We are incredibly excited to announce the completion of Code Mode by our development team. This is a significant milestone for our team members, who have been working continuously to add coding aids that make up an Integrated Developer Environment (IDE) directly into the web-based environment.

Code mode allows for:

• Real-time editing of Card code, which allows developers to make changes to the functionality, layout and data structure of any card without going through a git process.
• Allows developers to choose from pre-existing modules that they can reuse to put a field together, or extend using inheritance to make a new specialization.
• It allows developers and power users to see the stored data structure and make changes to it using a familiar file editor. This is like a view source for the card universe, unlike the browser view source, you can actively edit the source code and see the changes reflected immediately.

We built Code Mode so we can create more cards much quicker and build up a card catalog that is complete and usable from day 1. It is also a great educational tool for developers curious about Cardstack for a playground to learn how everything is wired together and make a running app with their own customization within minutes.

Code Mode uses the same module loader infrastructure that we will use for future no code UI where instead of typing the changes in a code editor, users can just point and click and delete them.

Code Mode includes a schema editor that has exactly the same capabilities and we will move those UI components to design mode, which is a no-code version of the same underlying runtime to allow non-developers to get the same experience of building and extending cards entirely in the browser.

With this tool reaching feature complete status, we will be launching a YouTube series hosted by Chris Tse and Luke Melia, our engineering manager, to teach developers how to leverage the Cardstack Framework by walking through the process of building and extending cards using Cardstack tools like Code Mode and interact tool as well as git-based workflows for contribution to the open source project.

📝 Community members who would like to participate are welcome to contribute ideas of what type of use cases of primitive cards or fields you would like us to build during this series. Tag #cardmaker with your ideas.

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Cardstack Product Update was originally published in Cardstack on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Cardstack team is continuing development on the software stack that will lead to the launch of Boxel, a user-facing web app that will facilitate the creation and hosting of Card-based applications or websites.

Completing Code Mode

The team is completing the development of Code Mode, which is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that allows developers to create and develop new types of cards entirely on the web.

Developers will still be able to use traditional git-based workflows using their own computer, but for new devs to the Cardstack Ecosystem, we want an easy on-ramp for them to browse the catalog of pre-existing components, fields, or pre-built cards so that they can get started creating new capabilities and features more quickly.

Our current development efforts are focused on improving the module reloading and UI refresh features so that code changes made in the web-based code editor are properly reflected in the preview UI within code mode. Developers also have the option of using our schema editor, which is a UI that introspects the definition of a card or field and allows point-and-click access and modification while being able to dynamically update the code editor as if you wrote the code yourself.

The team is actively working on improving the module loader architecture so that code changes made in both the text editor and the UI configuration panels are updated synchronously and permit the user to switch back and forth between those two editing modalities as they create new schema layouts or functions.

Matrix Identity Integration

Cardstack has adopted the Matrix protocol federated identity system as our user login scheme. This allows multiple hosting providers to issue local user accounts to their user base while having users from different hosting providers communicate with each other as if they are on a single network.

The federation of user identity is emerging to be the preferred method to create interoperable software systems that maintain the usability of web2 login workflows and provide decentralization, where no single company controls all user data and valuable identity-associated artifacts.

The Matrix user ID infrastructure has already been integrated into our code base, but has not yet been exposed to end users for new registration. We are working on supporting familiar authentication flows, such as username and password login and email-based confirmation to onboard users who choose to use a conveniently hosted identity service to get up and running quickly. Power users who want to run their own identity services will be able to do so on their own cloud-hosted endpoints.

Realm API improvements

Users who use Cardstack will utilize a file-based realm, which mimics a file system as a backing store for their user data and customizations. User data are stored as JSON files, while software customizations are stored as TypeScript files. Our file-based storage system, also known as a Files Realm, makes it easy to accept any type of user-generated data without requiring a new backend to be created just to support a new type of data, as would be the case for a database-driven backend.

However, we also want to give users and developers access to SQL-like database query functions; that’s why all saved files are automatically indexed using their TypeScript definition into a queryable database structure. We are working on an improvement to the hosted version of this indexer by integrating pgsearch, a module we created for an older version of the Cardstack hub, so we can use PostgreSQL to index any cards and fields created using the new API, either in code mode or using traditional git-based workflows.

We will also be improving the permissions system for file realms so that they can be read-only, such as for hosting publicly accessible card catalogs.

Brand New Marketing Website

On the marketing front, we are working on a new website for Cardstack, focusing on presenting to JavaScript/TypeScript developers our full-stack solution for composable software applications.

This new website will showcase our new user-facing environment, called interact mode, our frontend UI components, and our backend data services, so that developers and users can understand what they get out of the box when they build on Cardstack.

We will also introduce our integration with the chat-based communication protocol for sharing and process orchestration as well as with AI bots and Web2 and Web3 payment rails.

Stay up-to-date

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• join our Telegram group and announcement channel

Tech Status Update was originally published in Cardstack on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

What is the most important innovation behind Boxel?

The most important technical innovation in Boxel is that it’s an operating environment in which the logic of the app can be added or changed at a code level and the changes immediately effect. No build steps or deployment is necessary. This enables no code-style UI actually to change the code. It also enables AI that generate code to apply changes to the running code as part of a chat.

How can we test the AI assistant from the Boxel UI?

AI generation requires an API key with OpenAI and a Matrix chat server, which marshalls the communication between the Boxel UI and the OpenAI API. Our current generative system prompts are using GPT-4, which is powerful, but slower and more expensive.

We are working to back porting a lot of Card / Boxel code generation prompts to use the faster and cheaper GPT3.5 Turbo with custom tuning (https://openai.com/blog/gpt-3-5-turbo-fine-tuning-and-api-updates), so we can offer a minimally-gated hosted version of Boxel with AI assistant for the Cardstack community to try and still manage the OpenAI API cost.

What is the current status of the workflow designer?

Our workflows are a collaboration between people (and bots) using a chat room as a common shared context, using the Matrix protocol as persistence and transport. The sharing of cards manually is the foundation of cross-organizational workflows. Think of email trails and PDF attachments for ordering custom products with a vendor. A workflow designer is about scripting automation, which in our architecture is implemented as a Matrix chatbot.

Our AI content generation feature in the live app is already based on this pattern (the AI bot is a Matrix chatbot and shares card data with OpenAI). Extending end-user bot creation (with or without AI behind the scenes) is a planned future feature.

How will different apps that are already developed leverage each other? (Wallet, Boxel, CardPay)

We plan to port all of our existing (d)apps using Boxel as a business and display logic composability runtime. Payments, merchants, wallets, scheduled payments, balances, currency, and denominations can be refactored as cards/boxels, so they can be linked and composed with Web2 concepts like customer, vendor, fiat payments, invoices, quote, purchase orders, etc.

Web2 SaaS apps and Web3 dApps are built on very different full-stack architecture. With Boxel, they are all built on the same TypeScript-based model and templating system, allowing us to bridge Web2 and Web3 use cases.

Will it be possible to use current Matrix clients for communication and attach cards or should a new client be developed?

In the first implementation, we are focused on having a first-class experience with the sending and rendering of cards within the Boxel environment. The matrix protocol is considered a storage protocol in this first phase. While it is possible to see the data that has been sent in JSON format, other matrix clients will not be able to display or render these cards directly.

We plan to add a pre-rendering pipeline so that we render a card into a format that can be displayed in other Matrix clients as an enhancement in future releases. However, to modify those cards you will have to get the URL for that particular Matrix chat room and open it within the Boxel environment to activate all the editing features. But you will be able to see what has been discussed and shared using these pre-rendered HTML snapshots.

As an architectural principle, we want to map all the boxel-specific features onto standard Matrix APIs and data structures so that official and third-party clients will be able to make sense of the contour of who is participating and what has been shared even if they cannot enable editing or automation specific to our own concept of a workflow.

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• star Cardstack on GitHub
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Tech Status Update Q&A was originally published in Cardstack on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Cardstack development team has been focusing on the composable app, particularly around the features of operator mode. The Operator mode presents a standardized UI that communicates with the underlying open-source framework where schema and templates are outlined.

In the current version of our runtime, we grant programmers code-level access to view the source code of each card inside the system via the web application, known as “code mode.” Operator mode leverages the same APIs that offer non-technical users a point-and-click interface to manipulate the data controlled by these schemas and templates.

Navigational Enhancements

A recent addition to the system is hierarchical navigation. If a card contains a field that is itself another card — like an invoice with multiple vendors — the operator mode presents a standard navigational strategy depicted as “stacks of cards.” This allows users to delve into any hierarchy level to explore the information space constructed using the Cardstack schema system and the Boxel interface.

Field Type Expansion

The team is broadening the array of field types, such as date / time / address / company / person / currency, in a project named Card Field separation. This initiative enables field authors to offer various user interface variations that Card authors can select for their form-based applications.

Cross-Realm Movement

Concurrently, we are enhancing the realm movement features, enabling users to transfer a card or realm from one realm to another using a copy. This function facilitates the mobility of card and code across multiple organizational boundaries, a feat not achievable in the conventional full-stack multi-tenant architecture.

Under-the-Hood Enhancements CSS Encapsulation

We have finalized our work on a CSS encapsulation architecture. This allows field authors to utilize custom CSS to style their components optimally without clashing with other applications sharing the same visual space.

Matrix Chat Protocol Integration

Our team continues to integrate the Matrix chat protocol, ushering in a novel card movement method. Data and content can traverse a chatroom frequented by members from various organizations and individuals without pre-agreeing on a shared realm or folder.

These chatrooms can be viewed as ad-hoc realms: effortlessly and cost-effectively established for select groups, acting as channels for the transfer of essential information aligned with schema standards detailed in the catalog.

AI-Driven Development

We are in the experimental phase of developing AI bots, powered by Chat GPT and other OpenAI APIs. These bots aid in card type conversion and even the creation of new cards as part of multi-user and multi-chat bot collaborations within these matrix rooms.

These experimental features and the operator mode will soon be incorporated into our Boxel user experience.

Stay up-to-date

• star Cardstack on GitHub
• join our Discord channel
• join our Telegram group and announcement channel

Tech Status Update was originally published in Cardstack on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Boxel Framework for Business Use Cases

In this third blog in our series on how Boxel Framework can be used for different use cases, we will focus on business applications of the framework. We will explore the possibilities of building with Boxel as a foundational component, not just for software development, but also for envisioning workflows that facilitate collaboration across organizational boundaries.

Before we dive in, let’s quickly recap what Boxel is. Boxel can be used in three different ways. Primarily, it serves as a composable development framework that allows you to build full-fledged applications using composable components.

Secondly, Boxel offers a curated catalog, eliminating the need to build everything from scratch. Within this catalog, you’ll find pre-built components representing invoices, forms, people’s addresses, and phone numbers, and even higher-level concepts like application packets and other document templates. The catalog is aimed at enabling businesses to add new features quickly without having to build everything from scratch.

In this blog, our focus is on discussing how businesses can use Boxel to streamline their operation and boost productivity, the third use case for Boxel. Assuming you have the framework and catalog at your disposal, how can you, as a business user, make the most of Boxel’s offerings?

Boxel for streamlining business operations

Regardless of industry or specific requirements, businesses typically go through stages to achieve their objectives. These stages involve spreading awareness, generating leads, converting potential customers, and receiving payments. To support these goals, companies rely on various software tools that enable them to interact with search engines, manage content, leverage social media, capture user data through forms, connect with marketplaces, and facilitate payments through various methods.

Although the specific tools and approaches may vary, there is a common need to raise awareness, engage potential customers, negotiate deals, and ensure prompt payments. Often, businesses rely on a myriad of tools for each aspect of this process. For example, they may integrate with search engines to improve visibility, utilize content management systems to manage and distribute content effectively, use forms to capture user data and inquiries, leverage marketplaces to reach a wider audience, and use payment gateways to facilitate seamless transactions with customers.

Let’s zoom in on a critical element of the business lifecycle — the negotiation and agreement process between parties. Different companies may have varying preferences and approaches to this stage. For instance, Company A might initiate the process by sending a contract for review and including a link to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) app that generates a quote. On the other hand, Company B may prefer to receive a PDF of the contract for review and approval. This back-and-forth exchange of information often involves attachments and messaging via email, and chat applications like Discord or Slack.

Unfortunately, this part of the process often lacks structure and can become fragmented across different tools and communication channels. It can be challenging to track and manage the attachments, messages, and discussions that occur during the negotiation phase. This lack of cohesion can lead to inefficiencies, miscommunication, and even delays in finalizing agreements.

This is where Boxel Framework enters the picture. By providing a unified environment for collaboration, Boxel brings structure and organization to the negotiation and agreement process. Within the Boxel ecosystem, companies can create dedicated spaces to manage and track the negotiation process. Contracts, quotes, and related documents can be stored as Boxels, ensuring that all the relevant information remains together, organized, and easily accessible.

Moreover, Boxel’s messaging-based workflows allow for seamless communication and collaboration. Instead of scattering conversations across multiple platforms or email threads, teams can utilize Boxel’s workflow feature to have centralized discussions, attach relevant documents, and make informed decisions. This streamlines the negotiation process, reduces the risk of miscommunication, and improves overall efficiency.

With Boxel Framework, businesses can bring cohesion and structure to the negotiation and agreement phase of the business lifecycle. By leveraging the capabilities of Boxel’s unified environment and messaging-based workflows, companies can streamline their operations, improve collaboration, and ensure a smooth transition from negotiation to finalizing deals.

[Note: It’s important to read our last blog in the Boxel series to understand many concepts from this blog.]

Boxel to improve intra-organizational communication

Boxel Framework offers a unique approach to organizing and managing workflows within organizations. By understanding the concept of “space” and leveraging the power of “flow,” businesses can maximize the benefits of Boxel’s offerings.

When we talk about “space” in Boxel, we refer to spatial containers that resemble traditional folders or a desktop. These spaces serve as organizational units where different types of Boxel can be stored, categorized, and manipulated. Imagine having a virtual workspace where you can arrange and access your applications as if they were files. This spatial containers go beyond being mere storage and enable efficient collaboration and sharing within the organization.

Within these spaces, Boxel allows you to organize, search, share, and move applications and their associated data seamlessly. Each application represents a fully functional entity with its own state, similar to a file on your computer. This means that you can easily share applications and their data with colleagues, surpassing the limitations of traditional folder-based workflows.

In fact, Boxel takes inspiration from email threads when it comes to workflows. Just like you can attach and send items in an email, Boxel enables you to attach and utilize pre-created elements such as templates and forms in conversations. This messaging-based approach to workflows promotes efficient collaboration and communication within teams. You can control who can access these forms and workflows, assign tasks, and have meaningful discussions about the work at hand.

Further, Boxel goes beyond the internal confines of an organization and can be used in the same way to collaborate with parties outside of your organization. This is where the concept of “flow” comes into play. Boxel provides a neutral environment outside the organization, allowing you to collaborate with external partners, clients, or stakeholders seamlessly.

By utilizing Boxel’s dual nature, businesses can maintain a secure and controlled environment within their organization while fostering collaboration and connectivity outside of it too. Unlike traditional PDFs, which are often static and cumbersome to share, Boxel offers dynamic linking. You can reference other records, such as a vendor or customer details, and when sharing, Boxel encapsulates the referenced content, keeping it together.

This approach provides a secure and reliable way for businesses to connect with their external partners through one centralized platform without having to switch between platforms for internal and external communication as well as enabling them to create a chain of communication.

By leveraging Boxel’s operating environment of space and flow, businesses can achieve enhanced collaboration, improved workflow management, and efficient sharing of applications and data.

Boxel for inter-organizational communication

One of the significant challenges in business communications arises when multiple organizations need to collaborate. While each organization may have streamlined communication practices within its own domains, communication between organizations often needs to be more cohesive and efficient. Determining which platform to use or how to exchange information can create friction and hinder effective collaboration.

The ideal solution lies in a neutral space that exists between the two companies. This space allows both organizations to maintain sovereignty and control over their own data without being reliant on external servers or platforms. Protocols play a vital role in facilitating communication between organizations. Unlike company-owned apps, protocols are shared infrastructures that can be utilized by multiple organizations, creating a common ground for collaboration.

What makes this concept intriguing is the need for protocols to coordinate conversations between companies throughout the entire business lifecycle, from initial contact to deal-making and payment. The real-time nature of messaging is a significant advantage, as it enables participants to stay up-to-date and make quick decisions. Whether using a mobile device to provide a simple emoji response or utilizing a web3 wallet to sign transactions, messaging allows for immediate action. The combination of the shared domain model, protocols, and real-time messaging creates a neutral space where Company A and Company B can collaborate, structuring their communications without compromises and inefficiencies.

By embracing the concept of neutral space and utilizing protocols, businesses can overcome the challenges of communication between organizations. Boxel Framework offers a powerful toolset to implement these protocols, enabling efficient and structured communication throughout the business lifecycle.

Boxel for inter-business Workflows

Coordinating workflows across multiple businesses requires establishing agreements on basic vocabularies and workflow patterns. Boxel Framework provides a powerful concept of building blocks organized into nouns and verbs, representing entities and actions, respectively. This structured approach allows for the creation of common ground and shared understanding across different organizations.

Nouns in Boxel represent entities like bookings, quotes, flights, or hotels, while verbs denote actions performed on those entities. For example, actions can include purchasing, approving, booking, paying, reserving, or refunding. Each action creates a record or receipt that can be modified through logic and scripts, providing the flexibility to adapt to specific business requirements.

The flexibility of Boxel and chat paradigms enables the creation of dynamic workflows. The system can adapt to different integration models, including blockchain, web3, AI, and backend systems. It provides users with an operating environment that connects their workflows seamlessly. By leveraging the power of context and history, chat-based workflows enable efficient and automated actions, reducing manual effort and improving the user experience.

To enable coordination between companies and individuals, Boxel provides an operating environment that includes a flow or processing thread. In a purchasing thread or group chat, participants can engage in discussions and execute actions. The chat history plays a vital role, allowing actions to access contextual information. For example, when an approval action is triggered, a bot can utilize the chat history to generate a PDF document and send it for approval. This bot-like behavior streamlines the process by eliminating the need for repetitive data entry.

In conclusion, Boxel Framework presents a paradigm-shifting solution for businesses looking to enhance their operations, streamline workflows, and foster collaboration both within and across organizational boundaries. With its emphasis on composability, curated catalog of pre-built components, and powerful features like Space and Flow, Boxel offers a comprehensive platform that empowers businesses to build and manage applications with ease.

Want to understand how Boxel can be used for business use cases in detail? watch Cardstack’s Founding Director, Chris Tse, discuss it here:

About Cardstack

Founded in 2014, Cardstack is an open software ecosystem that enables Web3 projects to build and scale their business. The Cardstack ecosystem includes two product suites: Boxel Open-Source Composable Development Framework and Champer Revenue Management Protocol along with various tools for the Web3 ecosystem. With Cardstack, Web3 businesses can create and launch their own dApps, monetize their tools, and manage their revenue distribution. Learn more about Cardstack at https://cardstack.com

Boxel Framework: How Businesses Can Leverage Boxel to Streamline Their Operations — Part 3 was originally published in Cardstack on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Product Updates

Boxel Framework for Business Use Cases

In our recent webinar, Cardstack’s Founding Director, Chris Tse talked about Boxel Framework for business use cases. He presented Boxel from a business lifecycle perspective, discussing how Boxel framework can be used to improve business-critical challenges such as inter-business communication including in-app invoicing and payment-related communications and settlements. He further delved into using Boxel for other use cases such as AI-enabled workflow creation and management to streamline business processes.

Watch Video

Recommended to watch for context:

• Deep-Dive into Boxel Composable Development Framework for Web3
• Generating Software with AI using Boxel & GPT

Web3 Trends & Insights

Boxel Framework: How Cardstack Plans to Disrupt Application Development — Part 1

Boxel Framework aims to simplify software development by allowing users, designers, and developers to work together to assemble software from pre-built components. Boxel aims to address various complexities present in the current software development ecosystem to streamline the application development process.

Read Article

Boxel Framework: How Cardstack Plans to Disrupt Application Development Using AI — Part 2

Cardstack is integrating AI with Boxel to enable users to create forms, invoices, and workflows using natural language and build applications using composable components. The aim is to simplify the process building applications and creating workflows for business using Boxels and AI, making software development more accessible to everyone.

Read Article

Articles from the cryptosphere we enjoyed this month:

• BRC-20 Explained: How Tokens on Bitcoin Work and Why They Are Controversial
• What’s next for NFTs and Web3 in the age of the creator economy?

Web3 Watch

Join our upcoming fireside chat on decentralized computation with Nillion’s CSO Miguel de Vega.

The fireside chat will focus on these central points:

• About Nillion Network and the vision behind it
• How does Nillion’s decentralized multi-party computation work?
• How Nillion’s decentralized computing is different from existing cloud computing solutions?

Register Now

Check out our latest fireside chat!

Topic: Privacy Network

Cardstack’s Founding Director Chris Tse and Orchid’s Head of Product Travis Cannell discuss Orchid Protocol’s products and its vision for the larger Web3 ecosystem.

Web3 Watch fireside chats are on every first and third Wednesday of the month, be sure to subscribe.

You can listen to each chat on these streaming platforms:

Spotify | Amazon Music | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Anchor

Stay up-to-date

• star Cardstack on GitHub
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• join our Telegram group and announcement channel

Web3 RoundUp was originally published in Cardstack on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Understanding how Boxel and AI will work together

In our previous blog post on how Cardstack aims to streamline application development, we explored the complexities present in the current landscape and how the Boxel Framework will address them. This blog post focuses on how Cardstack is harnessing GPT and AI to empower developers and individuals to develop applications without the need to code everything.

To better understand this concept, let’s consider a typical workday scenario. We often rely on third-party tools to accomplish tasks, but these tools have a one-size-fits-all approach and lack the ability to be personalized to meet our specific needs. For example, with Google Forms or Hubspot Forms, customization options are limited, and users must choose from pre-set options or learn how to code to create forms based on their requirements.

Boxel changes this paradigm. With Boxel, users can not only address smaller use cases, such as creating forms using natural language but can also create complex workflows. Cardstack is integrating GPT with Boxel to enable users to create forms, invoices, and workflows using natural language. This is in addition to enabling developers to build applications using composable components.

In this blog, we will delve deeper into how Boxel will enable developers, businesses, and individuals alike to solve business-critical content management use cases and build applications using composable components.

How AI-enabled application development will work?

With the recent launches of generative AI-based tools such as ChatGPT and Bard, the tech industry is reconsidering its approach toward AI and how it can be leveraged to streamline current processes. We at Cardstack have been experimenting with it too and are now integrating GPT with Boxel. Our current R&D focuses on training AI to do what a developer would do, allowing AI to generate domain models for users at a fraction of the cost of a human programmer. To understand how AI will work with Boxel, let’s take a step back and understand how Boxel works.

[Note: It’s important to read our last blog in the Boxel series to understand many concepts from this blog.]

Boxel Framework focuses on the idea of building applications using composable components. The central idea behind this concept is to break down the process of building a domain model, which is a software stack that provides the necessary tools for creating different types of domain objects. The data for building a domain model using Boxel is encoded in JSON, and the schema leverages TypeScript, a superset of JavaScript that allows developers to create a web structure and reuse types for composing applications. The template is based on the web and uses Glimmer to generate HTML and CSS code. Furthermore, Business logic is implemented in JavaScript, enabling users to express everything in an Excel-like web application.

Boxels represent UI environments that enable users to connect different elements. The stack comprises several fundamental concepts, including boxels, cards, realms, and actions. Cards are a data model that employs fields within realms, allowing users to store and retrieve data from different sources. The system can also automate certain tasks using actions.

The system provides a uniform platform for developers to learn how to program in boxels and for users to use domain models. The AI can extend the system’s capabilities by generating more domain models through chat sessions or API sessions. Ultimately, the system aims to simplify generating objects and building applications using Boxels and AI, creating a composable application development ecosystem.

How Boxel’s composable components will be created?

We are working to integrate Boxel and AI to create a public library that will revolutionize content management. With the power of AI, Boxel will populate the library with thousands of reusable boxes that are already in existence. This catalog will function like an app store, but it is more of a template gallery where people can find pre-built components to use in their forms and workflows.

The library will allow users to save time and effort by not having to build everything from scratch. They can easily access the pre-built components and then assemble them based on their needs. The catalog will have basic components like an address, and custom components like medical software for dental offices, and other special cases.

Considering Boxel is an open-source framework, developers from outside can contribute to the library too. To contribute, developers will need to use the Boxel SDK and submit their work to create a comment. The library will be like generic drugs that are much cheaper than branded alternatives. Developers can contribute resources or get paid to build this catalog, and this will benefit users and also give developers a slice of the revenue generated from the use of their components.

What is exciting about this collaboration between Boxel and AI is that AI can generate simple software, and Boxel is designed to be simple too. With AI, instead of having thousands of developers working on one concept, one developer can use AI to create a tool that can generate all of the reusable basic common structures and interfaces that customers need. This developer can create a dictionary of basic concepts and then use AI to generate the Boxels for these concepts.

To make the catalog more useful, developers will need to train AI on how to generate Boxels in a specific way. They can do this by providing instructions on how to generate Boxels and what to generate. They can also use a context window to chain the different generative AI together and train the AI to generate Boxels from a dictionary of SAS.

The language of the description of the software is essential to the generation of software with AI. Once developers get the language of the description of the software right, they can send that information to AI to generate Boxels. The iterative process of generating the library is very much like data science, where developers try different algorithms and go against the data set to see what works.

The AI-generated software for all the Boxels in the catalog will be open-source. This means that anyone can use it and benefit from it. The open-source nature of the software will essentially make proprietary knowledge available to everyone. Different software companies create proprietary software, but with Boxel and AI, this knowledge can become part of the public domain.

How will non-technical users use Boxel?

Boxel is a powerful platform that enables businesses to extend and customize their workflows to meet their unique needs. By providing a library of common software components, Boxel allows users to build their own applications without the need for extensive coding expertise or technical resources.

One of the key advantages of Boxel is that it allows businesses to create applications that are both useful and adequate for their needs. Rather than settling for off-the-shelf solutions that may not be exactly what they require, businesses can use Boxel to build applications that meet their specific needs. By leveraging Boxel’s library, businesses can extend the functionality of their workflows to include specialized features that are tailored to their particular requirements.

For example, a shipping company may need to include special delivery instructions for certain addresses. By adopting the address field provided by Boxel, the company can customize the field to include a digital element for adding internal annotations within their workflow. This approach allows the company to extend the existing functionality provided by Boxel while maintaining compatibility with the general concept of an address field.

Boxel also enables businesses to customize the look and feel of their applications to align with their brand identity. By starting with an existing template, such as an invoice, businesses can adopt the template and then modify it to reflect their brand identity. For instance, they can add their company logo or change the color scheme to align with their brand. With Boxel, businesses can customize the application’s appearance without the need for extensive coding or technical resources.

Moreover, Boxel provides a constraint system called Guide, which allows businesses to generate formulas and enforce form fields to ensure data accuracy. This feature helps businesses maintain the integrity of their data by identifying and alerting users to missing or invalid data. This functionality can be expressed in code and generated by the GPT, making it easier for businesses to maintain the compatibility of their application.

Boxel’s real-time engine makes it easier for businesses to create and deploy their applications. Unlike traditional software deployment environments that require businesses to manage servers, hostnames, deployments, and databases, Boxel’s code lives on the platform. This approach eliminates the need for external services and enables businesses to use point-and-click tools to add or delete fields. This feature makes it easy for businesses to modify their applications without the need for extensive technical resources.

Boxel’s code editing tools can be replaced by chat sessions with the GPT, enabling businesses to make changes by describing their requirements in natural language rather than writing code or using point-and-click tools. This feature makes it easier for businesses to customize their applications, collaborate with team members, and share their applications with others.

How can users automate tasks using Boxel?

Boxel can be used to automate tasks and auto-fill forms using AI-generated data. Boxel provides users with the ability to create and customize forms and data schemas, allowing them to autofill information and automate their workflow using these forms.

One of the key benefits of Boxel is its ability to generate and transform data using AI. With Boxel and AI’s combined ability to generate code more efficiently and accurately than humans, users can take advantage of this capability to automate their workflow even further. For example, AI can fill out forms for users based on their data stored in Boxel, such as their addresses and seat preferences.

Boxel can also be used to automate risk management for financial transactions. By generating the parameters for an interaction, such as a blockchain instruction to rebalance a portfolio, users can rely on AI to make certain decisions based on predefined risk parameters. While it’s important for humans to approve these transactions, AI can take care of the heavy lifting, freeing up time and resources for the user.

One of the key benefits of Boxel is its open-source nature, allowing users to maintain control over their data and interact with it in a way that suits their needs. Our focus at Cardstack is to simplify software development by leveraging AI and open-source technologies. This is in contrast to some proprietary AI services that may use user data for their own benefit.

Want to learn more about how Boxel is leveraging AI? Watch our Founding Director, Chris Tse, discussing it here in detail:

About Cardstack

Founded in 2014, Cardstack is an open software ecosystem that enables Web3 projects to build and scale their business. The Cardstack ecosystem includes two product suites: Boxel Open-Source Composable Development Framework and Champer Revenue Management Protocol along with various tools for the Web3 ecosystem. With Cardstack, Web3 businesses can create and launch their own dApps, monetize their tools, and manage their revenue distribution. Learn more about Cardstack at https://cardstack.com

Boxel Framework: How Cardstack Plans to Disrupt Application Development Using AI — Part 2 was originally published in Cardstack on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A deep-dive into Boxel Framework

Applications have become an integral part of modern life, powering everything from smartphones to online shopping. However, despite its importance, application development is far from perfect. The current process of application development is time-consuming and resource intensive. Cardstack plans to change this paradigm with its Boxel Composable Development Framework.

Inspired by the term Voxel from video games such as Minecraft, Boxel Framework aims to simplify software development by allowing users, designers, and developers to work together to assemble software from pre-built components. Boxel proposes the idea of composable apps, where applications can work together as components to create more complex software.

Boxel aims to address four levels of complexity present in the current software development ecosystem to simplify the application development process.

These four levels are:

1. Accidental Complexity
2. Essential Complexity
3. Emergent Complexity
4. Mediated Complexity.

In the following paragraphs, let’s discuss each level of complexity in detail and how they impact current software development:

Level 1: Accidental Complexity

Accidental complexity refers to the complexity that arises from the use of tools, processes, or frameworks that are not essential to the software being developed but are required to support its creation. This type of complexity is considered accidental because it is not inherent in the problem domain, but rather a side effect of the chosen approach to solving the problem.

In software development, accidental complexity can lead to increased development time, increased costs, and reduced quality. This is because developers must spend time learning and navigating the tools and processes required to support the chosen approach, which takes time away from the actual development of the software. Additionally, the more complex the tools and processes are, the more opportunities there are for errors to be introduced into the code.

Accidental complexity also makes it harder to change the software in the future, as changing the tools and processes used to support the software often requires significant rework of the code. This can lead to software becoming outdated or difficult to maintain over time.

To mitigate the impact of accidental complexity, developers often turn to open-source tools and libraries that have already been developed and tested by others and can be used to support the creation of new software without adding unnecessary complexity. However, this reuse is limited to the stacks and libraries, and developers still rewrite the code around the business domain and logic for each new application.

Boxel aims to solve accident complexity by allowing developers to reuse stacks and libraries as a foundation for their applications. This eliminates the need for developers to spend time researching and selecting individual components and tools, reducing the likelihood of errors and speeding up development time.

Boxel also leverages open-source technologies, allowing developers to tap into pre-existing codes that can be easily incorporated into their applications. This reduces the amount of code that developers need to write from scratch, further simplifying the development process.

Another way that Boxel simplifies development is by providing an integrated development environment (IDE) that streamlines the coding process. The IDE includes a range of tools, such as code editors, version control systems, and debugging tools, that allow developers to work more efficiently and effectively.

Finally, Boxel’s deployment process is designed to be simple and straightforward. Developers can deploy their applications with just a few clicks, without needing to worry about server setup, maintenance, or security. This allows developers to focus on building their applications, rather than spending time on infrastructure management.

Level 2: Essential Complexity

Essential Complexity refers to the inherent complexity in a domain that cannot be simplified or abstracted away. It is the necessary complexity that is required to represent and solve the problem at hand. In software development, essential complexity is the core business logic that represents the unique requirements of an application. This complexity cannot be reduced or abstracted away without losing the essential functionality of the application.

Essential Complexity has a significant impact on current software development. Traditionally, software development has focused on reducing accidental complexity, which is easier to solve, rather than essential complexity, which is more difficult to address. However, as software applications become more complex and requirements become more diverse, essential complexity is becoming an increasingly important consideration in software development.

The impact of essential complexity is particularly evident in the development of large-scale applications, such as enterprise systems or complex web applications. These applications have unique business logic and requirements that cannot be abstracted away or simplified. In order to build these applications, software developers must understand the essential complexity of the respective domain and design solutions that address these requirements.

Essential complexity also affects software maintenance and evolution. As requirements change over time, the essential complexity of an application may also change. Software developers must be able to identify and modify the essential complexity of an application while preserving its functionality. This requires a deep understanding of the domain and the ability to refactor the code in a way that does not compromise the core business logic.

To address the challenges of essential complexity, software developers are increasingly turning to domain-driven design (DDD) and other techniques that focus on capturing and modeling the core business logic of an application. DDD emphasizes the importance of understanding the problem domain and designing solutions that reflect the unique requirements of the application.

Another approach to managing essential complexity is the use of microservices architecture. Microservices break down large-scale applications into smaller, more manageable components that can be developed and deployed independently. Each microservice can be designed to address a specific aspect of the essential complexity of the problem domain, allowing developers to focus on the specific requirements of each component.

However, DDD can lead to bloated domain models that can become difficult to maintain and change over time. Microservices can also introduce additional complexity, such as the need for service discovery and orchestration, and may not work well for certain types of applications. Another issue with both approaches is that they rely on a centralized database, which can create dependencies and limit the ability to scale the system. This can result in a situation where a small change to a single microservice can have far-reaching consequences throughout the entire system.

Boxel allows developers to create applications by focusing on the essential complexity of the business domain rather than getting bogged down in the accidental complexity of the technology stack and implementation details. Boxel achieves this by providing a structured approach to organizing the essential complexity of an application in the form of domain models. Domain models represent the business concepts, entities, and relationships that are relevant to a particular application. These models are defined using a combination of JSON, TypeScript, and Glimmer templates, which provide a simple, clear, and standardized way of representing the domain.

By encapsulating the essential complexity of an application in domain models, Boxel enables developers to build applications that are more modular, composable, and reusable. Instead of writing a monolithic application that is tightly coupled to a specific implementation, developers can create a set of loosely coupled domain models that can be composed to form a variety of different applications. Boxel also provides a runtime environment that allows domain models to be executed on both the client and server. This means that developers can create applications that can run in a variety of different contexts, including on the web, desktop, mobile, and in the cloud. By providing a consistent runtime environment across different contexts, Boxel enables developers to create applications that are more portable and adaptable.

One of the key benefits of Boxel is that it promotes the reuse of both domain models and implementation code. Because domain models are encapsulated and standardized, they can be easily shared between different applications and developers. This means that developers can leverage existing domain models to quickly create new applications or extend existing ones. Boxel also provides a rich library of implementation code that can be used to implement common functionality, such as data persistence, authentication, and authorization.

Level 3: Emergent Complexity

Emergent complexity is a phenomenon that arises when the behaviour of a system composed of many simple parts is difficult to predict or understand by looking only at the parts. In software development, emergent complexity can arise when developers are working with a large and complex codebase that is difficult to understand, maintain, and extend.

One of the key challenges of emergent complexity in software development is that it can lead to a situation where small changes or updates to the system can have unexpected and far-reaching consequences. This can make it difficult to debug and test software, and can also make it hard to add new features or refactor the code without introducing unintended side effects.

There are a few different ways in which emergent complexity can arise in software development. One common cause is the use of monolithic architectures, which can lead to tightly coupled code that is difficult to maintain and extend. In this scenario, changes to one part of the codebase can have ripple effects throughout the system, making it hard to predict the impact of any given change.

To address the challenges of emergent complexity, many software development teams are turning to new approaches such as the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern, to separate concerns and make the code easier to maintain. Some are also using architectural patterns, such as microservices or service-oriented architecture (SOA), to create modular, scalable systems.

However, these approaches have some drawbacks, including increased complexity of the development process, potential for integration issues, difficulty in testing, risk of over-engineering, and limited flexibility of the system. Developers need to carefully balance the benefits of these approaches against the potential drawbacks to create effective and maintainable systems.

Boxel reduces emergent complexity problems by using a modular, component-based approach to software design. Boxel breaks down a software system into smaller, more manageable components, or “boxes”, which can be developed, tested, and deployed independently. Each box has a clear interface and can communicate with other boxes through well-defined APIs, which helps to reduce the potential for emergent complexity.

Boxel also emphasizes the use of automated testing and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) practices. This ensures that each box is thoroughly tested before being integrated into the larger system, reducing the potential for bugs and errors.

Another key aspect of Boxel is its focus on data flow management. Each box is designed to manage a specific data flow within the system, which helps to ensure that data is handled consistently and efficiently across the entire system. This approach also makes it easier to scale the system as it grows, since new boxes can be added to handle new data flows.

Overall, Boxel aims to reduce emergent complexity in software development by breaking down a system into smaller, more manageable components, ensuring each component is thoroughly tested, and focusing on consistent data flow management. By using these principles, Boxel can help developers build more reliable, scalable, and maintainable software systems.

Level 4: Mediated Complexity

Mediated complexity refers to the concept of using intermediary entities or components to manage the interactions between other components within a system. In software development, this can manifest in the form of APIs, middleware, or other abstraction layers that help manage the complexity of interactions between different software components. Mediated complexity arises when different software systems or components must interact with each other to accomplish a task. This complexity can pose a number of challenges for software development.

One potential downside of mediated complexity is that it can increase the overall complexity of software systems, making it more difficult to understand and troubleshoot problems when they arise. Additionally, mediated complexity can sometimes introduce additional points of failure or security vulnerabilities into software systems, which can be difficult to identify and mitigate.

The idea behind Boxel is to provide a structured language that can help software interact with complex systems, such as APIs, servers, and payment methods, in a more efficient and streamlined manner. By breaking down complex interactions into simple components, Boxel allows for easy orchestration of different applications and systems, making it easier for developers to build more complex applications.

Boxel consists of two types of boxels — noun boxels and verb boxels. Noun boxels define the structure and layout of an entity, while verb boxels wrap the business logic and integration. Noun boxels are like documents, while verb boxels act as commands or functions that execute a particular action. By combining these two types of boxels, developers can create complex interactions and applications that are more modular and easier to understand.

One of the key benefits of Boxel is its ability to provide a common understanding of what an account, amount, and denomination is across different applications. This means that developers can use Boxel to interact with different payment methods, such as credit cards or cryptocurrencies, without having to worry about specific implementation details. Boxel allows developers to create custom solutions by combining different boxels, creating more modular and flexible applications.

Another important aspect of Boxel is its ability to share code and customize existing boxels. This allows developers to build on existing solutions and create new ones quickly and easily. Boxel provides a catalog of boxels that developers can use as building blocks for their applications, making it easier to develop complex applications from simple components.

Boxel also provides a way for developers to monetize their contributions to the protocol by using the Champer Protocol (to be released by Cardstack) for revenue distribution. This incentivizes developers to create and contribute to the catalog of boxels, which in turn creates a more robust and diverse ecosystem of composable applications.

In conclusion, Boxel is a powerful protocol that provides a structured language for building composable applications. By breaking down complex interactions into simple components, Boxel makes it easier for developers to build complex applications quickly and easily. Its ability to share code and customize existing boxels, along with its support for different payment methods, makes it a flexible and versatile protocol for building applications.

Want to understand each of these complexities in more detail and how Boxel addresses them, watch Cardstack’s Founding Director, Chris Tse, discuss it here:

About Cardstack

Founded in 2014, Cardstack is an open software ecosystem that enables Web3 projects to build and scale their business. The Cardstack ecosystem includes two product suites: Boxel Open-Source Composable Development Framework and Champer Revenue Management Protocol along with various tools for the Web3 ecosystem. With Cardstack, Web3 businesses can create and launch their own dApps, monetize their tools, and manage their revenue distribution. Learn more about Cardstack at https://cardstack.com

Boxel Framework: How Cardstack Plans to Disrupt Application Development — Part 1 was originally published in Cardstack on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Product Updates

Cardstack Safe Tools (Beta) Release

We are thrilled to announce Cardstack Safe Tools (Beta). Developed to address account abstraction-related challenges, Cardstack Safe Tools enable Web3 businesses to pay their globally dispersed teams, vendors, and freelancers in crypto.

Cardstack Safe Tools are focused on solving account abstraction-based related challenges to streamline revenue generation and payments for #Web3 projects. It offers a number of benefits over traditional payment methods.

• Non-custodial, Trustless Experience
• Bookkeeping
• Gas Optimization

Learn more here

Web3 Watch & Other Events

Is Cardstack Integrating GPT with Boxel Framework? Join us for a webinar on April 12 at 9 am ET to find out!

The webinar will focus on these central points:

• Boxel Framework demo
• Is Cardstack integrating GPT with Boxel?
• How GPT will work with Boxel?
• When Boxel will be launched?

Register Now

Cardstack at the ETH Dubai Conference: Why Hybrid Custody Is the Way Forward for Crypto

Our Founding Director, Chris Tse, discussed why hybrid custody is the way forward for crypto at ETH Dubai and also introduced Cardstack Safe Tools

“Hybrid custody is like a multi-sig signer, except that it is limited by logical rules to balance the power so you can delegate and maintain your rights along the way.” — Chris Tse on Hybrid Custody at ETH Dubai

Chris Tse talked about:

• Hybrid Custody as a continuum
• Smart Account as the abstraction
• Scheduling payments using hybrid custody

Watch here

Web3 Trends & Insights

How DAOs Can Meet Growing Community Needs with Composable Development

In our latest blog, we discuss how composable development enables DAOs to growing community needs. As DAOs are becoming popular for community-driven decision-making, they are struggling to scale and meet growing community demands.

Composable development is an approach to software development that emphasizes modularity and interoperability between different components of an application. Composable development enables DAOs to build using pre-built building blocks and scale quickly to meet growing demands.

Read the article here

Articles from the cryptosphere we enjoyed this month:

• From PayPal to Web3: Digital identity could play key role in unlocking mainstream adoption
• Yes, We Need Bitcoin For DeFi Without Bridges

Web3 Watch

Join our fireside chat on Web3 messaging protocol with dm3’ CEO Steffen Kux today!

Cardstack’s Founding Director Chris Tse and dm3’s CEO Steffen Kux discuss dm3’s products and its vision for the larger Web3 ecosystem.

Web3 Watch fireside chats are on every first and third Wednesday of the month, be sure to subscribe.

Stay up-to-date

• star Cardstack on GitHub
• join our Discord channel
• join our Telegram group and announcement channel

Web3 Roundup was originally published in Cardstack on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

DAOs are increasingly becoming a popular way for communities to come together and build a solution that caters to the community as well as the wider world without relying on a centralized authority for decision-making. However, one particular challenge that the DAOs have been facing is their limited ability to scale and meet growing community demands, particularly in their early years due to a lack of resources.

Composable development is an approach to software development that emphasizes on modularity and interoperability between different components of an application and leverages pre-built components to build and scale applications. In the context of DAOs, this means building DAOs from a collection of smaller, pre-built building blocks that can easily be combined to create new functionalities, build an app, or scale the existing solution.

In this blog, let’s discuss how composable development enables DAOs to scale quickly and meet growing community demands:

Scalability

With growing community needs, it is essential for DAOs to be able to adapt and scale quickly. Composable development allows DAOs to add new functionalities or adjust their decision-making mechanisms without having to start from scratch or overhaul the entire system. With composable development, DAOs can easily create and test new functionalities and quickly integrate them into the larger DAO structure based on community approvals.

Let’s take an example to understand how composable development can empower DAOs to meet community demands and scale their organization with limited resources. Imagine a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) comprised of a group of highly skilled professionals aiming to create a web3 dApp marketplace. To achieve this, they utilize a composable development approach, allowing them to modularly build and seamlessly integrate individual components.

After evaluating multiple proposals, the DAO votes on the most needed functionalities to begin with and delegates tasks to its members. Due to the modularity of the composable framework, the members can work in parallel, resulting in a faster development process.

Thanks to the modularity of the composable framework, each team can work independently without compromising the seamless integration of each component. This not only allows the DAO to quickly roll out new features but also improve the user experience of its marketplace.

Interoperability

Interoperability is crucial for DAOs because they need to be able to work with other organizations and applications. Composable development allows DAOs to easily integrate with other applications and systems, enabling greater collaboration and data sharing.

For example, if a DAO wants to integrate with a decentralized exchange or another application, it can reuse its existing modules or create new ones quickly based on business-specific needs. This interoperability enables DAOs to work more effectively with other decentralized technologies and applications.

Flexibility

As Web3 is still a nascent industry, flexibility is key for DAOs considering the constantly-changing environment. Composable development allows DAOs to quickly modify and customize their offerings to meet the specific needs of their community.

For example, if a DAO decides to change its voting mechanism or add a new role to its governance structure, it can do so easily by reusing existing modules or creating new ones that seamlessly integrate with the existing system. This flexibility allows DAOs to stay responsive to the needs of their community and adapt to changing industry conditions.

Code reusability

Composable development enables DAOs to reuse code from existing dApps, enabling them to focus on creating unique applications that meet the specific needs of their community without having to reinvent the wheel.

For example, a DAO that manages a decentralized governance platform can reuse the smart contract code from an existing voting platform to enable voting on proposals within the governance platform. Furthermore, existing smart contracts and dApps have already been audited and tested, reducing the risk of bugs and vulnerabilities in the new contracts.

Collaboration

Composable development further enables DAOs to collaborate with other DAOs or organizations. For example, a DAO that manages a decentralized insurance platform may collaborate with a DAO that manages a decentralized lending platform, creating a joint platform that provides both insurance and lending services to the community. This collaboration can lead to the creation of decentralized ecosystems that provide a wide range of services to the community.

How Cardstack can help?

Soon to be launched, Boxel allows you to build full-fledged dApps from ideation to launch by assembling pre-built components from a catalog of mini-applications known as ‘Box’. Boxel provides pre-built components for composition, integration, orchestration, runtime, and new dApp development, enabling you to design an interface that contains all the concepts and data models, including the front-end and back-end to build an application. Boxel can also be used to scale existing businesses to add new features at pace and meet evolving customer needs.

Read more about the future of blockchain technology below.

Why More Businesses Are Choosing Crypto-based Payments?

Why Web3 Needs Its Own CRM

Why Businesses Are Moving Their Loyalty Programs to Blockchain

Why Composable Application Architecture Is Key to Scalability

How DAOs Can Meet Growing Community Needs with Composable Development was originally published in Cardstack on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.