Introducing the Upgrade Indexer: New Developer Benefits, Easier Network Upgrades

The Graph ecosystem remains committed to its mission: Make open data available and accessible to all. Delivering on that mission also means supporting developers with a best-in-class data experience on the decentralized network. Edge & Node and other core devs have been heads down shipping key updates to improve network quality of service, cost of service, and developer experience for more than a year. Now it’s time for everyone to take advantage of the network’s benefits, including lower query costs, ultra-reliable uptime, powerful syncing speeds, a robust user support system and more – all while avoiding vendor lock-in. These are a few reasons why Edge & Node is pleased to introduce a soon-to-be-available solution to make upgrading from the hosted service even easier: the upgrade Indexer.

What is the purpose of the upgrade Indexer?

The upgrade Indexer will be a fallback mechanism to ensure that every single subgraph that upgrades to the network can be served by the network. It’s another way by which The Graph ecosystem will provide maximal support to developers and enable everyone to outsource their indexing needs to the network, without stopping support for critical infrastructure that tens of thousands of developers rely on today.

This Indexer will help bootstrap new chains onto the network and improve the experience of upgrading subgraphs from the hosted service by ensuring that there is an Indexer ready to serve queries right after a subgraph (or a new subgraph version) is published to the network. In other words, The upgrade Indexer helps hosted service users upgrade their subgraphs to The Graph Network without experiencing service interruption. Reliance on the upgrade Indexer is expected to shrink over time.

The upgrade Indexer not only serves as a bridge from the hosted service to the network and as a safety net for continuous service — it also enables several new benefits.

Benefits for Dapp Developers

The Graph Network continues to offer unmatched benefits to dapp developers such as high quality of service, cost of service, and the robust security of decentralization. The upgrade Indexer further enhances the benefits of The Graph Network with:

• Free upgrades to The Graph Network: The upgrade Indexer will enable subgraph developers to upgrade hosted service subgraphs to The Graph and begin making queries as quickly without service interruption. The upgrade Indexer will offer a simple and seamless way to test your subgraph. The upgrade Indexer will taper off support after you curate your subgraph which will attract support from other Indexers.
• Bootstrapping new chains on the network: Today, the hosted service supports 40+ blockchain networks. The upgrade Indexer will expedite the integration of many of these chains from the hosted service onto The Graph Network. However, new chains supported by the upgrade Indexer will not immediately be eligible for indexing rewards. To enable indexing rewards, each chain must undergo governance via the Chain Integration Process.
• Pre-synced Subgraphs: All of the hosted service subgraphs will already be synced with the upgrade Indexer, ensuring immediate, and high-quality support on the network.

The Graph offers a decentralized approach to indexing blockchain data, enabling developers to outsource their infrastructure to a robust, and reliable network powered by hundreds of independent Indexers around the world.

What does this mean for other Indexers?

As mentioned in The Graph’s Forum, the upgrade Indexer serves as a bootstrapping mechanism for unsupported subgraphs, and it will not collect indexing rewards or compete with other Indexers. It will allocate only the minimum amount per subgraph, only collecting query fees for queries served.

Furthermore, all existing Indexers will also be able to participate as upgrade Indexers permissionlessly. A list of chains and subgraphs for pre-indexing will be made public prior to the release of the upgrade Indexer by Edge & Node.

The Sunrise of Decentralized Data

As the name suggests, the upgrade Indexer will enable developers to upgrade their hosted service subgraphs to enjoy the quality of service and resilience of The Graph Network. The upgrade Indexer will empower all network participants to simply and seamlessly upgrade to The Graph Network, paving the way for a new sunrise of decentralized data.

Edge & Node and other ecosystem core devs are working to further increase the resiliency of The Graph and building upon what was previously announced as The Graph’s Sunrise of Decentralized Data. A new, updated plan will soon be shared, full of new enhancements to The Graph without needing to sacrifice service continuity for developers.

A vibrant decentralized future is about to dawn. Stay tuned!

About The Graph

The Graph is the source of data and information for the decentralized internet. As the original decentralized data marketplace that introduced and standardized subgraphs, The Graph has become web3’s method of indexing and accessing blockchain data. Since its launch in 2018, tens of thousands of developers have built subgraphs for dapps across 45+ blockchains - including  Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Polygon, Celo, Fantom, Gnosis, and Avalanche.

As demand for data in web3 continues to grow, The Graph enters a New Era with a more expansive vision including new data services and query languages, ensuring the decentralized protocol can serve any use case - now and into the future.

Discover more about how The Graph is shaping the future of decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) and stay connected with the community. Follow The Graph on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Medium. Join the community on The Graph’s Telegram, join technical discussions on The Graph’s Discord.

The Graph Foundation oversees The Graph Network. The Graph Foundation is overseen by the Technical Council. Edge & Node, StreamingFast, Semiotic Labs, The Guild, Messari, GraphOps, Pinax and Geo are eight of the many organizations within The Graph ecosystem.