# Symbiotic

> Documentation for the Symbiotic protocol

## Docs

- [Relay Quickstart](/learn/relay/dev-workflow): This quickstart walks through the developer workflow that the repo enables: spinning up Symbiotic Core locally, preparing vaults and operators, wiring middleware, and bringing a relay-powered network online.
- [Introduction](/integrate): Symbiotic protocol covers a highly wide range of use-cases, so that contains multiple separate counterparties involved at the whole process from different perspectives. After checking the **Prerequisites**, simply choose the counterparty you represent the most and create!
- [Helpful Core Contracts' Endpoints](/integrate/operators/helpful-core-contracts-endpoints): This page provides a list of useful in practice functions for a Network across Symbiotic Core contracts.
- [Get Started](/integrate/operators): In Symbiotic, Operators are the ones who process the logic provided by networks. This page provides you a high-level overview of an Operator's lifecycle in Symbiotic:
- [Opt Into Networks And Vaults](/integrate/operators/opt-ins): Before operators can start receiving delegations, they need to complete two important opt-in steps:
- [Register Operator](/integrate/operators/register-operator): To start the journey within the Symbiotic system, you should register your Operator using `OperatorRegistry` smart contract. The registered address should be meant as a management address that will opt into the Vaults/Network to get allocations from/for.
- [Submit Metadata](/integrate/operators/submit-metadata): [Symbiotic UI](https://app.symbiotic.fi/deposit) provides users with accurate and up-to-date information about various data regarding TVL, allocations, relations between Curators, Vaults, Operators and Networks, etc. However, for the mentioned counterparties to be easily accessible and visible on the UI - their metadata should should be submitted to the corresponding repositories.
- [Helpful Core Contracts' Endpoints](/integrate/networks/helpful-core-contracts-endpoints): This page provides a list of useful in practice functions for a Network across Symbiotic Core contracts.
- [Get Started](/integrate/networks): Symbiotic protocol contains a wide range of supportive tooling and products for various types of Networks to either build on top of or integrate with. This page provides you a high-level overview of Symbiotic integration flow:
- [Deploy Pre-deposit Vault](/integrate/networks/pre-deposit): In some cases the Network may want to curate or deploy the Vaults by itself, for example:
- [Register Network](/integrate/networks/register-network): To start the journey within the Symbiotic system, you should register your Network using `NetworkRegistry` smart contract. The registered address should be meant as a management address that will interact, e.g., with Symbiotic Vaults to accept stake allocations.
- [Relay Off-Chain](/integrate/networks/relay-offchain): The code is a work in progress and not production ready yet. Breaking changes may occur in the code updates as well as backward compatibility is not guaranteed. Use with caution.
- [Relay On-Chain](/integrate/networks/relay-onchain): The Symbiotic Relay system implements a complete signature aggregation workflow from validator set derivation through on-chain commitment of the ValSetHeader data structure. This allows for provable attestation checks on any chain of an arbitrary data signed by the validator set quorum.
The system provides a modular smart contract framework that enables networks to manage validator sets dynamically, handle cryptographic keys, aggregate signatures, and commit cross-chain state
- [Rewards](/integrate/networks/rewards): [Read Learn first](/learn/core-concepts/rewards)
- [Slashing](/integrate/networks/slashing): [Read Learn first](/learn/core-concepts/slashing)
- [Submit Metadata](/integrate/networks/submit-metadata): [Symbiotic UI](https://app.symbiotic.fi/deposit) provides users with accurate and up-to-date information about various data regarding TVL, allocations, relations between Curators, Vaults, Operators and Networks, etc. However, for the mentioned counterparties to be easily accessible and visible on the UI - their metadata should should be submitted to the corresponding repositories.
- [Mainnet](/integrate/deployments/mainnet): Core commit: [3b6add23921d89dc364458b94e1c35bfb6736e27](https://github.com/symbioticfi/core/tree/3b6add23921d89dc364458b94e1c35bfb6736e27)
- [Testnet](/integrate/deployments/testnet): Core commit: [3b6add23921d89dc364458b94e1c35bfb6736e27](https://github.com/symbioticfi/core/tree/3b6add23921d89dc364458b94e1c35bfb6736e27)
- [Deploy Vault](/integrate/curators/deploy-vault): Symbiotic is a highly modular protocol that already has a lot of separate parts and will have much more in the future. Therefore, this guide describes possible configurations of the Vault deployments.
- [Helpful Core Contracts' Endpoints](/integrate/curators/helpful-core-contracts-endpoints): This page provides a list of useful in practice functions for a Network across Symbiotic Core contracts.
- [Get Started](/integrate/curators): Symbiotic protocol contains a wide range of supportive tooling for various curation needs. This page provides you a high-level overview of a Curator's lifecycle in Symbiotic:
- [Manage Allocations](/integrate/curators/manage-allocations): Curators must perform two actions:
- [Submit Metadata](/integrate/curators/submit-metadata): [Symbiotic UI](https://app.symbiotic.fi/deposit) provides users with accurate and up-to-date information about various data regarding TVL, allocations, relations between Curators, Vaults, Operators and Networks, etc. However, for the mentioned counterparties to be easily accessible and visible on the UI - their metadata should should be submitted to the corresponding repositories.
- [Vault Wrapping](/integrate/curators/vault-wrapping): Sometimes, due to design choices made regarding the Symbiotic Vault to either hold security guarantees or optimize the whole interaction flow, it's not possible to implement some your ideas in a standard way. In such cases, it is possible to wrap the Symbiotic Vault in sense of, e.g., deposits, slashing, opt-ins, etc. This page presents such example cases:
- [ABIs And Bindings](/integrate/builders-researchers/abis-and-bindings)
- [AI Resources](/integrate/builders-researchers/ai-resources)
- [APIs](/integrate/builders-researchers/apis)
- [Hints](/integrate/builders-researchers/hints): Symbiotic core contracts were designed in such a way as to simplify the integration flow for networks or products with a different goal of utilizing the stake. One key aspect of this simplification is to provide flexibility to operate in a time flow that is not dependent on the Symbiotic contracts' mechanics. This achieved by enabling the receiving of any data related to the stake's calculation at any point.
- [Get Started](/integrate/builders-researchers): Build anything on top of Symbiotic protocol, and access any data.
- [Shared security for Proof of Stake Networks](/get-started): Symbiotic is a modular shared security protocol that turns stake into a flexible marketplace for economic security, while Relay extends it into a universal verification layer so any protocol can inherit stake-backed security, define custom slashing and rewards, and verify outcomes across chains without bootstrapping its own validator set.
- [Relay SDK](/get-started/what/relay): The Symbiotic Relay SDK is the trust layer for data and computation.
- [Bridges and Cross-chain Messaging](/get-started/use-cases/bridges-cross-chain-messaging): Cross chain protocols typically run isolated validator sets or oracle committees per route, which is expensive, slow, and does not scale. Costs grow with validator count, so verifying hundreds of operators on the EVM becomes prohibitive, while committee signatures and relayer hops add latency.
- [Chain Agnostic Applications](/get-started/use-cases/chain-agnostic-applications): Cosmos appchains often spin up bespoke validator sets, multisigs, or IBC-only paths per use-case (governance messages, bridges, feeds). Each new route brings another committee, relayer and audit. Latency creeps in through off-chain hops; costs grow with validator counts; and security fragments across custom trust assumptions. Meanwhile, CometBFT finality and slashing exist, but slashing paths for cross-chain outcomes are typically indirect or out-of-band, and every extra chain or pairing demands new glue code and operations.
- [Decentralized Compute and AI Verification](/get-started/use-cases/decentralized-compute-ai-verification): Decentralized compute today is **costly, brittle, and easy to game**. Most systems rely on ad-hoc coordinators, TEEs, or multisig committees that don’t provide chain-agnostic, slashing-enforced guarantees. Notable shortcomings include:
- [General Attestation Layers](/get-started/use-cases/general-attestation-layers): Off-chain agents and many L2 systems do not have a native trust layer. You cannot easily prove that a check was performed, a condition held true, or a message is safe to act on. Current approaches are permissioned, costly to extend, and lack clear economic guarantees or dispute paths.
- [Use Cases](/get-started/use-cases): Symbiotic's shared security and Relay attestation layer enable a wide range of protocols. Explore a few high-impact patterns below.
- [Liquidity Management](/get-started/use-cases/liquidity-management): Overcollateralized designs trap capital and do not scale. Many eligible assets, especially RWAs, are illiquid or settle slowly, so redemptions either take a haircut through discounts and slippage or require waiting through withdrawal periods.
- [Oracle Networks and Data Feeds](/get-started/use-cases/oracle-networks-data-feeds): Most oracle systems are rigid and permissioned, with fixed committees and bespoke integrations per chain. Expanding coverage is expensive, updates can be slow or stale, and manipulation risk remains due to weak incentives, limited slashing, MEV at publication time, and unclear dispute processes. Portability across chains is poor and auditability is fragmented.
- [Addresses](/get-started/resources/addresses): A comprehensive list of Symbiotic official smart contract deployments.
- [Audits - Security Reviews](/get-started/resources/audits)
- [Risks](/get-started/resources/risks): The following document contains a list of notes how to make the overall operation process safer for everyone.
- [Developers Hub](/get-started/developers/developers-hub)
- [Relay Quickstart](/get-started/developers/relay-quickstart): Symbiotic Super Sum spins up a relay network that runs simple sum computations. Schedule a job
on any supported chain and the result is posted to every supported destination chain.