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Get Started

Welcome to the Cardano Developer Experience Documentation!

This repository serves as the comprehensive guide for developers and contributors looking to get involved with the Cardano ecosystem. Whether you're just starting your blockchain journey or you're an experienced developer looking to build on Cardano, you'll find the resources you need here.

Quick Start Guide

1. Join Intersect - Get Your Voice in Cardano's Future

Start here first! Join Intersect to get voting rights and participate in governance decisions that shape the Cardano ecosystem. Individual membership is just $10/year for full decision-making power.

Complete Intersect Membership Guide →

2. New to Cardano?

Start with our comprehensive ecosystem overview: Directive: Kickoff & Orientation

This guide provides a complete map of the Cardano ecosystem, including core repositories, documentation resources, developer tools, and community support channels.

3. Ready to Build?

Dive into our hands-on Beginner Guides to start building immediately:

  • Understanding Cardano addresses
  • Creating transactions
  • Working with native tokens

4. Want to Contribute?

Join our Developer Experience Working Group - a quarterly initiative focused on onboarding new developers and improving the overall developer experience.

What You'll Find Here

Comprehensive Learning Path

From complete beginner to advanced contributor, we provide structured learning materials that grow with your expertise.

Hands-On Experience

Interactive tutorials and workshops that get you building immediately. Learn by doing with real examples and practical exercises.

Community Support

Built by the community, for the community. Join our working groups and help shape the future of Cardano development.

Repository Structure

How-To Guides

  • Beginner - Getting started guides for newcomers
  • Intermediate - Next-level guides for developers with basic knowledge
  • Advanced - Deep-dive technical guides for experienced developers

Tutorials

  • Hands-On - Interactive coding tutorials and workshops

Resources

  • Repositories - Essential GitHub repositories and their purposes
  • Tools - Development tools, APIs, and utilities
  • Community - Community channels, forums, and support resources

Working Group

Current Focus: Q1 2025

Theme: "Laying the Foundations"

Our Developer Experience Working Group is running a 12-session program designed to:

  • Onboard new developers with clear guidance on repos, docs, tools, and support
  • Build practical skills through hands-on workshops (environment setup, token creation, wallet integration)
  • Showcase real stories from developers and community builders
  • Provide live support through open clinic sessions
  • Foster contribution to documentation and open source projects

Join the Working Group →

Getting Help

Community Support

Live Sessions

  • Weekly Working Group: Interactive sessions with live Q&A and hands-on workshops
  • Open Clinics: Dedicated troubleshooting sessions for common development issues
  • Developer Spotlights: Real stories from community members building on Cardano

Contributing

We welcome contributions to improve the developer experience! Whether you want to:

  • Fix documentation or add new guides
  • Contribute code examples and tutorials
  • Report issues or suggest improvements
  • Share your developer story
  • Lead a workshop or session

See our Contributing Guidelines to get started.

Recognition

This initiative is maintained by the Developer Experience Working Group with rotating leadership from:

  • Tyty - Lead coordinator and technical sessions
  • Uche - Community building and contribution focus
  • Dan - Technical workshops and troubleshooting
  • Harun - Developer stories and ecosystem overview

Our Goals

By the end of Q1 2025, we aim to:

  • Onboard 15-30 newcomers into the Cardano ecosystem
  • Equip developers with 3 core technical skills
  • Create sustainable resources the community can build upon
  • Establish clear pathways for both technical and non-technical contributions

Ready to Start Your Cardano Journey?

Step 1: Join Intersect - Get Your Voice in Cardano

Step 2: Directive: Kickoff & Orientation

Step 3: Beginner Guides

Step 4: Join the Developer Experience Working Group


Welcome to the Cardano ecosystem! We're excited to have you join us in building the future of decentralized applications and financial systems.