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
- DevEx Working Group - Developer Experience Working Group materials and session content
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
Getting Help
Community Support
- Discord: First become a member at Intersect and register at members.intersectmbo.org to get voting rights and access to our Discord community's #developer-experience channel. See our Intersect Membership Guide to learn about all the benefits including decision-making power in the Cardano ecosystem
- Forum: Ask questions on Cardano Forum
- Stack Exchange: Get technical help at Cardano Stack Exchange
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.