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docs/architecture.mdx

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+---
+title: Architecture
+authors: Tim McMackin
+last_update:
+  date: 28 November 2023
+---
+
+import LucidDiagram from '@site/src/components/LucidDiagram';
+
+The Tezos blockchain is composed of many Tezos nodes running around the world, complemented by other running daemons, such as bakers and accusers.
+These processes collaborate with the overall goal of maintaining the blockchain data in a decentralized manner.
+
+The Tezos nodes are the most important piece in this architecture because they maintain the system and the blockchain data.
+Users interact with nodes through many different clients, including command-line clients, wallets, and web applications.
+
+This diagram shows a high-level view of the Tezos system:
+
+<LucidDiagram width="640px" height="480px" src="https://lucid.app/documents/embedded/d778aa2a-ad0a-4324-b235-ed3b35742c58" id="Uz-K28y3R8gJ" />
+
+## The blockchain data
+
+Although people often use the word "blockchain" to mean the entire system, strictly speaking, a Tezos blockchain is a series of blocks of data, each connected to the previous block in the chain, beginning with the genesis block.
+The blockchain data is maintained by a network of Tezos nodes.
+Nodes reach consensus on the next block before adding it to the chain.
+
+The primary Tezos network is referred to as Mainnet, and there are several other networks used for testing, referred to as testnets.
+Anyone can create new test networks if needed.
+
+As shown in the diagram, the data inside a Tezos block includes the hash of the previous block in the chain and many operations, such as transactions that transfer tez or call smart contracts.
+Blocks also include operations that are necessary for the management of the chain, including nodes' attestations that blocks are valid, called _consensus operations_, and votes on changes to the protocol, called _voting operations_.
+For more information on the operations that can be included in blocks, see [Blocks and operations](https://tezos.gitlab.io/alpha/blocks_ops.html) in the Octez documentation.
+
+## Nodes
+
+A Tezos node has three main roles:
+
+- It validates blocks and operations
+- It broadcasts blocks and operations to other nodes and receives them from other nodes over a peer-to-peer network
+- It maintains a copy of the blockchain data and its associated state (also known as the ledger), which includes accounts and their balances, among other things
+
+Beside these technical roles, nodes must satisfy two other important requirements:
+
+- Support the governance of the blockchain
+- Ensure the extensibility of the blockchain with new clients of different kinds.
+
+In order to meet these requirements, the software that nodes run is structured according to two major principles:
+
+- It is separated into a shell and a protocol, to support protocol evolution.
+- It implements a client/server architecture, to allow composition with many other tools in a safe way.
+
+The Octez suite, which is an implementation of the Tezos node and other executables, instantiates these principles in the [Octez software architecture](https://tezos.gitlab.io/shell/the_big_picture.html).
+
+These two principles are detailed next.
+
+## Shell & Protocol
+
+The software that runs Tezos nodes is split into two main parts:
+
+- The shell, which handles low-level functions like data storage and peer-to-peer network communication
+- The economic protocol that interprets the block operations (e.g., transactions)
+
+The relationship between the shell and the protocol is like the relationship between an operating system and an application.
+The operating system stays stable while the application can update itself.
+In this way, Tezos can update how it works (its protocol) without requiring nodes to accept major changes to the software that they run (the shell).
+For example, nodes can update to a new protocol version without restarting the shell.
+
+### The Tezos self-amending protocol
+
+Unlike many other blockchains, Tezos is self-amending.
+Its nodes can update the protocol that controls the possible operations and how they are processed; updates are performed via an online governance process.
+These updates allow Tezos to adapt to new technologies and respond to user needs.
+For example, protocol upgrades have added new features like Smart Rollups and have reduced the amount of time between blocks.
+
+This protocol is responsible for interpreting the operations in each block.
+It also provides the logic that identifies erroneous blocks.
+
+Updates to the protocol can change this logic through a voting process, using dedicated voting operations such as protocol proposals or protocol upvotes.
+For information about the voting process, see [Governance](./architecture/governance).
+
+## The shell
+
+The shell is responsible for the fundamental functions of a distributed software application, including:
+
+- Peer-to-peer communication that lets nodes exchange information
+- Storage functionality that lets nodes store blocks, operations, and the current state of the chain
+- A synchronization heuristic that starts nodes and keeps them in sync with the network
+- A validator that checks that blocks are valid with help from the rules in the economic protocol
+
+In particular, the validator is responsible for resolving the available blocks into a single linear sequence of blocks.
+It chooses between the various blocks that baking nodes create, uses the protocol to verify and score them, and selects the tree head with the highest score.
+Then it uses that linear chain in all of its work with the protocol, so the protocol is never aware of multiple branches.
+
+## Tezos clients and servers
+
+In addition to the functions of the protocol and shell, a Tezos node also acts as a server to respond to queries and requests from clients.
+A client can query the chain’s state and can inject blocks and operations into a node.
+
+Tezos uses this client-server architecture for these main reasons:
+
+- It improves security by separating the node, which is exposed to the internet, from the baker, which has access to the client keys.
+The node and the baker can be on different computers, which allows the node to manage communication and shields bakers from network attacks.
+- It allows bakers to have different implementations.
+For example, different bakers may implement different transaction selection strategies.
+- It allows clients and other tools to interact with the node and inspect its state.
+
+The node accepts calls from clients through its RPC interface.
+It has control over which clients to accept calls from, which calls to accept, or whether to accept RPC calls at all.
+For more information on the RPC interface, see [The RPC protocol](./architecture/rpc).
+
+### The baker daemon
+
+The baker daemon is an Octez program that is responsible for creating and proposing new blocks based on the operations proposed by different clients.
+The baker daemon is associated with an account, which means that it has access to the account’s private key, which it uses to sign blocks and operations.
+
+### The accuser daemon
+
+The accuser daemon is an Octez program that monitors new blocks and looks for problems, such as when bakers try to add more than one block at a time.
+When it finds a problem, it submits a denunciation to other nodes to refuse the new blocks and punish the offending node.
+
+### The Octez client
+
+The Octez client is a command-line tool that developers can use for many Tezos-related tasks, including:
+
+- Deploying, calling, testing, and interacting with contracts
+- Deploying and interacting with Smart Rollups
+- Working with accounts
+- Calling RPC endpoints directly
+- Running Sapling transactions
+- Setting up baking operations for testing contracts
+
+For more information about the Octez client, see the [Octez documentation](https://tezos.gitlab.io/).
+
+### External clients
+
+Many external clients can add operations to the network of nodes or use nodes to inspect the state of the blockchain, including:
+
+- Web applications that use SDKs such as Taquito to send and receive information from Tezos
+- Indexer websites that monitor the state of the network and allow users to search its history
+- Wallet applications
+
+Nodes share operations with each other, so the node that includes an operation in a block may not be the node that the client originally sent the operation to.
+
+Anyone can run a node and select which clients to run and which requests to accept from clients.
+Some typical use cases for nodes are:
+
+- A node running with no daemons, which maintains a copy of the blockchain data and enhances the distribution of the network without actively baking blocks.
+Optionally, this node can open its RPC interface to serve different kinds of requests.
+- A node along with a baker, an accuser, and a signer can be used to bake new blocks, activity which ensures that the blockchain progresses and yields rewards in tokens.
+
+## References
+
+For more information about the architecture of Tezos, see:
+
+- [Accounts](./architecture/accounts)
+- [Tokens](./architecture/tokens)
+- [Smart Optimistic Rollups](./architecture/smart-rollups)
+- [Governance](./architecture/governance)

docs/architecture/smart-rollups.md

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 Rollups play a crucial part in providing next-generation scaling on Tezos. This page gives a technical introduction to Smart Rollups, their optimistic nature, and an intro to developing your own WASM kernel.
 
-## Prerequisites
-
-This page covers an advanced topic at the bleeding edge of Tezos core development. If you are interested in more fundamental reading, a great place to start is [Tezos Protocol and Shell](./protocol) and [Smart Contracts](../smart-contracts/languages).
-
 ## Examples
 
 For examples of Smart Rollups, see this repository: https://gitlab.com/tezos/kernel-gallery.