Month 3: 3,000 ADA for integrations and testing
• Month 4: 3,000 ADA for hardware wallets and final polish
• Total: 15,000 ADA

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

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

The project cost delivers strong value by filling the gap of missing TypeScript SDKs in Cardano. Enhancing CardanoWeb3js with governance, hardware wallets, and client integrations lowers entry barriers, attracts developers, and enables more secure and scalable dApps, driving long-term adoption across the ecosystem.

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

Terms and Conditions:

Yes