Seamless optional updates to DAO

adminDecember 20, 2023

Aragon OSx updates are delivered to Aragon apps in real-time, enabling seamless security and feature updates to DAO. Each DAO deployment is entirely self-sovereign, so updates are always optional.

All DAOs in the Aragon app are built on: Aragon OSx, the basic DAO framework. This new feature allows DAOs to forward proposals to update the Aragon OSx contract to the latest version and provides access to security and feature updates made by the Aragon team.

The process is secure, easy and intuitive, even if you are familiar with smart contracts. The release notes for each update are transparent, allowing anyone to view and evaluate the details of each update. You can find examples of release notes here. here.

Each update automatically goes through a safety check that is visible to all DAO members. Safety checks analyze proposals to ensure that suggested actions result in safe updates. For example, it verifies that the update address is in the Aragon OSx registry, that the correct method is called, and that the order of operations in the proposal is correct. This protects DAO members from unknowingly delivering malicious upgrades that are not provided by the Aragon team or do not follow best practices.

If you decide to propose an update to the DAO, Required smart contract changes are automatically populated with tasks within the proposal, eliminating the possibility of adding tasks incorrectly. There is a verification panel that automatically verifies that the proposal’s actions are safe and is visible to all DAO members. The DAO must then pass a vote to make the update available. The final step requires the wallet to execute the task.

Typically, these kinds of smart contract updates require advanced Solidity experience. With Aragon OSx Updates, we’ve made it possible for anyone to securely suggest updates without writing any code!

Updates are optional and can be done whenever you want, similar to updating your computer’s operating system. However, in stark contrast to operating system updates, there are no “automatic updates” delivered without your consent. The app will notify you that an update is available, but will not ask you to do so. Your DAO is sovereign, so updates are entirely your choice.

All updates are carefully built and evaluated within the Aragon team. The Aragon OSx protocol is managed by 3/5 Aragon OSx multi-signature, which allows the protocol to be upgraded, but existing DAOs cannot. Security is our top priority, so we thoroughly test and evaluate all updates. In over six years of deployment, Aragon’s products have never been hacked, and its cumulative assets exceed $18 billion.

Learn more about Aragon OSx updates.

The Aragon app is built on Aragon OSx, a smart contract framework for building DAOs. Aragon OSx UpgradableThis means that the underlying code of the smart contract framework may be modified, but the state, address, and balance of each individual DAO will remain the same.

We’ve made the Aragon OSx contract upgradable so we can drive technological advancements in the space. This means that there are different versions of OSx with new security and feature updates that improve DAO execution. This is similar to different versions of Mac or PC operating systems. Each operating system has different levels of updates that DAO can perform.

The DAO in Aragon OSx and apps is entirely self-sovereign., This means that the Aragon team cannot change anything in the DAO backend.

This is important because DAOs are essentially meant to be autonomous and sovereign organizations. The purpose of a DAO would be defeated if a centralized party controlled it on the backend.

When you create a new DAO in the Aragon app, it is automatically created using the latest version of the Aragon OSx contract. However, older DAOs will not be automatically updated to the latest version. That’s why we’ve created a system where DAOs can deliver suggestions to install the latest updates if they wish.

DAO can skip updates or ignore them altogether. This process is intentionally optional, so you will have a full domain for your DAO contract.

Create and update automatically generated suggestions.

Whenever a new update is available, it will be displayed as a banner in the Aragon app. You can click “View All Updates” to see which contract updates are available. Read the details and decide whether you want to automatically create a proposal to perform this update. Automatically generated updates eliminate the possibility of misconfiguring tasks.

Option to evaluate the update’s open source code before making a decision

DAO members can read update details before making a decision. Each update automatically goes through a safety verification process, but DAO members can also read the update details before making a decision. The release notes are written in a way that anyone, even non-technical DAO members, can understand. For DAO members who want to dive deeper, you can read about the exact changes underway on Github.

All code pushed by Aragon is open source. We will never provide updates that are not visible and unreadable to anyone!

Perform multiple updates with one suggestion

You can reduce the governance overhead of multiple proposals by performing multiple updates at once. Select the updates you want, click “Next” and a proposal will be created. This accelerates the process of keeping your DAO contracts up to date!

Plugin updates require two transactions.

plugin—Contracts that coordinate the governance, membership, or financial management of a DAO, such as token voting plugins or multisig plugins, can also be upgraded. This is important because it means the plugin can get security and functionality improvements.

To enhance security, the plugin follows the following: 2 step process Update. This means that before installing a plugin, you must first sign a transaction to prepare the plugin. If necessary, you will see a ‘Prepare Plugin’ button. Click the button, sign the transaction, and once the offer has passed, you are ready to install the plugin.