The state of Gossamer January

[P1sar]

Highlights

This cycle, our efforts were distributed across nearly all major Gossamer node modules. In particular on State Sync, GRANDPA, and StateDB optimizations, along with deep design research into critical Parachain protocol subsystems. These advancements are key steps toward our ultimate goal of becoming a validator.

Our team recently participated in the JAM0 Community Developers Call, a dedicated session for JAM Protocol developers to share progress, exchange insights, and collaborate on ongoing and future development efforts. These calls serve as an important touchpoint for aligning on key updates, discussing technical advancements, and fostering a stronger developer ecosystem.

For a detailed agenda, key takeaways from the discussion, and information on upcoming community events, visit the JAM0 Community Page. We encourage all developers and contributors to stay engaged and be part of the evolving JAM Protocol community!

Development

Sync

Diego is making great progress on State Sync, which ensures our node stays continuously updated with the latest state after WARP Sync reaches the tip. While we encountered several syncing challenges along the way, we've tackled them head-on and are now very close to completion.

Polkadot Storage

Timothy was focused on integrating his previous work on StateDB in to the gossamer node codebase + design and research for the integration of GRANDPA finality gadget in to existing codebase of Gossamer.

Polkadot Parachain protocol implementation

Eclesio mostly spend this time on doing design and research around networking related parachain protocol subsystems, eg Network Bridge Grid Topology, Gossip support subsystem and Authority discovery.

Axay were engaged in doing research and design phase for changes related to Elastic Scaling and Async Backing

Haiko finished design and research for availability distribution subsystem.

Upcoming month we expect hard work on implementing all necessary Parachain protocol subsystems to propose a block on a testnet.

Improvements and bug fixes

Last month, we encountered a storage root mismatch bug on Paseo during the synchronization process at block #1789153. Thanks to Diego and the collaborative efforts of our team, the issue has now been successfully identified and resolved, ensuring a smoother and more reliable network experience.

JAM protocol implementation

Jimmy is activelly working on JAM State Transition and State serialisation modules for our JAM node according to M1 requirements.

Product

In the first month of the year, we were actively focused on setting up OKRs and defining our strategic roadmap for the year ahead. A key priority remains becoming a validator, at least for the Paseo testnet, by the end of Q2.

Additionally, we are making significant progress on JAM node development, with Milestone 1 nearing completion and ongoing efforts toward Milestones 2 and 3. Recognizing the critical need for robust developer tooling as JAM approaches release, we have also prioritized this area. Currently, our team is conducting a feasibility study for implementing a Go SDK to enhance JAM services and authorizers, ensuring a seamless experience for developers building on the platform.