Cartesi Rollups 2.0 Features Spotlight: Multi-DApp Support

SDK Explainers/Sep 17, 2025/Henrique Marlon

This is the first article in a series where we will explore features that are being tested and will be implemented for the Cartesi Rollups 2.0.

This release comes with a new version of the Cartesi Rollups Node, which was designed from the ground up to support multiple applications simultaneously within a single node instance. This Multi-DApp capability is a significant architectural evolution, enabling one node to efficiently manage several applications at once.

In this article, you’ll dive into some of the technical aspects behind this important piece of the upcoming version of Cartesi Rollups and understand the benefits this approach brings.

A Broader Shift in How Applications Operate

Multi-DApp nodes are more than an infrastructure convenience, they hint at a deeper shift in the Cartesi model and what will be possible to do in the future:

From app-specific nodes to “network” nodes: Instead of each application exposing its own node endpoint, clients can connect to a more “global” node (per base layer) that runs a subset of the applications deployed to that chain.
On-demand application activation: Node operators should be able to add applications on demand, responding to incentives. Proposals such as “Appchain attention economics” suggest signaling and incentive mechanisms so nodes learn which applications are worth running and are rewarded for doing so.

Technical Overview

Most of the work required to manage multiple applications boils down to the ability to orchestrate multiple instances of the Cartesi Machine, each running an application implementation, within a single node.

Inside the node, the core component responsible for this Multi-DApp capability is the Advancer, which in this new version can scale applications horizontally, it means that applications runs in parallel and independently.

It is worth noting that this feature is not related to any kind of communication between applications, this remains an open challenge, that can be solved in the future.

Shared Services → Lower Costs

Another key benefit of this design is improved cost efficiency. Services that previously had to run per application can now be shared across many applications. A concrete example is the EVM reader service that monitors blockchain events. With the new version, for each new block the node can:

Retrieve the set of running applications
Process inputs and outputs for all applications in the same cycle

This consolidation reduces infrastructure overhead per application and improves overall resource utilization, giving us confidence that, once the node reaches its final release, node runners will be able to operate more easily and at lower cost, as applications sharing the same base layer can be validated collectively, reducing expenses.

Simplified Node Management

To make operations straightforward, the new version comes with a node CLI that offers unified commands to manage multiple applications, with operations as described below:

❯ cartesi-rollups-cli --help
Command line interface for the Cartesi Rollups Node

Usage:
  cartesi-rollups-cli [command]

Available Commands:
  app         Application management related commands
  completion  Generate the autocompletion script for the specified shell
  db          Database management related commands
  deploy      Deploy Contracts and Applications
  execute     Executes a voucher
  help        Help about any command
  inspect     Calls inspect API
  read        Read the node state from the database
  send        Sends a rollups input transaction to the ethereum provider
  validate    Validates a notice

Flags:
  -h, --help      help for cartesi-rollups-cli
      --version   version for cartesi-rollups-cli

Use "cartesi-rollups-cli [command] --help" for more information about a command.

Serving as a tool that administrators can use, for example, to:

Perform base layer operations such as deploying contracts related to the application and its consensus mechanism, which will then be registered and validated by the node, abstracting blockchain interaction for the creation of the respective contracts.
Manage the database that stores the node’s state and the outputs of applications being validated, allowing, for example, database migration without relying on other tools.

With a view toward a future where node runners evolve into third-party providers by building a service layer that allows application developers to deploy their apps, this node CLI becomes a cornerstone of that vision, lowering the barriers to managing a Cartesi node and its registered applications.

Conclusion

The Multi-DApp feature in the Cartesi Rollups Node will deliver cost savings, operational simplicity, and improved resource utilization. It positions Cartesi Rollups 2.0 as production-grade infrastructure and an execution layer where applications, nodes, and incentives co-evolve.

References

FLY.IO. Fly.io Pricing Calculator. Fly.io, 2025. Available at: https://fly.io/calculator. Accessed on: 22 Aug. 2025.

ARGENTO, Pedro. Appchain Attention Economics: CTSI Holders as Part of the Solution. Cartesi Governance Forum, 2024. Available at: https://governance.cartesi.io/t/appchain-attention-economics-ctsi-holders-as-part-of-the-solution/441. Accessed on: 21 Aug. 2025

TEIXEIRA, Augusto; NEHAB, Diego. The Core of Cartesi (Cartesi Whitepaper). Cartesi, Aug. 2018. Available at: https://cartesi.io/cartesi_whitepaper.pdf. Accessed on: Aug. 21, 2025.