Cardlings: CLI Based Excercises To Master Cardano

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

Cardlings: CLI Based Excercises To Master Cardano

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

60000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

8

[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?

Aspiring Cardano developers lack interactive, hands-on learning tools, creating a steep barier to entry to start developing in cardano.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://github.com/arist76/cardlings/blob/main/README.md

[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

Education

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

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

License: MIT License

We have chosen the MIT License to ensure Cardlings is as accessible and widely adopted as possible. This permissive license allows anyone to use, modify, and distribute the software for any purpose, including commercial use, with minimal restrictions. This directly aligns with our core goal of onboarding the maximum number of new developers to Cardano.

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

All Cardlings development will be public from day one. We will use a standard feature-branch workflow with clear commits and pull requests. We will use conventional commits standards for commits and PRs. Progress, updates, and discussions will be shared consistently with the community through our Discord and Telegram channels.

Since the project begins from scratch upon funding, the repository is initialized to ensure the community can track our entire development journey, guaranteeing full transparency from the first line of code.

How will you provide high quality documentation?

We will provide clear, practical documentation directly within the GitHub repository using Markdown.

A main README.md will offer a project overview and setup guide, while a /docs folder will contain step-by-step tutorials. To ensure clarity for our interactive CLI tool, lessons will be heavily illustrated with screenshots of terminal output and animated GIFs showing the exercises in action. This visual approach helps learners see expected outcomes and builds confidence. A CONTRIBUTING.md file will guide developers wishing to contribute.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

Today, a developer eager to build on Cardano faces a fragmented and frustrating onboarding experience. The core problem is a lack of a single, linear learning path. Resources are scattered across wikis, tutorials, and videos, with no clear roadmap from basic concepts to practical application. This forces developers to wrestle with complex initial setups and bridge a wide gap between abstract blockchain theory and the tangible skills needed to write code and submit transactions. This friction creates a high barrier to entry, turning away talented developers who could be building the future of the Cardano ecosystem.

Our Solution: Cardlings

Our solution, Cardlings, directly addresses this problem by providing a structured, hands-on, and interactive curriculum delivered through a single command-line (CLI) tool. We are building on the proven success of Rustlings, an educational tool that has successfully onboarded thousands of developers to the Rust programming language by guiding them through small, compilable exercises. We apply this powerful "learn-by-doing" methodology to Cardano.

Cardlings guides a developer from foundational blockchain concepts to advanced topics like minting native tokens and interacting with smart contracts. The entire experience is designed to keep the developer in their code editor, creating a seamless and immersive learning flow. Here’s how it works:

1. A user runs cardlings watch in their terminal.
2. They open an exercise file in their editor and follow the instructions.
3. Upon saving the file, Cardlings automatically compiles the code, sends a transaction to an in-memory blockchain, queries the result, and provides instant feedback—all directly in the terminal.

This immediate feedback loop is perfect for blockchain development, as it allows users to understand complex actions like transaction building and validation in a controlled, iterative environment.

You can take a look at the draft of the list of exercises here .

Engagement and Measuring Impact

Our project will engage any developer who is new to the Cardano ecosystem, whether they are coming from traditional web development or another blockchain network. Our primary goal is to convert their existing programming skills into productive Cardano development capabilities.

We will demonstrate and prove our impact through clear, measurable metrics:

• Adoption: The total number of downloads from our public repository.
• Completion: The rate at which users successfully complete the entire curriculum.
• Feedback: Qualitative feedback gathered through our community channels and surveys.
• Ecosystem Contribution: A showcase of projects built by developers who have graduated from the Cardlings program.

Why This Matters for Cardano

Cardano's long-term success depends on a growing, vibrant community of skilled developers. Cardlings is not just an educational tool; it's a strategic asset for ecosystem growth. By lowering the barrier to entry and providing a clear path to proficiency, we directly increase the number of builders capable of creating innovative dApps, tools, and infrastructure on Cardano. An open-source, community-driven project like Cardlings ensures that the foundational knowledge for building on Cardano is accessible to everyone, fostering a more resilient and decentralized

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

The success of Cardlings will bring direct and substantial value to the Cardano community by expanding its pool of skilled developers. A larger, more proficient developer base is the single most critical factor for long-term ecosystem growth, leading to more innovative dApps, a richer tooling landscape, and a more resilient network. Cardlings acts as a public good—an open-source, accessible on-ramp that converts developer curiosity into tangible, productive capability. By simplifying the learning curve, we empower more builders to contribute, ensuring Cardano's future is vibrant and decentralized.

Measuring Our Impact

We will measure our impact using a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics to provide a holistic view of the project's success:

• Quantitative Metrics: We'll track the number of forks from our public repository and the course completion rate. These numbers will give us a clear indication of our reach and effectiveness.
• Qualitative Metrics: We'll actively collect user feedback and testimonials through our community channels. Crucially, we will also track and showcase projects built by Cardlings graduates, as this is the ultimate proof of our project's real-world impact.

Sharing Outputs and Opportunities

Our commitment to the community extends beyond just building the tool; it includes transparently sharing our progress and creating new opportunities.

• Sharing Progress: We will publish regular progress reports or blog posts** **detailing our development milestones, adoption metrics, and user success stories. This keeps the community and stakeholders informed of our impact.
• Creating Opportunities: The primary output—the Cardlings CLI tool—will be freely available to everyone. Furthermore, we will actively seek to partner with existing educational platforms and developer communities within the Cardano ecosystem. By integrating Cardlings into their curriculums, we can amplify its reach and solidify its role as a foundational learning tool for the next wave of Cardano developers.

[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 is composed of experienced developers with a proven track record in Cardano smart contract development, CLI tooling, and open-source contributions. Collectively, we bring a blend of blockchain expertise, backend engineering, and community engagement that makes us well-suited to deliver this project with both technical rigor and transparency.

• Team Lead — Experienced in building Cardano smart contracts, deep familiarity with PlutusTx/Plinth, and strong experience in CLI tooling (multiple CLI-based applications delivered). Responsible for architecture, Cardano integration, and Plinth/Haskell modules.
• Backend & Infrastructure Engineer — Skilled in Dockerized deployments, CI/CD pipelines, and DevOps. Will ensure reproducible builds, robust watcher infrastructure, and secure handling of local testnet environments.
• Education & Developer Experience Engineer — Background in curriculum design, interactive learning tools, and technical writing. Will focus on shaping the Rustlings-style exercises, documentation, and community engagement to maximize accessibility.

Together, our team balances technical expertise, infrastructure reliability, and pedagogical clarity.

How We Validate Feasibility

We will validate feasibility at multiple levels:

1. Technical Prototyping — We already have the capability to spin up a local Cardano devnet via Docker and run end-to-end CLI transactions. The watcher system will be prototyped with a small subset of exercises (CLI basics + minimal validator) to prove the model before expanding.
2. Community Validation — Following Catalyst’s open-source principles, we will publish early versions of the exercises and invite feedback from the developer community (via Discord, GitHub discussions, and Cardano forums). Iteration will be guided by real developer feedback.
3. Progressive Rollout — Curriculum will be modularized into milestones:
   • v0.1 — Foundations (CLI + eUTxO basics)
   • v0.2 — Smart contracts (Plinth validators, datums/redeemers)
   • v0.3 — Advanced patterns + capstone projectsEach stage validates feasibility through working exercises and learner adoption.

Why We Are Best Suited

• Direct Cardano Experience — We have already delivered smart contracts and tools within the Cardano ecosystem, meaning we understand the developer challenges firsthand.
• Proven CLI Development — With multiple CLI applications built, we bring practical expertise in designing intuitive command-line learning workflows.
• Alignment with Ecosystem Needs — Current Cardano learning materials are fragmented (docs, tutorials, videos). Our project consolidates this into hands-on, interactive learning, which reviewers and developers alike consistently recognize as a gap.

Accountability & Fund Management

We will adopt Catalyst-aligned accountability practices:

• Open-source Repository — All development will be done in a public GitHub repo with transparent commit history, tagged milestones, and clear versioning.
• Milestone-based Reporting — Funds will be aligned with deliverables (e.g., release of v0.1, v0.2, v0.3). Reports will include demos and links to working exercises.
• Community Oversight — Early adopters and Catalyst community members will be invited to test each release, providing open validation of progress.
• Budget Transparency — Breakdown of funds by module development, infrastructure, and documentation will be provided, and unspent funds will be clearly tracked.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Foundation & Core Concepts

Milestone Outputs

• Fully Configured Public Repository: The GitHub repository will be professionally structured with a comprehensive README.md that clearly outlines the project's vision, features, and detailed installation instructions. It will include a permissive MIT LICENSE file and a CONTRIBUTING.md guide that specifies the process for reporting issues and submitting pull requests, fostering an open and collaborative environment from day one.
• Functional Core CLI Application: The initial version of the Cardlings CLI will be delivered. This includes the implementation of the essential commands: cardlings list to display available exercises, cardlings watch to initiate the live file-watching and verification process, and cardlings run to check a specific exercise. This forms the foundational interactive loop of the learning experience.
• Completed Exercises (5): The first module, "Blockchain Basics," will be released. This includes 5 exercises covering the fundamentals of Cardano, such as generating cryptographic keys, deriving wallet addresses, and understanding the concept of Unspent Transaction Outputs (UTXOs).

Acceptance Criteria

• The installation guide in the README.md is verified to be accurate and functional on a clean Ubuntu LTS environment by a third-party tester. All specified repository files (README, LICENSE, CONTRIBUTING) are present and contain relevant, high-quality content.
• All core CLI commands (list, watch, run) execute without critical errors. The watch command must successfully detect file saves and trigger the verification process within 3 seconds.
• All 5 exercises within the "Blockchain Basics" module are solvable, and the automated feedback mechanism correctly identifies both correct and incorrect solutions, providing clear, instructive error messages to guide the learner.

Evidence of Completion

• A direct URL to the public GitHub repository containing all the specified files and the initial codebase.
• A comprehensive screencast video (5-10 minutes) will be produced and shared. This video will demonstrate the entire user workflow: cloning the repository, following the README to install the CLI tool, running cardlings list to view the 5 available exercises, and then fully solving at least two exercises to showcase the live feedback loop.

Delivery Month

2

Cost

18000

Progress

30 %

Milestone Title

Basic Transaction Building

Milestone Outputs

• "Transaction Building" Curriculum Module: A new set of exercises will be developed and integrated, focusing on the fundamentals of creating Cardano transactions. This module will guide users through constructing a simple ADA-to-ADA payment, calculating transaction fees, balancing inputs and outputs, and correctly signing the transaction.
• Enhanced Blockchain Simulator: The internal testing environment will be upgraded to accurately process and validate serialized transaction files, ensuring that the feedback provided to the learner is a true reflection of how a real Cardano node would interpret the transaction.
• Completed Exercises (9 Total): This release adds 4 new exercises on transaction building. A cumulative total of 9 exercises are now complete and available to learners.
• Updated User Documentation: A new, detailed guide will be added to the /docs directory, explaining the UTXO model and the transaction lifecycle on Cardano.

Acceptance Criteria

• A tester can successfully complete all 9 available exercises from start to finish. The CLI verifier must correctly accept validly constructed and signed transactions while rejecting invalid ones with descriptive error messages.
• The new documentation is technically accurate and provides sufficient context for a developer new to Cardano to understand the principles behind the exercises.
• The project remains self-contained, not requiring learners to install external tools beyond what is specified in the initial setup guide.

Evidence of Completion

• A link to the official GitHub release (e.g., v0.2.0) that contains the new module, updated CLI, and documentation.
• A short demonstration video (3-5 minutes) focusing on a single exercise from the new "Transaction Building" module. It will show the user's code, the terminal running cardlings watch, and the successful validation of the crafted transaction.
• A direct link to the new documentation page for the UTXO model and transaction building.

Delivery Month

4

Cost

11000

Progress

50 %

Milestone Title

Native Token & Multi-Asset Transactions

Milestone Outputs

• "Native Tokens" Curriculum Module: A complete module focused on Cardano's native token functionality will be released. This will include exercises on creating a minting policy script, defining token metadata, building the minting transaction, and constructing a multi-asset transaction.
• CLI Metadata & Policy Handling: The core verification logic of the CLI will be upgraded to parse transaction metadata and validate minting policies, enabling specific feedback related to token creation.
• Completed Exercises (13 Total): This milestone delivers 4 new exercises on native tokens. A cumulative total of 13 exercises are now polished and available.
• Community Feedback Integration: A CHANGELOG.md file will be created and maintained, publicly documenting bug fixes and improvements made in response to early community feedback.

Acceptance Criteria

• All 13 exercises are fully functional and solvable. The CLI can successfully differentiate between a valid minting transaction that adheres to the policy and an invalid one.
• The learning experience remains seamless, allowing users to complete the entire minting and multi-asset transfer process within the controlled Cardlings environment.
• The CHANGELOG.md shows that at least two meaningful improvements or bug fixes suggested by the community have been implemented in this release.

Evidence of Completion

• A link to the official GitHub release (e.g., v0.3.0) for this module.
• A detailed blog post or an update to the project's documentation that serves as a tutorial for the native token module, illustrated with screenshots and animated GIFs.
• A direct link to the CHANGELOG.md file in the repository.

Delivery Month

6

Cost

11000

Progress

70 %

Milestone Title

Smart Contract Interaction & Community Feedback

Milestone Outputs

• "Smart Contract Interaction" Module: An introductory module on interacting with pre-existing Plutus smart contracts will be released. The exercises will focus on the client-side interaction: constructing transactions that lock and unlock funds from a script address by providing the correct datum and redeemer.
• Completed Exercises (16 Total): This release adds 3 new exercises on smart contract interactions, bringing the curriculum to a total of 16 completed exercises.
• First Public Progress Report: A formal progress report will be written and published as a blog post. This report will detail the project's journey, including quantitative metrics (downloads), a summary of community feedback, lessons learned, and a revised roadmap.

Acceptance Criteria

• A user can successfully complete the entire workflow of the smart contract module: build a transaction to lock funds, and then build a second transaction with the correct datum and redeemer to unlock those funds.
• The progress report is published on a publicly accessible platform and contains both data-driven metrics and a thoughtful analysis of the project's status.
• The report is publicly announced across all project channels (Discord, Telegram, Twitter/X) to ensure it reaches the community and stakeholders.

Evidence of Completion

• A link to the GitHub release (e.g., v0.4.0) containing the new module.
• A comprehensive video walkthrough (5-7 minutes) of a user solving a smart contract interaction exercise, clearly explaining each component of the transaction.
• A direct URL to the published progress report and links to the public announcements of the report.

Delivery Month

7

Cost

11000

Progress

90 %

Milestone Title

Project Completion & Close-Out Report

Milestone Outputs

• Version 1.0.0 Release with 16 Exercises: The complete Cardlings curriculum, incorporating all 16 developed exercises, will be packaged and released as a stable v1.0.0. This includes final bug fixes, performance tweaks, and usability improvements based on all feedback gathered.
• Finalized Documentation: A thorough review and polish of all user-facing documentation will be completed, including the main README.md, installation guide, and all tutorials in the /docs directory to ensure they are clear, accurate, and consistent.
• Project Close-Out Report & Video: A formal, comprehensive Project Close-Out Report will be written, summarizing the project's entire lifecycle. It will detail achievements, final impact metrics, challenges faced, and a sustainability plan. A concise 3-5 minute summary video will be produced to accompany the report.

Acceptance Criteria

• All previous milestones (1 through 4) have been successfully submitted and have received approval from the Catalyst Milestone Reviewers.
• The v1.0.0 release is stable, with no known critical bugs that impede a user's ability to complete the full 16-exercise curriculum.
• The Project Close-Out Report and Video are professionally produced and contain all information required by the Project Catalyst guidelines.

Evidence of Completion

• A direct link to the final v1.0.0 release on the project's GitHub repository.
• The formal submission of the final Project Close-Out Report document through the Catalyst milestone module.
• A publicly accessible link (e.g., on YouTube or Vimeo) to the final Project Close-Out Video.

Delivery Month

8

Cost

9000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Assuming current prices of ADA, Our budget is based on an hourly rate of $20.00 USD for each of our two developers, who will be working full-time (40 hours per week) for the entire 8-month project duration.

This commitment totals a combined salary allocation of $53,760 USD (59,733 ADA), which will be divided equally between the two team members. The remaining $240 USD (267 ADA) is allocated for miscellaneous operational costs, such as domain registration or hosting fees.

This structure brings our total funding request to $54,000 USD (60,000 ADA), ensuring our team is fully compensated for their dedicated, full-time work.

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

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

The primary cost of our project is the full-time compensation for two dedicated, senior-level engineers over an 8-month period. This full-time commitment is a strategic decision that provides immense value for money. It guarantees:

• Faster Delivery: A dedicated team can deliver the complete, polished curriculum significantly faster than a part-time effort.

• Higher Quality: Full-time focus allows for more rigorous testing, refinement of exercises based on community feedback, and comprehensive documentation.

• Dedicated Support: The team will be available to actively engage with the community, answer questions, and support new learners as they progress through the material.

Our requested salaries are globally competitive yet highly cost-effective for the specialized skill set of experienced Rust and Cardano engineers. This budget secures nearly 3,000 hours of focused, expert labor dedicated to building a foundational public good for the ecosystem.

Measuring the Return on Investment (ROI)

The value of this investment can be measured by its efficiency in onboarding new builders. If Cardlings successfully onboards just 300 developers in its first year, the "cost of acquisition" per developer is only 200 ADA.

The potential value a single one of these developers can bring to Cardano—by building a new DeFi protocol, creating essential tooling, or launching a successful business—can be orders of magnitude greater than this initial investment. By creating a scalable, free, and open-source tool, we are effectively lowering the cost of talent acquisition for the entire ecosystem.

In summary, this budget is a lean and targeted investment. It funds a dedicated, expert team to create a permanent, reusable asset that will continuously generate value for Cardano by growing its most vital resource: its community of developers.

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

Terms and Conditions:

Yes