Datum Explorer: Advanced CBOR tools & Interactive Features

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

Datum Explorer: Advanced CBOR tools & Interactive Features

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

100000

[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?

Interacting with Cardano datums is hindered by low-level CBOR encoding, requiring expertise. Datum Explorer helps, but needs upgrades for flexibility, usability, and broader on-chain data support.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://datum-explorer.wingriders.com/
,
• https://github.com/WingRiders/datum-explorer
,
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p57vM1FDOxw

[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

Project will be fully open-source under 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.

The MIT License offers a simple framework that maximizes freedom for developers and organizations. It allows anyone to use, modify and integrate the Datum Explorer without restrictions, while still preserving attribution. Its clarity and minimal legal overhead encourage adoption and foster innovation 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 the start, all source code will be publicly available on GitHub, enabling free use, modification, and integration. Development will be transparent, with open commits and pull requests. Updates will be shared through the Catalyst program, WingRiders Twitter, Discord, and other communication channels.

How will you provide high quality documentation?

Documentation will be maintained in the open-source repository, updated alongside each feature release. It will include clear usage guides, API references, annotated examples, and contribution instructions. Both technical and non-technical users will have access to step-by-step tutorials, screenshots, and demo videos to ensure easy adoption and community contributions.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

The Datum Explorer streamlines interaction with Cardano datums by decoding CBOR data into human-readable formats based on schema definitions. Our project will elevate this tool into a full-featured platform for inspecting, editing, and interacting with on-chain data—accessible to developers and non-technical users alike. The upgrade will focus on advanced display features, developer ergonomics, browser integration, and community-driven schema support. It will also expand integration pathways, notably with Aiken blueprints and other external schema sources. These enhancements will boost transparency, accelerate development workflows, and make datum data easier to understand and work with across Cardano’s ecosystem.

Based on the actual feasibility assessment during the project, we commit to delivering at least 10 out of the following 12 features:

• Chrome extension for Cardanoscan / Cexplorer

  • A Google Chrome extension that augments popular block explorers by injecting decoded datums directly into the webpage when viewing transactions. This allows users to see structured data inline, without switching tools.

• Custom rendering of common data structures

  • Common constructs like addresses and UTxOs will be rendered in more intuitive formats. For example, a spending+staking credential pair can be shown as a bech32 address (clickable and copyable), while txHash + index can be formatted as a utxoId with direct explorer links. Projects or users will be able to customize these displays via schema annotations or UI preferences.

• Currency display and tooltips

  • ADA amounts will be enhanced with real-time fiat equivalents via tooltips. This provides context when evaluating balances or interpreting economic data embedded in datums.

• Light/dark mode toggle

  • A simple UI feature allowing users to switch between light and dark themes, improving readability in different environments.

• Interactive datum editor

  • An optional editing panel will allow users to modify decoded values, re-encode them into CBOR, and inspect the changes. This is especially useful for creating test fixtures or experimenting with schema variants. Input validation, change tracking, and encoding fidelity (e.g., preserving definite-length arrays) will be carefully handled.

• Structured highlighting on hover

  • When hovering over fields in the decoded view, the corresponding segment in the raw CBOR will be highlighted with a color-coded palette. This bridges the gap between the binary and semantic representations.

• CDDL comments as tooltips

  • Comments embedded in CDDL schema definitions will be extracted and displayed as tooltips, helping users understand the meaning of specific fields at a glance.

• Local storage of decoding history

  • Recently viewed CBOR payloads will be saved locally in the browser, allowing users to revisit previous datums, improving continuity across sessions.

• Datum diffing

  • Users will be able to compare two datums side-by-side, with visual diffs highlighting changes. This is useful for auditing contract state transitions or debugging encoding logic.

• Improved error handling and diagnostics

  • Decoding errors will be surfaced with clarity, pinpointing the exact byte locations and suggesting quick fixes where possible. This improves usability for schema authors and developers troubleshooting malformed data.

• Schema favorites and auto-suggestion

  • Users can mark frequently used schemas as favorites. These will appear at the top of suggestions when decoding a new datum, saving time and reducing cognitive load.

• Aiken blueprint integration

  • Blueprint JSONs from Aiken projects contain type definitions that can be converted into CDDL automatically. This reduces manual schema authoring. Where needed, the generated schema can be fine-tuned to suit Datum Explorer’s flattening and customization options. Additional support for generics and advanced CDDL features will be implemented to accommodate complex Aiken structures.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

Datum Explorer is already being used by developers and auditors in transaction analysis workflows. With these upgrades, we will broaden its applicability to wallets, explorers, and general dApp users. Enhanced tooling fosters ecosystem transparency, streamlines developer workflows, and boosts adoption of schema-driven datum standards. We’ll track adoption through usage metrics, community feedback, and the number of projects integrating the tool into their own workflows.

Developers & Auditors – Gain access to schema-driven decoding directly in their existing workflows, with faster integration options for local testing and live analysis. This reduces time spent on manual decoding and increases accuracy.

Wallet Providers – Can integrate datum decoding directly into wallet interfaces, enabling users to understand transaction details without leaving the app, improving UX and trust.

Blockchain Explorers – Benefit from an API and registry that can be embedded into explorer views, giving end users deeper insight into on-chain data without requiring specialized tools.

dApp Teams – Can use the upgraded registry and APIs to ensure their datums are consistently interpretable across the ecosystem, making onboarding for new users smoother and reducing support overhead.

End Users – Gain better visibility into what’s happening with their transactions, through wallets and explorers that integrate Datum Explorer, fostering transparency and confidence in using Cardano dApps.

Ecosystem Standards & Community – Expanded schema adoption drives standardization, improving interoperability and reducing fragmentation across projects building on Cardano.

[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?

The WingRiders engineering team (authors of Datum Explorer) has extensive experience in developing blockchain tooling, including hardware wallet integrations and smart contract interfaces. The proposed features are incremental and build on existing architecture, ensuring technical feasibility. Feature scoping is structured to allow flexibility in prioritizing the most valuable enhancements while maintaining delivery within scope.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Core architecture & API foundation for UI enhancements

Milestone Outputs

• Refactored internal structures enabling modular UI features.
• Feature flag system for optional feature toggling.
• Integrated CDDL schema source (prepared for Aiken integration).
• Additional CDDL feature support (e.g., generics).

Acceptance Criteria

• Codebase is reorganized so UI modules can be independently loaded/unloaded without breaking core functionality. Verified through functional tests and code review
• Modular architecture enables loading and disabling individual UI modules via feature flags.
• System can fetch and parse CDDL schemas from a configurable source.
• CDDL parser handles advanced features such as generics, validated against a sample schema using these features

Evidence of Completion

• GitHub commit history showing refactor.
• Screenshots showing the application in different states based on various feature flag sets.
• Test results confirming parsing success.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

30000

Progress

30 %

Milestone Title

Advanced data display & presentation features

Milestone Outputs

At least 7/8 of the features implemented:

• Chrome extension for Cardanoscan / Cexplorer
• Custom rendering of common data structures: Screenshots showcasing the feature - Tests that verify data structure conversion
• Currency display and tooltips: Screenshots showcasing the feature - Tests that verify ADA price fetching works
• Light/dark mode toggle: Screenshots showcasing the feature
• Structured highlighting on hover: Screenshots showcasing the feature - Tests that verify correct segments in the raw CBOR are returned
• CDDL comments as tooltips: Screenshots showcasing the feature - Tests that verify embedded comments are extracted from CDDL schema definitions
• Local storage of decoding history: Video showcasing the feature - Tests that verify restored decoding histories corresponds to the stored ones
• Schema favorites and auto-suggestion: Video showcasing the feature - Tests that verify restored schema corresponds to the stored ones

Acceptance Criteria

At least 7/8 of the features implemented:

• Chrome extension for Cardanoscan / Cexplorer
• Custom rendering of common data structures: Common constructs are displayed in more intuitive formats - Screenshots demonstrate each data structure with its old and new format - All tests pass
• Currency display and tooltips: Tooltips display ADA amounts in real-time fiat equivalents - Screenshots demonstrate new tooltips with correct values - All tests pass
• Light/dark mode toggle: Users can switch between light and dark themes - Screenshots demonstrate light and dark theme - All tests pass
• Structured highlighting on hover: Users can hover over fields in the decoded view, which highlights corresponding segment in the raw CBOR - Screenshots demonstrate correct CBOR highlighting - All tests pass
• CDDL comments as tooltips: Tooltips display comments embedded in CDDL schema definitions - Screenshots demonstrate new tooltips with correct comments embedded in CDDL schema definitions - All tests pass
• Local storage of decoding history: Recently viewed CBOR payloads displayed in the app - Video demonstrates adding CBOR payload to recently viewed list and displaying correct data - All tests pass
• Schema favorites and auto-suggestion: Users can mark frequently used schemas as favorites - Favorites appear at the top of suggestions when decoding a new datum - Video demonstrates marking a schema as favorite and it appearing at the top of suggestions - All tests pass

Evidence of Completion

For each of the 7/8 of the features implemented:

• Link to the open source GitHub repository containing the changes
• Link to the screenshots/video
• Link to the tests results in the open source GitHub repository

Delivery Month

2

Cost

30000

Progress

60 %

Milestone Title

Editing & comparison tooling infrastructure

Milestone Outputs

• Backend and frontend enhancements for the next set of capabilities.
• Updated API endpoints and UI components aligned with backend changes.
• At least 3/4 of the features implemented:

1. Interactive datum editor
   1. Video showcasing the feature
   2. Tests that verify CBOR encoding works
2. Datum diffing
   1. Screenshots showcasing the feature
   2. Tests that verify diffs are correctly displayed
3. Improved error handling and diagnostics
   1. Screenshots showcasing the feature
   2. Tests that verify exact byte location of malformed CBOR
4. Aiken blueprint integration
   1. Video that showcases the feature
   2. Unit tests covering the functionality

Acceptance Criteria

At least 3/4 of the features implemented:

1. Interactive datum editor
   1. An optional editing panel will allow users to modify decoded values, re-encode them into CBOR, and inspect the changes
   2. Video demonstrates the editing panel, modifying decoded values and re-encoding them into CBOR
   3. All tests pass
2. Datum diffing
   1. Users are able to compare two datums side-by-side, with visual diffs highlighting changes
   2. Screenshots demonstrate two datums side-by-side, with visual diffs highlighting changes
   3. All tests pass
3. Improved error handling and diagnostics
   1. Decoding errors are pinpointed in the exact byte locations and suggestions for quick fixes are provided where possible
   2. Screenshots demonstrate decoding errors and provided fixes
   3. All tests pass
4. Aiken blueprint integration
   1. Additional support for generics and advanced CDDL features is implemented to accommodate complex Aiken structures.
   2. Video demonstrates Aiken blueprint integration
   3. All tests pass

Evidence of Completion

For each of the 3/4 of the features implemented:

• Link to the open source GitHub repository containing the changes
• Link to the screenshots/video
• Link to the tests results in the open source GitHub repository

Delivery Month

3

Cost

25000

Progress

90 %

Milestone Title

Project Close-out Report and Project Close-out Video

Milestone Outputs

1. A 2/3 page written summary ‘Project Close-out Report’. Includes LKey Performance Indicators (KPIs) achieved during the project, including: 1. Number of schemas added to the registry (minimum 10). 2. Number of unique projects (protocols such as WingRiders) represented in the registry (minimum 5) - represents the actual usage 3. Number of contributions from the community (minimum 5 pull requests). 4. Social media engagement metrics (e.g., total post views/interactions exceeding 100)
2. Short video ‘Project Close-out Video’ explaining the proposal

Acceptance Criteria

1. Project Close-out Report’:
   1. Lists Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) achieved during the project.
   2. Explains how the KPIs were met or why they weren’t.
   3. Outlines next-stage plans for the product or service.
2. ‘Project Close-out Video’ outlining the project achievements and deliverables.

Evidence of Completion

• Final project report available on a publicly-accessible link.
• Video available on a publicly accessible link.

Delivery Month

4

Cost

15000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

• Milestone 1: Core architecture & API foundation
  • Milestone Budget: ₳ 30,000
  • Resource MDs:
    • Software engineer (senior & junior): 28
    • Project manager: 1.5
• Milestone 2: Advanced data display & presentation features
  • Milestone Budget: ₳ 30,000
  • Resource MDs:
    • Software engineer (senior & junior): 28
    • Project manager: 1.5
• Milestone 3: Editing & comparison tooling infrastructure
  • Milestone Budget: ₳ 25,000
  • Resource MDs:
    • Software engineer (senior & junior): 23
    • Project manager: 1.5
• Final Milestone: Close-out report & video
  • Milestone Budget: ₳ 15,000
  • Resource MDs:
    • Software engineer: 5
    • Marketing: 10
    • Project manager: 0,5

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

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

By enhancing a live and actively-used open-source tool, we minimize overhead and ensure that each improvement delivers immediate ecosystem value. Features are prioritized for high impact, supporting developers, auditors, wallets, and explorers. Our commitment to open-source licensing guarantees that all outputs will be freely available for the Cardano community.

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

Terms and Conditions:

Yes