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What is the Polygon CDK?

Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK) is a toolkit for launching Ethereum Layer 2 chains with native Agglayer connectivity. It supports op-geth and op-reth execution clients, giving operators flexibility in performance tuning and resource usage.

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What execution clients does CDK support?

CDK supports two execution clients:
  • op-geth: Geth-based client with OP Stack architecture and broad tooling support.
  • op-reth: Reth-based client optimized for high throughput and lower resource consumption.
Both are supported by Conduit and Gateway for production deployments.

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What is a sovereign chain in CDK?

A sovereign chain operates without a prover. Instead, it uses pessimistic proofs via Agglayer to enforce safety and ensure that no chain can withdraw more than it deposits. This enables secure, low-cost execution with fast finality. Sovereign mode is the default configuration.

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What rollup modes are available?

Every CDK chain supports three operating modes:
  • Sovereign: Agglayer connectivity secured by pessimistic proofs. No prover required.
  • Validium: ZK-secured execution with offchain data availability via a DAC.
  • zkRollup: Fully onchain ZK rollup for maximum security and Ethereum-aligned trust.

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How does Agglayer fit into Polygon CDK?

Agglayer is a native feature of every CDK chain. It enables cross-chain interoperability, unified liquidity, and shared state across the connected network. CDK chains are connected to Agglayer by default.

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How can I start building with CDK?

Use the CDK quickstarts to deploy a local testnet. For production-ready deployments, contact Conduit or Gateway.