This document has been abridged. The original, complete version can be found on GitHub.
Generator Identity Hard Fork: Analysis
This is an analysis of the Generator Identity Hard Fork, which transitions generator identity and cost calculation from serialization-based to content-addressable methods.
Overview
The Generator Identity Hard Fork makes two fundamental changes:
| Aspect | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | SHA256(serialized_bytes) | SHA256_tree_hash(tree) |
| Cost basis | Serialized length | Interned tree structure |
This decouples consensus from serialization format, enabling future compression improvements without hard forks.
Documentation
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| Technical Specification | Complete design: problem statement, cost formula derivation, DoS analysis, implementation details |
| Gist | GitHub Gist describing the proposal |
| GitHub repository | Contains the complete analysis and implementation |
Implementation PRs
| PR | Repository | Branch | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | clvm_rs | generator-identity-hf | Core interning infrastructure |
| #2 | chia_rs | generator-identity-hf | Chia-specific cost calculation |
| #3 | clvm_rs | serde_2026 | New serialization format (future work) |
PR #2 depends on PR #1. PR #3 is independent.