Aurora Engineering Updates May 25
Prague Fork updates, Aurora EVM 2.1.1 , ACC Marketplace, and new AI-powered workflows: Dive in into our May Engineering Recap
EVM Team
Increased stability and performance of the engine contract: We wrapped up the Prague Fork updates, and worked on the dynamic code support – updating the aurora contract dynamically in standalone storage, which facilitates backward and forward compatibility with on-chain contract changes. On top of that, we released a new version of Aurora EVM 2.1.1, with fresh Ethereum Spec Tests v4.5.0 covering the Prague fork part.
Extended aurora-cli-rs with more commands: Make sure you have the latest version installed to stay up-to-date with the new features.
Released a new version of the aurora-controller - 0.3.3: This controller service is used to upgrade Aurora Engine contracts lying at the heart of every virtual chain, so they will support the latest EVM features.
Added a new endpoint for Contract Changer: This helps the Apps team with the latest Gas refills feature we were working on last month.
Infrastructure Team
Automatic releases of the Refiner (borealis-engine-lib): Whenever the nearcore version (near nodes) is updated, we automatically merge it, run tests, and if they pass, we create a new release. New Docker images are then built and published to the GitHub Registry and Docker Hub.
Multiple fixes and improvements of standalone-rpc: As fast-near is no longer producing snapshots, we are integrating epoch sync into our standalone-rpc. You can read more about epoch sync here, here and here.
Implemented and deployed a new monitoring service - near-lake-healtchecker: Helps making sure that our Near Lake service keeps producing blocks and keeps running smoothly. In case of issues, we’re informed right away, allowing us to fix it in a timely manner.
Apps Team
Aurora Cloud Marketplace launched: A plug-and-play hub where Virtual Chain builders can instantly access trusted Web3 tools was launched. Now builders can explore and access various built-in integrations such as Privado, Phron AI, Blocksense, Cookie DAO and others to shorten their go to market time.
Top up with crypto was introduced for Aurora Cloud Console: Now you can buy more free transactions for your virtual chain with crypto.
Aurora Blocks incubator program is live: We shortlisted the applications and formed the Cohort 1 with 5 new Virtual Chains about to go live.
AI Initiatives
Aurora MCP (Machine-Consumable Protocol) release on Smithery: An MCP is an API-like specification, designed for AI agents to interact with virtual chain service. The MCP can be imported into Cursor or other development services by following the Smithery instructions. In the future it will allow you to deploy your own virtual chains from your code.
Aurora Cloud Bot released on ChatGPT: It contains all the Aurora documentation, meaning it can help answering questions about the ecosystem, including Virtual Chain configuration and design. It can also help with development questions and troubleshooting.
Phron AI coding platform Aurora integration: Now supports Aurora Mainnet and Testnet. Soon, it will also support all the virtual chains.