Introduction
Clockwork is an open-source automation engine for the Solana blockchain. Developers can use Clockwork to schedule transactions and automate smart-contracts without relying on centralized infrastructure.
Blockchains represent a major paradigm shift in software engineering. Where applications are traditionally hosted in large centrally managed data centers, blockchains like Solana offer an alternative computing environment – one that's run by a decentralized community of stakeholders.
On a blockchain, data can be copied to thousands of servers around the world, making information more transparent to users and durable in storage. Blockchains additionally distribute downtime risk across many independent data centers – leading to more reliable uptime than relying on a single dedicated server!
Solana is the most active blockchain in the world. With its affordable fees, fast transactions, and scalable architecture, Solana is a popular choice amongst users and developers alike. Currently processing around 40,000,000 transactions per day, Solana has more on-chain activity than every other notable blockchain combined. And with over 3,400 validators on six different continents powering the network, Solana is additionally one of the most decentralized blockchains in the world.
Decentralization is core to everything we do in crypto. It's the fundamental principle behind network security, censorship resistance, and permissionless computing.
The funny thing is... decentralization is not even a novel idea. It's been a core property of the Internet since its earliest days. Though in recent years, this has become much less true. Today, the vast majority of Internet communications flow through just a small handful of companies. This centralization has made communication, markets, and services that depend on the Internet less secure and more vulnerable to censorship.
This is why we work in crypto – to build systems that help people live their lives independently of and collaboratively with one another. The design space is enormous and we are incredibly inspired by the things we see our friends building everyday.
Despite the innovations blockchains provide over traditional data centers, they are not yet a wholesale replacement for traditional application stacks. For example, one critical service not supported by blockchains today are lambdas, automated code that can run without a dedicated server.
This presents a problem for decentralization because it means developers tend to fallback on centralized solutions in order to automate on-chain applications. A dapp can only be as decentralized as its most centralized dependency! We call this problem "the automation dilemma" – whenever a developer is forced to choose between automation or decentralization in a system they are building.
We believe automation and transaction scheduling is critical for building blockchain applications. By providing open-source infrastructure and developer tooling, we hope to support teams of all kinds in their journeys rewriting the games and markets of the new global Internet.
Last modified 1mo ago