Known limitations

Sources: Network status, n-spec public README, WHY-N §1, §4, §9, N-SPEC v0.7 §14.2, §15.8, §12.11, and APP-SPEC v1 draft status. This page records the current limits and the conditions still to be met.

Network and implementation

No public network runs today. The DMM public testnet was shut down on 5 October 2026. A network using N is under construction, with no announced date. Network status is the canonical record of network availability.

There is no public implementation of N. The public Core repository contains legacy DMM software; it does not implement the N specification. n-spec public README

Application and qualification

APP-SPEC v1 is a draft. Gate RA has not been passed, and it authorises no genesis. Byte-level formats and independent generator vectors are still due; reserved or unpublished provisions are not available implementation rules. APP-SPEC v1 draft status; application identifier reservations

Qualification remains open under QR-1…QR-10. These requirements cover real-client measurements, delay assumptions, analytical bounds and proof composition, model exploration, delivery checks, Bitcoin seed grinding, recovery, anchor compatibility and client profiles. The published architecture is a candidate, not a qualified system. WHY-N §9

No external audit has been completed. Independent human review is still needed; an external audit is a precondition before any public network carries value. See How this project is built.

Initial production and exposure

Producers are managed by the project at startup. In that initial phase, no bound β < 1 on adversarial production weight is defensible: a burn has a cost, but it bounds neither concentration, key rental, corruption, coercion nor attrition. N makes quantitative claims only inside its published domain H_N, which assumes a bound on adversarial weight; this initial arrangement cannot substantiate that assumption. WHY-N §1; n-spec public README

Real external exposure is zero at bootstrap. Any later exposure limit requires an applicable, published risk bound, and deliveries affected by the same reorganisation must be considered together. N-SPEC v0.7 §14.2, §15.8

Authenticated origin

Initialisation depends on a signed BOOTSTRAP package authenticated by a 3-of-4 release-key threshold. This is weak subjectivity: a new or long-absent node needs a recent authenticated origin before the published registry-agreement claim applies. An origin has no fork-choice power over a synchronised node. WHY-N §4; N-SPEC v0.7 §12.11

Language of the specification

The normative N specification is in French. These English pages explain it; they do not replace the normative text. The application draft is also in French. n-spec public README