Zcash Developer Path

From zero to
Zcash contributor.

Four stages. Every concept, tool, and skill you need — from blockchain basics to shipping on Zcash mainnet. Click any topic to read it right here, without ever leaving this page.

8 Weeks · 4 Stages · 54 Lessons
From zero to
shipping on mainnet.
Each week is 5 hours: 3 hours of self-paced reading + video, and a 2-hour mandatory lab. Office hours weekly. Live demo day at the end. The curriculum progresses through 4 stages — each stage unlocks the next.
Stage 00 · Blockchain Fundamentals · Weeks 1 – 2
01Foundations

Blockchain & Cryptography Basics

What is a blockchain, the UTXO model, the ledger, hash functions, Merkle trees, and cryptographic signatures. How proof of work achieves consensus, the longest chain rule, transaction lifecycle, and Sybil protection. Self-paced lessons with embedded ZecHub video tutorials and inline visualizers.

Hash FunctionsMerkle TreesSignaturesUTXOsProof of Work
No Lab
Self-paced reading + video week. Complete all 10 blockchain fundamentals lessons to unlock Week 2.
02Bitcoin/ZEC

Native Tokens, Mining & Bitcoin vs Zcash

Sybil protection, native tokens, ZEC supply and zatoshis (ZIP-317 fees), Equihash mining, the NU6 funding restructure (8% ZCG + 12% lockbox), and a direct Bitcoin vs Zcash comparison. What Zcash kept from Bitcoin, what it changed, and why it's a payments chain — not a smart contract platform.

ZEC / ZatoshisEquihashNU6 / LockboxBitcoin vs ZcashZIP-317
No Lab
Complete the remaining 10 Stage 00 lessons (Bitcoin vs Zcash, wrapped tokens, token decimals, state machine, testnets) to unlock Stage 01.
Stage 01 · Understand Zcash · Weeks 3 – 4
03Zcash Core

Shielded Transactions & zk-SNARKs

What makes Zcash unique: shielded transactions (Sprout → Sapling → Orchard), how zero-knowledge proofs work, why Halo2 eliminated the trusted setup, transparent vs shielded addresses, Unified Addresses (ZIP-316), and viewing keys for selective disclosure and compliance.

OrchardHalo2zk-SNARKsViewing KeysZIP-316 UA
No Lab
Complete the 5 Zcash Fundamentals lessons plus the 4 Z3 Architecture lessons (zcashd, Zebra, Zaino, Zallet) to unlock Lab 01.
04Network

Z3 Stack & Network Fundamentals

The modern Zcash node stack: Zebra (consensus), Zaino (data access / gRPC), and Zallet (wallet layer). How the P2P network operates, the mempool and fee market, blocks and finality, consensus rules (ZIP-317), and RPC basics. Light clients vs full nodes.

ZebraZainoZalletJSON-RPCgRPC
Lab 01
Set up a Zcash testnet node (Zebra), get TAZ from the faucet, send your first shielded transaction, and inspect it on a block explorer. Submit your testnet txid for mentor review.
Stage 02 · Build with Zcash · Weeks 5 – 6
05Tooling

Developer Tooling & Wallet SDKs

Zingolib: the production Rust wallet library (LightClient API, sync, balances, send). The Lightwalletd compact block protocol. Zaino gRPC APIs in depth. iOS Swift SDK and Android Kotlin SDK. Wallet development architecture: key management, sync patterns, and secure seed storage.

ZingolibLightwalletdZaino gRPCiOS SDKAndroid SDK
Lab 02
Build a read-only wallet dashboard: connect to Zaino, scan shielded notes for a Unified Address, display balance and transaction history with sync progress.
06Applications

Payment Integrations & Infrastructure

Payment integrations and ZIP-321 merchant tools (QR codes, payment URIs). Shielded transaction construction flows: note selection, proof generation, broadcast. Privacy-preserving UX design. Running Zebra + Zaino in production: install, configure, sync, monitor.

ZIP-321Payment GatewayRun ZebraBroadcast TxPrivacy UX
Labs 03 & 04
Lab 03: Build a ZEC payment gateway with ZIP-321 QR codes and webhook delivery. Lab 04: Deploy Zebra + Zaino on a VPS and connect your gateway to your own node.
Stage 03 · Contribute to Zcash · Weeks 7 – 8
07Contribute

Open Source Contributions & Ecosystem

Contributing to Zebra, Zaino, Zallet, and Zingolib: how to find good first issues, the PR process, and what rigorous code review looks like. Building community tooling and applying for ZCG grants. Writing documentation, testing and QA, responsible security disclosure, and writing tutorials.

Zebra PRsZingolibZCG GrantsDocsTesting
Lab 05
Submit a real pull request to Zebra, Zaino, Zallet, Zingolib, or another official Zcash repository — bug fix, test, docs, or feature.
08Ship

Capstone — Ship & Present

Deploy your production application on Zcash mainnet with real ZEC. Write a technical blog post explaining what you built. Merge your Stage 03 PR into an official Zcash repository. Present your project on live Demo Day — 15 minutes per participant.

Mainnet DeployReal ZECMerged PRBlog PostDemo Day
Labs 06 – 08
Lab 06: Production app on mainnet. Lab 07: Technical blog post. Lab 08: Merged PR link. All three required for Demo Day and program completion.
Go to your learning dashboard
00
Prerequisites
Blockchain Fundamentals
⛓️
What is a Blockchain?
The shared ledger model — why decentralization matters, what blockchains are actually good for, and how payments work on-chain.
├──What is a Blockchain?Concept→
├──Decentralized ComputerConcept→
├──Use CasesConcept→
└──Payments Use CasePayments→
📒
The Ledger & UTXOs
How blockchains store value — account balances, the UTXO model, and the immutable append-only ledger.
├──Account Balances & UTXOsPayments→
└──The LedgerPayments→
#️⃣
Cryptography Basics
Hash functions, Merkle trees, and cryptographic signatures — the mathematical building blocks every blockchain depends on.
├──Hash FunctionsCrypto→
├──Merkle TreesCrypto→
└──Cryptographic SignaturesCrypto→
⛏️
Mining & Consensus
How transactions get ordered and finalized — proof of work, the longest chain rule, and what miners actually do.
├──Transaction OrderingConsensus→
├──Longest Chain ConsensusConsensus→
├──Transaction LifecycleConsensus→
└──Mining & Proof of WorkMining→
🪙
Coins, Tokens & ZEC
Native tokens, Sybil protection, wrapped coins, and decimal precision — plus how Bitcoin and Zcash compare directly.
├──Sybil ProtectionSecurity→
├──Native Tokens & ZECTokens→
├──Bitcoin vs ZcashZcash→
├──Wrapped Tokens & InteroperabilityTokens→
└──Token Decimals & ZatoshisTokens→
🔬
Chain Mechanics
Blockchain as a state machine, and why testnets like TAZ are essential before touching real funds.
├──Blockchain as a State MachineInfra→
└──Why Testnets ExistInfra→
▼
Unlocks Stage 1
01
Stage One
Understand Zcash
🔐
Zcash Fundamentals
The bedrock concepts every Zcash developer must know before writing a line of code.
├──What is Zcash?Concept→
├──Privacy vs TransparencyCore→
├──Shielded TransactionsCore→
├──Viewing KeysKey Mgmt→
└──zk-SNARK BasicsCrypto→
🏗️
Zcash Architecture
The legacy node and the modern Z3 stack that powers the network today.
├──Legacy zcashdDeprecated→
└──The Z3 StackModern
Z3 Stack Components
🦓Zebra— Consensus & Sync→
⚡Zaino— Data Access Layer→
👛Zallet— Wallet Layer→
🌐
Network Fundamentals
How the Zcash network operates at the protocol level — nodes, blocks, and consensus.
├──Nodes & PeersNetwork→
├──MempoolNetwork→
├──Blocks & FinalityConsensus→
├──Consensus RulesConsensus→
└──RPC BasicsAPI→
▼
Unlocks Stage 2
02
Stage Two
Build with Zcash
🛠
Developer Tooling
The APIs, libraries, and protocols that power every Zcash application in production.
├──ZingolibLibrary→
├──Lightwallet ProtocolProtocol→
├──JSON-RPCAPI→
├──Zaino APIsAPI→
└──Wallet SDKsSDK→
💻
Application Development
Build real applications that send and receive shielded ZEC.
├──Wallet DevelopmentApp→
├──Payment IntegrationsApp→
├──Shielded Tx FlowsCore→
├──Merchant ToolsApp→
└──Privacy-Preserving UXDesign→
📦
Infrastructure
Run your own nodes, connect to data layers, and broadcast to mainnet.
├──Run ZebraNode→
├──Connect to ZainoData→
├──Query Chain DataData→
└──Broadcast TransactionsNetwork→
Stage 2 Projects
✅Wallet Dashboard
✅Payment Gateway
✅Transaction Monitor
✅Merchant Checkout Tool
▼
Unlocks Stage 3
03
Stage Three
Contribute to Zcash
🚀
Open Source Contributions
Become a protocol contributor — merge code into official Zcash repositories.
├──Contribute to ZebraCore→
├──Contribute to ZainoCore→
├──Contribute to ZalletWallet→
├──Contribute to ZingolibLibrary→
└──Community ToolingEcosystem→
📚
Ecosystem Contributions
Make Zcash easier for the next developer through docs, testing, and education.
├──Writing DocumentationDocs→
├──Testing & QAQA→
├──Bug ReportsQA→
├──Writing TutorialsContent→
└──Developer EducationContent→
🏆 Capstone · Final Stage
Ship. Contribute. Present.

Four deliverables that prove you're a Zcash developer — real work on the chain and in the repos.

01Build a production-ready app on Zcash infrastructure
02Deploy on mainnet with real ZEC transacted
03Merge a PR into an official Zcash repository
04Present your project on live demo day