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+# Dash Core Development Guide
+
+## Overview
+
+Dash Core is the reference implementation for Dash, a cryptocurrency. It builds on top of Bitcoin Core, a codebase that
+is primarily written in C++20 (requiring at least Clang 16 or GCC 11.1). Dash Core uses the GNU Autotools build system.
+
+## Directory Structure
+
+- **Implementation** `src/` - C++20 codebase
+  - `src/bench/` - Performance benchmarks (uses `nanobench`)
+  - `src/fuzz/` - Fuzzing harnesses
+  - `src/index/` - Optional indexes
+  - `src/interfaces/` - Interfaces for codebase isolation and inter-process communication
+  - `src/qt/` - Implementation of Dash Qt, the GUI (uses Qt 5)
+  - `src/rpc/` - JSON-RPC server and endpoints
+  - `src/util/` - Utility functions
+  - `src/wallet/` - Wallet implementation (uses Berkeley DB and SQLite)
+  - `src/zmq/` - ZeroMQ notification support for real-time event publishing
+- **Unit Tests**
+  - `src/test/`, `src/wallet/test/` - C++20 unit tests (uses `Boost::Test`)
+  - `src/qt/test/` - C++20 unit tests for GUI implementation (uses Qt 5)
+- **Functional Tests**: `test/functional/` - Python tests (minimum version in `.python-version`) dependent on `dashd` and `dash-node`
+
+### Directories to Exclude
+
+**Under any circumstances**, do not make changes to:
+- `guix-build*` - Build system files
+- `releases` - Release artifacts
+- Vendored dependencies:
+  - `src/{crc32c,dashbls,gsl,immer,leveldb,minisketch,secp256k1,univalue}`
+  - `src/crypto/{ctaes,x11}`
+
+**Unless specifically prompted**, avoid:
+- `.github` - GitHub workflows and configs
+- `depends` - Dependency build system
+- `ci` - Continuous integration
+- `contrib` - Contributed scripts
+- `doc` - Documentation
+
+## Build Commands
+
+### Setup and Build
+```bash
+# Generate build system
+./autogen.sh
+
+# Build dependencies for the current platform
+make -C depends -j"$(( $(nproc) - 1 ))" | tail 5
+
+# Configure with depends (use the path shown in depends build output)
+# Example paths: depends/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, depends/aarch64-apple-darwin24.3.0
+./configure --prefix=$(pwd)/depends/[platform-triplet]
+
+# Developer configuration (recommended)
+./configure --prefix=$(pwd)/depends/[platform-triplet] \
+            --disable-hardening \
+            --enable-crash-hooks \
+            --enable-debug \
+            --enable-reduce-exports \
+            --enable-stacktraces \
+            --enable-suppress-external-warnings \
+            --enable-werror
+
+# Build with parallel jobs (leaving one core free)
+make -j"$(( $(nproc) - 1 ))"
+```
+
+## Testing Commands
+
+### Unit Tests
+```bash
+# Run all unit tests
+make check
+
+# Run specific test (e.g. getarg_tests)
+./src/test/test_dash --run_test=getarg_tests
+
+# Debug unit tests
+gdb ./src/test/test_dash
+```
+
+### Functional Tests
+```bash
+# Run all functional tests
+test/functional/test_runner.py
+
+# Run specific test
+test/functional/wallet_hd.py
+
+# Extended test suite
+test/functional/test_runner.py --extended
+
+# Parallel execution
+test/functional/test_runner.py -j$(nproc)
+
+# Debug options
+test/functional/test_runner.py --nocleanup --tracerpc -l DEBUG
+```
+
+### Code Quality
+```bash
+# Run all linting
+test/lint/all-lint.py
+
+# Common individual checks
+test/lint/lint-python.py
+test/lint/lint-shell.py
+test/lint/lint-whitespace.py
+test/lint/lint-circular-dependencies.py
+```
+
+## High-Level Architecture
+
+Dash Core extends Bitcoin Core through composition, using a layered architecture:
+
+```
+Dash Core Components
+├── Bitcoin Core Foundation (Blockchain, consensus, networking)
+├── Masternodes (Infrastructure)
+│   ├── LLMQ (Quorum infrastructure)
+│   │   ├── InstantSend (Transaction locking)
+│   │   ├── ChainLocks (Block finality)
+│   │   ├── EHF Signals (Hard fork coordination)
+│   │   └── Platform/Evolution (Credit Pool, Asset Locks)
+│   ├── CoinJoin (Coin mixing)
+│   └── Governance Voting (Masternodes vote on proposals)
+├── Governance System (Proposal submission/management)
+└── Spork System (Feature control)
+```
+
+### Key Architectural Components
+
+#### Masternodes (`src/masternode/`, `src/evo/`)
+- **Deterministic Masternode Lists**: Consensus-critical registry using immutable data structures
+- **Active Masternode Manager**: Local masternode operations and BLS key handling
+- **Special Transactions**: ProRegTx, ProUpServTx, ProUpRegTx, ProUpRevTx for masternode lifecycle
+
+#### Long-Living Masternode Quorums (`src/llmq/`)
+- **Quorum Types**: Multiple configurations (50/60, 400/60, 400/85) for different services
+- **Distributed Key Generation**: Cryptographically secure quorum formation
+- **Services**: ChainLocks (51% attack prevention), InstantSend, governance voting
+
+#### CoinJoin Privacy (`src/coinjoin/`)
+- **Mixing Architecture**: Masternode-coordinated mixing sessions
+- **Denomination**: Uniform outputs for privacy
+- **Session Management**: Multi-party transaction construction
+
+#### Governance (`src/governance/`)
+- **Governance Objects**: Proposals, triggers, superblock management
+- **Treasury**: Automated payouts based on governance votes
+- **Voting**: On-chain proposal voting and tallying
+
+#### Evolution Database (`src/evo/evodb`)
+- **Specialized Storage**: Masternode snapshots, quorum state, governance objects
+- **Efficient Updates**: Differential updates for masternode lists
+- **Credit Pool Management**: Platform integration support
+
+#### Dash-Specific Databases
+
+- **CFlatDB**: A Dash-specific flat file database format used for persistent storage
+  - `MasternodeMetaStore`: Masternode metadata persistence
+  - `GovernanceStore`: Governance object storage
+  - `SporkStore`: Spork state persistence
+  - `NetFulfilledRequestStore`: Network request tracking
+- **CDBWrapper**: Bitcoin Core database wrapper extended for Dash-specific data
+  - `CDKGSessionManager`: LLMQ DKG session persistence
+  - `CEvoDb`: Specialized database for Evolution/deterministic masternode data
+  - `CInstantSendDb`: InstantSend lock persistence
+  - `CQuorumManager`: Quorum state storage
+  - `CRecoveredSigsDb`: LLMQ recovered signature storage
+
+### Integration Patterns
+
+#### Initialization Flow
+1. **Basic Setup**: Core Bitcoin initialization
+2. **Parameter Interaction**: Dash-specific configuration validation
+3. **Interface Setup**: Dash manager instantiation in NodeContext
+4. **Main Initialization**: EvoDb, masternode system, LLMQ, governance startup
+
+#### Consensus Integration
+- **Block Validation Extensions**: Special transaction validation
+- **Mempool Extensions**: Enhanced transaction relay
+- **Chain State Extensions**: Masternode list and quorum state tracking
+- **Fork Prevention**: ChainLocks prevent reorganizations
+
+#### Key Design Patterns
+- **Manager Pattern**: Centralized managers for each subsystem
+- **Event-Driven Architecture**: ValidationInterface callbacks coordinate subsystems
+- **Immutable Data Structures**: Efficient masternode list management using Immer library
+- **Extension Over Modification**: Minimal changes to Bitcoin Core foundation
+
+### Critical Interfaces
+- **NodeContext**: Central dependency injection container
+- **LLMQContext**: LLMQ-specific context and state management
+- **ValidationInterface**: Event distribution for block/transaction processing
+- **ChainstateManager**: Enhanced with Dash-specific validation
+- **Chainstate Initialization**: Separated into `src/node/chainstate.*`
+- **Special Transaction Serialization**: Payload serialization routines (`src/evo/specialtx.h`)
+- **BLS Integration**: Cryptographic foundation for advanced features
+
+## Development Workflow
+
+### Common Tasks
+```bash
+# Clean build
+make clean
+
+# Run dashd with debug logging
+./src/dashd -debug=all -printtoconsole
+
+# Run functional test with custom dashd
+test/functional/test_runner.py --dashd=/path/to/dashd
+
+# Generate compile_commands.json for IDEs
+bear -- make -j"$(( $(nproc) - 1 ))"
+```
+
+### Debugging
+```bash
+# Debug dashd
+gdb ./src/dashd
+
+# Profile performance
+test/functional/test_runner.py --perf
+perf report -i /path/to/datadir/test.perf.data --stdio | c++filt
+
+# Memory debugging
+valgrind --leak-check=full ./src/dashd
+```
+
+## Branch Structure
+
+- `master`: Stable releases
+- `develop`: Active development (built and tested regularly)
+
+## Important Notes
+
+- Use `make -j"$(( $(nproc) - 1 ))"` for parallel builds (leaves one core free)
+- Always run linting before commits: `test/lint/all-lint.py`
+- For memory-constrained systems, use special CXXFLAGS during configure
+- Special transactions use payload extensions - see `src/evo/specialtx.h`
+- Masternode lists use immutable data structures (Immer library) for thread safety
+- LLMQ quorums have different configurations for different purposes
+- Dash uses `unordered_lru_cache` for efficient caching with LRU eviction
+- The codebase extensively uses Dash-specific data structures for performance