Convex is a decentralised network and execution engine for the Internet of Value. It can be seen as an implementation of a "Stateful Internet" where the network itself securely hosts and executes code and data.
It is designed as a full stack solution for decentralised applications and programmable economic systems that manage digital assets, where asset ownership is cryptographically secured and can be managed (optionally) with Smart Contracts.
Convex is based on Lattice Technology, exploiting the mathematical properties of lattices to achieve efficient consensus and verifiability. Lattice technology can be used to solve problems in a similar manner to blockchains, but offers some significant advantages:
- Global State model with immutable data structures and atomic transactions
- Lambda Calculus based VM supporting Turing complete Smart Contracts
- High transaction throughput (tens of thousands of write transactions per second, potentially scaling to millions in the future)
- Simple networking protocol based on random gossip
- Low latency for transaction confirmation (milliseconds for global consensus, depending on network speed)
- 100% Green - energy efficiency using the Convergent Proof of Stake consensus algorithm
- Integrated on-chain compiler (Convex Lisp)
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
- 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 Tokensasset.nft.simple- Basic lightweight Non-fungible tokensconvex.asset- library for managing arbitrary digital assets using a common abstractionconvex.trust- library for access control and trusted operationstorus.exchange- decentralised exchange for trading fungible tokens and currencies- Example code and templates for various forms of smart contracts
| Name | Description | Maven | Javadoc |
|---|---|---|---|
| convex-core | CVM, data structures and consensus |  |
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| convex-peer | Peer implementation and networking |  |
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| convex-cli | Command Line Tools |  |
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| convex-gui | Convex Desktop GUI Interface |  |
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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.
- 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.
- Java JDK 21+ (for running Convex and related tools)
- Maven 3.7+ (for building Convex from source)
- git (for source control / contributing)
Recent development snapshot builds of convex.jar are made available here:
To get a local development build of Convex you need git and Apache Maven. You will also need a recent version of Java (JDK 21+ recommended.
- Clone this repository using
git- you probably want thedevelopbranch (the default) - Build using
mvn installin the root directory
This should download all necessary dependencies and perform a standard build.
Convex Desktop is a GUI application for power users and developers providing full access to the capabilities of Convex. To run, you will need a modern version of Java installed (21+) and the convex.jar executable file (which can be found in the outputs of the Maven build above, or downloaded from trusted sources).
If Java is correctly installed, you should be able to double-click the executable convex.jar file to run it. Depending on your security settings, you may need to grant approval for this to run.
Alternatively, run Convex Desktop using java at the command line as follows:
java -jar convex.jar desktopIf you have an already built version of the Convex CLI convex.jar file and installed a recent version of Java you can run it as follows:
java -jar convex.jar <optional args>For convenience, there are shell scripts to automate this for common platforms in the root directory of this repo, e.g.
./convex --helpUsing the CLI, you can start the Convex Desktop GUI for a local peer test network by using the local gui command:
./convex local gui
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.
We use Discord as for discussing Convex - you can join the public server at https://discord.gg/5j2mPsk
Alternatively, email: info(at)convex.world
Copyright 2017-2025 The Convex Foundation and Contributors
Unless otherwise specified, source code is available under the terms of the Convex Public License