ACDT #93 · Devnet-9 launch Target early next week
AllCoreDevs - Testing #093 · 2026-08-24
This means the last chaos-test network before the fork will be launched soon
It was agreed that all CL clients will have their trunk branches ready by Thursday (ACDE) and that devnet-9 will launch early next week. Devnet-9 will be a network where a non-finality situation, in which chain finalization stops, is deliberately created.
Why it matters
This signals that the Glamsterdam fork is entering the extreme-conditions testing phase. Client inconsistencies in eth_estimateGas, which dApp developers will rely on after the gas rebalancing, also surfaced, making the pre-fork cleanup tasks clear.
Decisions
- Devnet-9 Thursday deadline: It was agreed that all CL clients will have their trunk branches ready by Thursday and that devnet-9 will launch early next week. This means a new testnet is launched with the official code in which the new features have been merged.
- Devnet-9 non-finality: It was decided to use devnet-9 as a non-finality network and to verify the fork transition first, before chaos testing. This tests whether clients hold up when chain finalization stops.
- Keep HiveChain: The test chain generator HiveChain depends on GoEthereum. It was decided not to replace that dependency before Glamsterdam, and to raise the priority of RPC support in EELS for the next fork. For now, this means fixing and continuing to use the existing tooling.
Discussion
When and with what character to launch devnet 9
Devnet 8 became a public network, so there was no longer a place for extreme testing. The character and launch timing of the next devnet had to be decided.
Outcome: Schedule decision 00:14:50
HiveChain blocker and the GoEthereum dependency
HiveChain, which builds the RPC compatibility tests, does not support Glamsterdam, so several execution-apis PRs were blocked at once. With the person in charge, Felix, also absent, the participants discussed a fix.
Outcome: Final decision 00:41:04
Bugs found by fuzzing and parallel execution safety
Fuzzing the Glamsterdam spec turned up client bugs in block access lists and gas repricing, and this grew into a concern about whether parallel execution is risky.
eth_estimateGas mismatches and gas repricing
The devnet 8 RPC interoperability check showed gas estimates that differ between clients, and the discussion covered the real-world impact right after gas repricing.
Glossary
- Devnet: A temporary developer testnet for trying out fork features. Iterations are distinguished by number.
- Non-finality: A state in which the chain cannot finalize blocks. It is created on purpose to test client resilience.
- Trunk branch: A client's main code branch. A fork feature counts as officially supported only once it is merged here.
- HiveChain: A tool in the Hive testing framework that generates chains for RPC compatibility tests. It depends on GoEthereum.
- EELS: The Python reference spec implementation of the Ethereum execution layer. It does not have RPC endpoints yet.
- BAL (block access list): Block Access List. A Glamsterdam feature that tells in advance which state a block touches, helping parallel execution.
- Fuzzing: A testing technique that feeds large amounts of random input to find bugs in implementations automatically.
- ACDE: The execution layer (EL) core developer call held on alternating Thursdays. It is the reference date for this trunk deadline.