No Witness - Hydra Manager

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

No Witness - Hydra Manager

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

81000

[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?

Hydra is ready for mainnet, and now dApp developers and wallets need browser tools to test and build efficiently.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://github.com/cardano-scaling/hydra
,
• https://github.com/no-witness-labs/evolution-sdk
,
• https://nowitnesslabs.com/

[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

The project will be open source with MIT license from day 1

[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.

This project will be fully open source under MIT license from day one. We believe all developer tooling should be open source which helps teams build new products, but also improve and develop tooling by collaboration

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

Our project will be open source from day on at:

https://github.com/no-witness-labs

We will also be sharing all development and updates regularly on our X account:

https://x.com/nowitnesslabs

How will you provide high quality documentation?

Jonathan, lead developer is taking all the lessons learned from creating Lucid Evolution library and applying them to this project to have high quality documentation having in mind developers transitioning to Cardano as well as those that have been building here for years.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

Developers today face a frustrating reality when building with Hydra.

Despite its mainnet readiness, all interactions happen through command-line interfaces that require server infrastructure and specialized knowledge.

This creates an impossible barrier for dApp developers who need to build user-friendly applications that work in browsers.

Hydra Manager eliminates these barriers with a browser-native TypeScript SDK.

With Hydra Manager developers can open heads, submit L2 transactions, and query UTXOs directly from web applications using familiar APIs. The toolkit includes wallet integration, provider compatibility similar to Blockfrost, and comprehensive documentation that makes L2 development as straightforward as mainnet development.

We're transforming Hydra from a backend infrastructure tool into an accessible frontend development platform, enabling the intuitive dApps that users expect and driving real adoption across the Cardano ecosystem.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

Hydra Manager will unlock something that's been missing from Cardano, the ability for web developers to build fast, scalable applications without technical barriers.

Currently, only specialized developers can work with Hydra because existing tools are too complex for mainstream adoption.

With Hydra Manager making this accessible, the ecosystem transforms. Thousands of developers who've been unable to participate can build smooth, responsive applications that users expect.

Better applications drive user adoption, which in turn attracts more developers, creating a growth cycle that strengthens Cardano.

What's particularly exciting is the strategic timing. While other blockchains struggle with either scalability and/or developer experience, Cardano will have both challenges solved.

This positions the ecosystem perfectly for the next adoption wave that is coming

[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?

No Witness Labs is founded by seasoned blockchain developers with a proven track record of delivering high-quality, impactful open-source tools and protocols in the Cardano ecosystem.

Our co-founder, Jonathan Rodriguez, is the creator and lead maintainer of Evolution SDK—the next generation of the widely adopted Lucid—which has become a cornerstone for off-chain transaction building on Cardano. His work has enabled countless developers to rapidly build, test, and deploy Cardano dApps with improved developer experience and reliability.

Our team collectively has extensive experience building both open-source and production-grade blockchain solutions. Members have contributed to many ecosystem projects and several protocol-level designs including cross-chain bridges, staking systems, and Layer 2 frameworks.

No.Witness Labs operate with transparency and accountability as core principles and all significant of our work are developed open-source, ensuring community visibility, code review, and independent audit potential.

Our deep experience, combined with a proven history of delivering developer-focused infrastructure, ensures that No Witness Labs can execute this project with the highest standards of trust, transparency, and technical excellence.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Core SDK & Browser Foundations

Milestone Outputs

1. Browser-native TypeScript SDK with head lifecycle basics: openHead() and closeHead() plus event subscriptions.
2. Wallet integration (CIP-30 browser wallets) for signing mainnet/testnet txs used in head open/close, docs site.

Acceptance Criteria

1. A demo showcasing functionality of opening and closing a Hydra head on testnet from the browser, with wallet prompts and successful confirmations logged.
2. SDK published as v0.1.0 with typed APIs and example snippets.
3. Docs site live with Getting Started, Head Basics, and Wallet Setup pages

Evidence of Completion

• Repo can be found at https://github.com/no-witness-labs with v0.1.0 tag
• Website link with screenshots of the open/close flow in the browser and CLI.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

20000

Progress

20 %

Milestone Title

Hydra Transactions & UTXO Query

Milestone Outputs

1. Implement Hydra transaction submission and Hydra UTXO query with typed responses and streaming updates.
2. Add commit/fanout helpers to the SDK for full head lifecycle control from web apps.
3. Developer examples: runnable samples (transfer, mint/burn, simple state update) with testnet validation and error handling.

Acceptance Criteria

1. Tests show successful Hydra submissions and accurate UTXO queries against a running hydra-nodel
2. Browser demo exposes send Hydra tx and view Hydra UTXOs
3. CLI parity confirmed with identical commands

Evidence of Completion

1. GitHub repo can be found at https://github.com/no-witness-labs with commits with the v0.2.0 tag.
2. Short demo video showing submit/query in the browser and CLI with testnet output

Delivery Month

2

Cost

30000

Progress

50 %

Milestone Title

Provider Layer & Testnet Hardening

Milestone Outputs

1. Define HydraProvider interface for seamless data access.
2. Comprehensive testnet testing including cross-browser (Chromium/Firefox/WebKit) and cross-platform (Linux/Mac/Windows)
3. Refined documentation (guides, troubleshooting)

Acceptance Criteria

1. At least 2 provider adapters working
2. Automated compatibility matrix passes and resilience tests (drop/restart hydra-node, wallet reconnect) pass.
3. Release v0.3.0 with provider docs and demo app URL

Evidence of Completion

1. Link to the repo can be found at https://github.com/no-witness-labs with v0.3.0 tag.
2. Hosted demo app URL demonstrating provider swap and recovery behavior.
3. Docs pages published showing: Providers, Testing, Limits, Production Checklist with code excerpts.

Delivery Month

3

Cost

20000

Progress

80 %

Milestone Title

Final Milestone

Milestone Outputs

1. v1.0.0 release published to npm with versioned API, changelog, and signed artifacts
2. Complete documentation: API reference, guides, examples, and a “build your own Hydra app” tutorial
3. Closeout report covering development process, lessons learned and recommendations for future work

Acceptance Criteria

1. npm i hydra-manager installs v1.0.0
2. Demo app links to docs and showcases end-to-end flows.
3. Docs site includes Release Notes, Versioned API, and Examples
4. Closeout report delivered with lessons leared and demo

Evidence of Completion

1. Links to npm package, GitHub v1.0.0 release
2. Docs site URL with completed documentation
3. Closeout report can be found at https://github.com/no-witness-labs

Delivery Month

4

Cost

11000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

The total budget for the proposed project is estimated at 81,000 ADA, equivalent to 76,800 USD at the current ADA price of 0.95 USD. This plan is designed to efficiently deliver the project within 5 months, ensuring quality while addressing all cost considerations.

Senior Developers:

Hiring one senior developer is essential for the successful completion of this project within the specified timeframe. Senior developer expertise will be crucial for delivering high-quality code.

Senior developers' rate: Range from 80-120 USD per hour.

Estimated Total Cost in ADA (5 months):

80 USD/hour: For one developer working full time (40 hours per week for 6 months), the total cost per developer would be 76.800 USD, equivalent to 81,000 ADA.

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

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

Hydra Manager empowers Hydra from basic command-line into a browser-native technology that every dApp and wallet can use. At the moment Hydra remains trapped behind a CLI and Hydra Manager turns it into a usable product layer, amplifying the value.

Currently each team would have to build its own server bridge to Hydra heads, there is a steep learning curve (Haskell/CLI, manual head lifecycle) but with Hydra manager we have one open-source TypeScript SDK that everyone can use to build

Released under MIT, every line of code remains community property and documentation, demo site and example dApps ensure rapid fork-and-extend.

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

Terms and Conditions:

Yes