Notice: This document is a work-in-progress for researchers and implementers.
This document is the beacon chain fork choice spec, part of Ethereum 2.0 Phase 0. It assumes the beacon chain state transition function spec.
Name | Value | Unit | Duration |
---|---|---|---|
SECONDS_PER_SLOT |
6 |
seconds | 6 seconds |
The head block root associated with a store
is defined as get_head(store)
. At genesis, let store = get_genesis_store(genesis_state)
and update store
by running:
on_tick(time)
whenevertime > store.time
wheretime
is the current Unix timeon_block(block)
whenever a blockblock
is receivedon_attestation(attestation)
whenever an attestationattestation
is received
Notes:
- Leap seconds: Slots will last
SECONDS_PER_SLOT + 1
orSECONDS_PER_SLOT - 1
seconds around leap seconds. This is automatically handled by UNIX time. - Honest clocks: Honest nodes are assumed to have clocks synchronized within
SECONDS_PER_SLOT
seconds of each other. - Eth1 data: The large
ETH1_FOLLOW_DISTANCE
specified in the honest validator document should ensure thatstate.latest_eth1_data
of the canonical Ethereum 2.0 chain remains consistent with the canonical Ethereum 1.0 chain. If not, emergency manual intervention will be required. - Manual forks: Manual forks may arbitrarily change the fork choice rule but are expected to be enacted at epoch transitions, with the fork details reflected in
state.fork
. - Implementation: The implementation found in this specification is constructed for ease of understanding rather than for optimization in computation, space, or any other resource. A number of optimized alternatives can be found here.
@dataclass(eq=True, frozen=True)
class LatestMessage(object):
epoch: Epoch
root: Hash
@dataclass
class Store(object):
time: uint64
justified_checkpoint: Checkpoint
finalized_checkpoint: Checkpoint
blocks: Dict[Hash, BeaconBlock] = field(default_factory=dict)
block_states: Dict[Hash, BeaconState] = field(default_factory=dict)
checkpoint_states: Dict[Checkpoint, BeaconState] = field(default_factory=dict)
latest_messages: Dict[ValidatorIndex, LatestMessage] = field(default_factory=dict)
def get_genesis_store(genesis_state: BeaconState) -> Store:
genesis_block = BeaconBlock(state_root=hash_tree_root(genesis_state))
root = signing_root(genesis_block)
justified_checkpoint = Checkpoint(epoch=GENESIS_EPOCH, root=root)
finalized_checkpoint = Checkpoint(epoch=GENESIS_EPOCH, root=root)
return Store(
time=genesis_state.genesis_time,
justified_checkpoint=justified_checkpoint,
finalized_checkpoint=finalized_checkpoint,
blocks={root: genesis_block},
block_states={root: genesis_state.copy()},
checkpoint_states={justified_checkpoint: genesis_state.copy()},
)
def get_ancestor(store: Store, root: Hash, slot: Slot) -> Hash:
block = store.blocks[root]
assert block.slot >= slot
return root if block.slot == slot else get_ancestor(store, block.parent_root, slot)
def get_latest_attesting_balance(store: Store, root: Hash) -> Gwei:
state = store.checkpoint_states[store.justified_checkpoint]
active_indices = get_active_validator_indices(state, get_current_epoch(state))
return Gwei(sum(
state.validators[i].effective_balance for i in active_indices
if (i in store.latest_messages
and get_ancestor(store, store.latest_messages[i].root, store.blocks[root].slot) == root)
))
def get_head(store: Store) -> Hash:
# Execute the LMD-GHOST fork choice
head = store.justified_checkpoint.root
justified_slot = compute_start_slot_of_epoch(store.justified_checkpoint.epoch)
while True:
children = [
root for root in store.blocks.keys()
if store.blocks[root].parent_root == head and store.blocks[root].slot > justified_slot
]
if len(children) == 0:
return head
# Sort by latest attesting balance with ties broken lexicographically
head = max(children, key=lambda root: (get_latest_attesting_balance(store, root), root))
def on_tick(store: Store, time: uint64) -> None:
store.time = time
def on_block(store: Store, block: BeaconBlock) -> None:
# Make a copy of the state to avoid mutability issues
assert block.parent_root in store.block_states
pre_state = store.block_states[block.parent_root].copy()
# Blocks cannot be in the future. If they are, their consideration must be delayed until the are in the past.
assert store.time >= pre_state.genesis_time + block.slot * SECONDS_PER_SLOT
# Add new block to the store
store.blocks[signing_root(block)] = block
# Check block is a descendant of the finalized block
assert (
get_ancestor(store, signing_root(block), store.blocks[store.finalized_checkpoint.root].slot) ==
store.finalized_checkpoint.root
)
# Check that block is later than the finalized epoch slot
assert block.slot > compute_start_slot_of_epoch(store.finalized_checkpoint.epoch)
# Check the block is valid and compute the post-state
state = state_transition(pre_state, block)
# Add new state for this block to the store
store.block_states[signing_root(block)] = state
# Update justified checkpoint
if state.current_justified_checkpoint.epoch > store.justified_checkpoint.epoch:
store.justified_checkpoint = state.current_justified_checkpoint
# Update finalized checkpoint
if state.finalized_checkpoint.epoch > store.finalized_checkpoint.epoch:
store.finalized_checkpoint = state.finalized_checkpoint
def on_attestation(store: Store, attestation: Attestation) -> None:
target = attestation.data.target
# Cannot calculate the current shuffling if have not seen the target
assert target.root in store.blocks
# Attestations cannot be from future epochs. If they are, delay consideration until the epoch arrives
base_state = store.block_states[target.root].copy()
assert store.time >= base_state.genesis_time + compute_start_slot_of_epoch(target.epoch) * SECONDS_PER_SLOT
# Store target checkpoint state if not yet seen
if target not in store.checkpoint_states:
process_slots(base_state, compute_start_slot_of_epoch(target.epoch))
store.checkpoint_states[target] = base_state
target_state = store.checkpoint_states[target]
# Attestations can only affect the fork choice of subsequent slots.
# Delay consideration in the fork choice until their slot is in the past.
attestation_slot = get_attestation_data_slot(target_state, attestation.data)
assert store.time >= (attestation_slot + 1) * SECONDS_PER_SLOT
# Get state at the `target` to validate attestation and calculate the committees
indexed_attestation = get_indexed_attestation(target_state, attestation)
assert is_valid_indexed_attestation(target_state, indexed_attestation)
# Update latest messages
for i in indexed_attestation.custody_bit_0_indices + indexed_attestation.custody_bit_1_indices:
if i not in store.latest_messages or target.epoch > store.latest_messages[i].epoch:
store.latest_messages[i] = LatestMessage(epoch=target.epoch, root=attestation.data.beacon_block_root)