Frequently Asked Questions

PRAGMA is a member-based Swiss association supporting open-source blockchain infrastructure, starting with Cardano. It gives engineering teams a neutral home for collaboration, governance and long-term stewardship.

PRAGMA currently supports two open-source projects: Aiken and Amaru. PRAGMA is also evaluating new projects for membership.

Yes. The Project Committee, the group that reviews incoming project applications, opens applications twice a year. Applications are currently open through the project intake form. The project path explains the process from application through review, incubation and final acceptance. The Project Committee reviews candidates and recommends to the Administrative Board, the board that handles day-to-day operations, which ones should become PRAGMA projects.

Yes, but membership is not automatic. New member organizations are admitted by the General Assembly, the member-delegate body, under PRAGMA’s statutes.

PRAGMA’s General Assembly, the member-delegate body, is made up of delegates from the founding member businesses who nominate the Administrative Board. Participation in the Project Committee or Maintainer Committees does not have to come from founding businesses, so individuals from the community can help through project and maintainer committee work without having to be from a founding member business.

No. Projects need to find their own funding elsewhere. Staying out of funding keeps PRAGMA lean, lowers risk and keeps the association focused on long-term development and governance, not managing money on projects’ behalf.

PRAGMA may provide governance support, intellectual property support, limited legal assistance under a board-approved framework, credentials and operational infrastructure, visibility, coordination and other services approved through PRAGMA’s governance process.

PRAGMA is structured around the General Assembly, Administrative Board, Project Committee and Maintainer Committees. The General Assembly is the member-delegate body. The Administrative Board handles day-to-day operations. The Project Committee reviews project candidates and Maintainer Committees run individual projects. See the governance structure for the full diagram.

Contributions happen through the individual projects. Start with the project repositories, open issues and maintainer guidance. It is usually best to reach out before taking on a large piece of work so maintainers can share current priorities.

No. PRAGMA is independent and complementary. PRAGMA focuses on open-source software development and project governance while Intersect serves a broader governance role in the Cardano ecosystem.

PRAGMA exists to make critical infrastructure more transparent, maintainable and easier for developers to build on. Open development lets contributors see decisions, review progress and get involved early.

Major decisions are recorded publicly through PRAGMA Decision Records and board materials. A PDR is a public record explaining a governance or operating decision, why it was made and how it should be followed. The main repositories are pragma-org/PDRs and pragma-org/board.