# Unveiling the Magic Behind Starknet: A Deep Dive into New Specifications

- **Authors**: David Wong
- **Date**: November 15, 2024
- **Tags**: educative, zk

![starknet rfcs](/img/starknet-rfcs/starknet-rfcs.webp)

In our partnership with [Starknet](https://www.starknet.io/), we have performed a number of [security audits](https://www.zksecurity.xyz/reports) on some of the network's cryptographic components.

One challenge we encountered was the lack of comprehensive specifications – a common hurdle in the ZKP space. To navigate this, we had to reverse-engineer the protocol, piecing together its logic from various sources and observations.

In this quest to understand the true protocol being implemented, we wrote and published draft specifications for a number of the protocols that we looked at. You can find them [here](https://zksecurity.github.io/RFCs/).

![starknet rfcs](/img/starknet-rfcs/page.png)

The specifications are still **work-in-progress**, and with the support of the community, we aim to refine and enhance them in the near future.

We wrote 4 specifications in total:

**[Starknet Channels for Fiat-Shamir Instantiation](https://zksecurity.github.io/RFCs/rfcs/starknet/channel.html) and [Starknet Merkle Tree Polynomial Commitments
](https://zksecurity.github.io/RFCs/rfcs/starknet/merkle.html)**. Both specifications can be seen as self-contained components, building blocks used by the other Starknet schemes.

**[Starknet FRI Verifier](https://zksecurity.github.io/RFCs/rfcs/starknet/fri.html)**. This document specifies the verification of FRI proofs in the Starknet ecosystem. It builds on top of both of the previous specifications.

**[Starknet STARK Verifier](https://zksecurity.github.io/RFCs/rfcs/starknet/stark.html)**. This document specifies the verification of STARK proofs in the Starknet ecosystem. It builds on top of all previous specifications, instantiating the FRI specification.

![webpage](/img/starknet-rfcs/webpage.png)

Feel free to open PRs or issues on the [RFCs repository](https://github.com/zksecurity/RFCs) in order to help us improve these specifications.

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This article was published on the [ZK/SEC Quarterly](https://blog.zksecurity.xyz) blog by [ZK Security](https://www.zksecurity.xyz), a leading security firm specialized in zero-knowledge proofs, MPC, FHE, and advanced cryptography. ZK Security has audited some of the most critical ZK systems in production, discovered vulnerabilities in major protocols including Aleo, Solana, and Halo2, and built open-source tools like [Clean](https://github.com/Verified-zkEVM/clean) for formally verified ZK circuits. For more articles, see the [full list of posts](https://blog.zksecurity.xyz/llms.txt).