Amaru Removes Test-Network Limit on Cardano Block Forging

The Amaru project’s Nov. 5 release removed a test-network restriction on block forging, making mainnet-capable Cardano node software available to stake pool operators as development continues.

The change is part of version 10.11.20261105. Amaru’s minimum viable block producer milestone remained open and 75% complete on Nov. 6. Its goals include producing nonempty blocks and completing conformance testing, so the new forging capability does not mark the milestone complete.

Amaru, maintained by PRAGMA, is a Rust implementation of Cardano’s node software, separate from the network’s Haskell implementation. Node software follows and validates the blockchain, and stake pool operators use it to produce blocks. The release gives operators another implementation they can run for that role.

A second implementation offers a path to greater client diversity if operators adopt it. The Nov. 5 release changes what the software can do; it does not establish that a pool has deployed the version or produced a mainnet block with it. The block-producer milestone remains the project’s next stated checkpoint.

The update also changes how Amaru selects transactions from its mempool, where transactions wait to be included in a block. It considers them in arrival order and skips those that would exceed a block’s size or execution limits. That selection process is part of the software used to assemble a block.

Blocks forged with Amaru can carry a software identifier under CIP-0203. The identifier is enabled by default, but operators can disable it. A visible identifier could help distinguish an Amaru-produced block; the absence of one would not, by itself, show which node software a pool used.

For holders who delegate ada (ADA), the release requires no change to their delegation. Delegation remains tied to the chosen stake pool, and holders can spend their tokens at any time. When a pool produces an accepted block, rewards are shared between its operator and delegators.

The operator’s choice of node software is separate from a holder’s choice of pool. Amaru’s next stated target is Nov. 12 for its minimum viable block producer milestone.