Convex - Lattice technology for Open Economic Systems

Convex is a decentralised network and execution platform. It realises the vision of a true Stateful Internet, where the network itself securely hosts, executes, and persists both code and data on a self-sovereign-federated basis.

Convex provides a full-stack platform for decentralised applications and programmable economic systems that manage digital assets. Ownership of accounts and assets is cryptographically enforced and can be governed (optionally) through smart contracts.

Core Technology: Lattice-Based Architecture

Unlike traditional blockchains, Convex is built on Lattice Technology, which leverages the mathematical properties of lattices to deliver superior consensus and verifiability. This foundation yields significant advantages over conventional blockchain designs:

Feature	Convex Advantage
Global State Model	Single, consistent global state with immutable data structures and atomic transactions
Virtual Machine	Lambda-calculus-based VM supporting fully Turing-complete smart contracts
Throughput	Tens of thousands of write TPS today; designed to scale to millions in the future
Networking	Simple, robust random-gossip protocol
Confirmation Latency	Millisecond-range global consensus (network-speed dependent)
Energy Efficiency	100% Green – powered by Convergent Proof-of-Stake (no energy-intensive mining)
Programming Language	Integrated on-chain compiler for Convex Lisp (a modern, secure Lisp dialect)

Why Convex?

• Developer-friendly: Write smart contracts in a powerful, functional Lisp that compiles and executes directly on-chain.
• Instant finality: Transactions confirm in milliseconds with cryptographic guarantees.
• Truly scalable: Lattice agreement eliminates the bottlenecks of linear blockchains.
• Sustainable by design: Minimal energy footprint while maintaining full decentralisation and security.

Convex is the high-performance, eco-friendly backbone for the next generation of decentralised finance, agentic economies, self-sovereign ownership, and beyond.

About this repository

This repository contains the core Convex distribution including:

• The Convex Virtual Machine (CVM) including data structures and execution environment
• The standard Convex Peer server implementation (NIO based) implementing Convergent Proof of Stake (CPoS) for consensus
• CLI Tools for operating Peers, scripting transactions and more
• The Etch database for persistent data storage
• SQL database layer with JDBC driver and PostgreSQL wire protocol server
• A Swing GUI for managing local peers / exploring the network
• A simple REST API server
• JMH Benchmarking suite
• Java Client API

The repository also contains core "on-chain" libraries providing key full-stack functionality and tools for decentralised applications, including:

• convex.fungible - Fungible Tokens
• asset.nft.simple - Basic lightweight Non-fungible tokens
• convex.asset - library for managing arbitrary digital assets using a common abstraction
• convex.trust - library for access control and trusted operations
• torus.exchange - decentralised exchange for trading fungible tokens and currencies
• Example code and templates for various forms of smart contracts

Modules

Name	Description	Maven	Javadoc
convex-core	CVM, data structures and consensus
convex-peer	Peer implementation and networking
convex-p2p	P2P infrastructure, bundled app regions and node server
convex-cli	Command Line Tools
convex-gui	Convex Desktop GUI Interface
convex-db	SQL database with JDBC and PostgreSQL protocol
convex-x402	x402 payment protocol support
convex-restapi	HTTP REST API server
convex-java	Java client library
convex-dlfs	Distributed Lattice File System (WebDAV server)
convex-social	Social network primitives
convex-benchmarks	JMH performance benchmarks
convex-observer	Network monitoring tools
convex-integration	Build assembly (produces convex.jar)	GitHub Releases	—

For local use of Convex data structures and CVM execution, convex-core is typically sufficient. To run a peer or communicate with one over the network, include convex-peer as a dependency. Other modules are designed primarily as standalone applications or client libraries.

Key features

• Convex Virtual Machine (CVM) - Secure, Lambda Calculus-based environment for smart contracts and autonomous agents.
• Decentralised Consensus - Tamper-proof and censorship-resistant via Convergent Proof of Stake (CPoS).
• Performance and Scalability - Processes tens of thousands (and sometimes up to millions) of transactions per second with sub-second global consensus.
• Eco-Friendly - Minimal energy consumption with CPoS, ensuring a sustainable platform.

Getting Started

Your first transaction (no install)

The fastest way to try Convex is the Web Sandbox — a live REPL on the public testnet. Evaluate an expression, then deploy and call a one-line smart contract:

;; Free query — no account needed
(+ 1 2 3)
;; => 6

;; With a faucet-funded account, deploy and call an actor (a smart contract)
(deploy '(defn ^:callable greet [name] (str "Hello, " name "!")))
;; => #1234   ;; your new actor's address
(call #1234 (greet "world"))
;; => "Hello, world!"

Want the full walkthrough — including the TypeScript, Python, and Java SDKs against the testnet? See the Quick Start guide.

Prerequisites

• Java 21+ (Download Temurin) — JDK 25 recommended

Quick Install

macOS / Linux:

curl -fsSL https://convex.world/install.sh | bash

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://convex.world/install.ps1 | iex

This installs convex.jar and adds a convex command to your PATH.

Other options

Download directly:

• Latest stable release
• Snapshot build (develop branch, may be unstable)

Docker:

docker pull convexlive/convex:latest
docker run convexlive/convex peer start

Build from source:

git clone https://github.com/Convex-Dev/convex.git
cd convex
./mvnw -B -T1C install

See BUILD.md for test, final-verification and release commands.

Running Convex

Try Convex Lisp straight from the terminal — no network, keys or setup needed:

convex eval "(+ 1 2)"
# => 3

convex repl          # interactive REPL on an ephemeral local instance

Both commands run against any network too, e.g. convex repl --host localhost.

Launch the desktop GUI:

convex desktop

Start a local peer test network with GUI:

convex local gui

See all available commands:

convex --help

Examples

• Convex Lisp — runnable .cvx demos in convex-core/src/test/resources/examples: fungible tokens, assets, trust monitors, the Torus DEX, and language.cvx for the language itself.
• Java — using the CVM and data structures directly in convex-core/src/test/java/convex/core/examples (start with RawCVM.java).
• Recipes & SDK quickstarts — task-oriented guides at docs.convex.world/docs/tutorial/recipes and the per-language client SDK quickstarts.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome under the Convex Public License. Contributors retain copyright but must accept the license terms. A Contributors Agreement is required for all submissions to the core repository.

The Convex Foundation may award Convex Coins to contributors for significant ecosystem contributions. These native utility tokens enable network service access and may be exchangeable for other digital assets.

See CONTRIBUTING.md to get started, BUILD.md for build and release detail, and AGENTS.md for the conventions any coding agent working in this repository should follow.

Community

We use Discord as for discussing Convex - you can join the public server at https://discord.com/invite/xfYGq4CT7v

Alternatively, email: info(at)convex.world

Copyright

Copyright 2017-2026 The Convex Foundation and Contributors

Unless otherwise specified, source code is available under the terms of the Convex Public License