Meeting Time: Wednesday, April 22, 2026 at 14:00 UTC (60 minutes)
Meeting Summary:
The meeting focused on client and specification updates for the DevNet project. Client teams reported progress on various implementations, including adding new tests, metrics support, and improving performance. Thomas presented updates to the specification, including the addition of new test vectors and a proposed modernization of the spec using a fork mechanism to enable easier experimentation and maintenance across different DevNets. The team discussed the current focus on stability and debugging of DevNet 4 before moving to DevNet 5, with plans to continue this work in the coming week. Will shared key takeaways from a recent Fort Mood meeting, emphasizing increased testing, right-sizing the number of participating clients, and exploring co-design components with signature schemes and aggregation times. The team also discussed the need for better visualization tools to track which clients are passing which tests, and Will mentioned that Fort Mood recordings would be shared soon after audio improvements.
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The team provided updates on client development progress across multiple implementations. Key updates included work on adding new tests, metrics support, and API integrations across clients like Hive, Lantern, and others. Thomas presented a new specification update involving a fork mechanism proposal for DevNet development, which aims to streamline updates and enable experimental features through a more modular approach. The team also discussed ongoing work on improving performance, integrating testing frameworks, and planning for future DevNet versions to align with Beacon client specifications in preparation for potential public DevNet releases.
Gajinder and Thomas discussed the implementation of fork mechanisms in Lean Ethereum. They agreed to avoid testing forking in development networks for now, instead using a single fork structure (called “Lean Fork”) for internal iterations. Thomas explained that managing multiple inherent systems would be complex given their fast pace of development and discovery of bugs in previous dev nets. They also reviewed recent progress on cryptography, including ongoing work on adapting LeanVM to Bitcoin hash function and sum check optimization in Plunky 3.
Thomas led a discussion on LeanVM advancements, focusing on reversing variables in sum checks for improved padding and packing friendliness. Shariq provided an update on the Hive test, noting that checkpoint sync tests across all clients are in progress but not yet visible in the Hive UI. The team agreed to continue focusing on dev nets for testing and debugging next week before discussing DevNet 5 updates, which will be handled asynchronously on the dedicated Telegram channel.
The team discussed devnet stability and testing priorities, with Gajinder explaining they are focusing on single subnet testing rather than multiple subnet testing to allow all clients to function as aggregators simultaneously. Thomas proposed working on DevNet 4 stability while discussing DevNet 5 features asynchronously next week. The team agreed to add newly developed tests to each client’s devnets to help identify potential bugs and validate the specification, with Thomas noting that current testing should be sufficient to surface most major issues.
Will shared key takeaways from Fort Mood, including increased testing, DevNet stability improvements, right-sizing client participation, and future co-design work on signature schemes and P2P design. Thomas agreed on the importance of a visualization tool to track client test performance and suggested continuing R&D discussions on the Telegram channel next week. Will also mentioned that Fort Mood recordings are being enhanced with improved audio and captions before being shared in the coming days.
Next Steps:
- Mihir: Submit PR to LeanSpec for adding additional test fixtures for clients in the coming days
- All client teams: Add all new test vectors from the spec to their clients to help surface potential bugs
- All client teams: Continue testing, debugging, and running DevNet 4 for stability during the next week
- All teams: Discuss DevNet 5 features async on the DevNet 5 Telegram channel to prepare a precise list for next week’s discussion
- Rim team (Shariq): Complete checkpoint sync tests on all clients in Hive and add to Hive UI, then post announcement in the testing channel
- Thomas: Share the fork mechanism PR more broadly with client teams when ready for review after checking with consensus spec team
- Dev store team (Partha/Gajinder): Move from one subnet testing to multiple subnet testing to test all clients’ aggregator functions simultaneously
- Will: Post Fort Mode recordings with improved audio and captions in the next couple days
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YouTube recording available: https://youtu.be/zw2H-EEYpPw