This proposal seeks annual funding for the maintenance and enhancement of Cardano.nix, a foundational toolset for building and deploying Cardano infrastructure with Nix. Funding covers regular maintenance to ensure compatibility with Cardano node updates and the Nix ecosystem, bug fixes, and minor enhancements to improve the tooling based on community needs and developments in related areas like Nix Flakes.

Cardano.nix provides foundational toolsets for building and deploying Cardano infrastructure reproducibly using Nix. Maintaining reliable infrastructure tooling is essential for node operators, developers, and projects running Cardano components. This tooling requires regular maintenance to track updates in Nixpkgs, Cardano node versions, and related Haskell ecosystem components, as well as potential enhancements to improve usability or incorporate features from related toolsets (like flake-lang.nix). This proposal seeks funding for this necessary upkeep.

Funding this proposal ensures the Cardano community continues to have access to a maintained and reliable Cardano.nix toolset. This benefits anyone deploying Cardano infrastructure (nodes, wallets, explorers) using Nix, including SPOs, developers, and enterprises. The value lies in providing reproducible, robust deployment methods, reducing configuration errors and setup time. The ROI is improved infrastructure reliability, easier onboarding for Nix users into Cardano, and support for key ecosystem players like IOG and the Daedalus Wallet team.

Maintenance Deliverables: Regular updates ensuring compatibility with specified Cardano Node versions and stable Nixpkgs channels;Bug fixes for reported issues. DoD: Updates merged and tested;Compatibility confirmed via build checks/tests. Enhancement Deliverables: Implementation of minor enhancements based on community feedback or integration with related toolsets like flake-lang.nix (within the scope of 100 hours). DoD: Enhancement code merged, tested, documented, and included in the toolset.

Total: $31,200 USD / 45,217 ADA. Example Structure based on 260 total hours: Developer Effort (Maintenance - 160 hrs ): approx. $19.2k Developer Effort (Enhancements - 100 hrs ): approx. $12k Project Management / QA Overhead (Estimate % or $): 10% or $3120 or 4521 ADA

Duration Estimate: 12 months Resourcing Estimate: Estimated 260 hours total effort over 12 months. This will involve 1 core developer(s) from MLabs LTD part-time, with expertise in Nix, DevOps, and Cardano infrastructure.

MLabs LTD is the primary developer and maintainer of Cardano.nix. Our team possesses deep expertise in Nix, Cardano infrastructure deployment, and maintaining complex build systems, evidenced by the successful delivery and maintenance of Cardano.nix and its use by key ecosystem entities.

This proposal is for ongoing maintenance. If funded, MLabs LTD will provide continuous support including maintenance updates, bug fixes, and compatibility assurance for Cardano.nix throughout the 12-month funding period. Future maintenance beyond this requires subsequent funding.

Cardano.nix is utilized by key organizations within the Cardano ecosystem. Known adopters include: Input Output Global (IOG) Daedalus Wallet (IOHK) Kwarxs

Nixpkgs versions/channels, specific Cardano component versions it targets, potentially Haskell build tools if relevant