Welcome to Arch Network
This documentation is actively maintained. If you find any issues or have suggestions for improvements, please visit our GitHub repository.
What is Arch Network?
Arch Network is a computation environment that enhances Bitcoin's capabilities by enabling complex operations on Bitcoin UTXOs through its specialized virtual machine. Unlike Layer 2 solutions, Arch Network provides a native computation layer that works directly with Bitcoin's security model.
Key Features
Bitcoin-Native
Direct integration with Bitcoin through UTXO management
Computation Environment
Execute complex programs within the Arch VM
Program Development
Write programs in Rust to interact with Bitcoin UTXOs
Security
Leverages Bitcoin's proven security guarantees through multi-signature validation
Developer Tools
Complete development environment with CLI tools and explorer
Choose Your Path
🚀 Quick Start (15 minutes)
Build your first Arch program:
🎓 Learning Path
Master Arch development:
-
Network Architecture - Understand how nodes work together
-
Bitcoin Integration - Learn Bitcoin interaction
-
Program Development - Write programs
🛠 Reference
Technical documentation:
Core Architecture
How Arch Works
Arch Network consists of three main components:
- Network Layer
- Network Architecture
- Bootnode: Network discovery and peer management
- Leader Node: Transaction coordination
- Validator Nodes: Program execution
- Bitcoin Integration
- UTXO Management
- Transaction tracking
- State anchoring
- Ownership validation
- RPC Integration
- Bitcoin node communication
- Transaction submission
- Network synchronization
- Computation Layer
- Programs
- Transaction Processing
- Message validation
- State updates
- UTXO management
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure you have:
- Node.js v19+ (installation guide)
- Rust (latest stable)
- Docker for local development
- Basic understanding of Bitcoin UTXOs
Next Steps
Need Help?
- [Join our Discord](https://discord.gg/archnetwork)
- [Read the Architecture Overview](concepts/architecture.md)
- [View Example Programs](guides/how-to-write-arch-program.md)
- [Check Network Status](concepts/network-architecture.md#monitoring-and-telemetry)
- [API Reference](rpc/rpc.md)
💡 Pro Tip: Use the search function (press 's' or '/' on your keyboard) to quickly find what you're looking for in the documentation.