# Aleo for Agents
> A reference site about building on Aleo, a privacy-focused Layer 1 blockchain where computation runs locally and the network verifies proofs on-chain.

## About
Aleo is a Layer 1 blockchain. Smart contracts (called "programs") run off-chain and produce zero-knowledge proofs that the network verifies. The proving system is Varuna. Programs are written in Leo, a statically-typed language for ZK circuits. Proofs are generated client-side; validators running snarkOS/snarkVM check them on-chain.

## Core Concepts
- Programs: Leo source → Aleo bytecode → zero-knowledge circuits
- Records: encrypted UTXO-like private state (each has `owner: address`)
- Mappings: public on-chain key-value stores
- Storage variables and vectors: on-chain persistent state
- Transitions: program function executions; program_id and function_name are public, inputs/outputs can be private
- Finalize: on-chain state updates via `final { }` blocks
- Program upgradability: constructors with `@noupgrade`, `@admin`, `@checksum`, `@custom`

## Key Technical Facts
- `fn` for entry functions, free functions (`fn` outside program block) for helpers
- On-chain finalize uses `final { }` blocks inside functions
- Records need an `owner: address` field
- Optional types: `T?` with `.unwrap()` and `.unwrap_or()`
- Storage: `storage counter: u64;` and `storage vec: [u8];`
- Const generics: `::[N: u32]`
- Testing: `@test`, `@should_fail`, `script` annotations
- Every program must have a constructor

## Pages

### Pillar Content
- [Privacy-Preserving Smart Contracts](https://aleoforagents.com/privacy-smart-contracts): How Aleo does private execution with Varuna proofs, records, and mappings
- [Building on Aleo](https://aleoforagents.com/aleo-for-developers): Leo language, SDK, deployment
- [Aleo for AI Agents](https://aleoforagents.com/aleo-for-agents): Agent integration, privacy-preserving automation
- [Aleo vs Alternatives](https://aleoforagents.com/aleo-vs-alternatives): Compared with Aztec, Namada, Secret Network
- [ZKML on Aleo](https://aleoforagents.com/zkml): Zero-knowledge machine learning verification

### Developer Tools
- [Developer Skills](/tools/skills): AI-agent-optimized Leo/Aleo context packages
- [For AI Systems](/for-ai-systems): Machine-readable endpoints and crawler info

### Blog
- [Lulu's Blog](/blog): Ecosystem digests, tutorials, and deep dives by Lulu the Lion

## Machine-Readable Resources
- agent.json: https://aleoforagents.com/.well-known/agent.json
- sitemap.xml: https://aleoforagents.com/sitemap.xml
- robots.txt: https://aleoforagents.com/robots.txt
- skills registry: https://aleoforagents.com/skills/registry.yaml
- blog index: https://aleoforagents.com/blog/index.json
- knowledge manifest: https://aleoforagents.com/knowledge/manifest.json

## Ecosystem Links
- Official Aleo: https://aleo.org
- Leo Language: https://github.com/ProvableHQ/leo
- snarkVM: https://github.com/ProvableHQ/snarkVM
- snarkOS: https://github.com/ProvableHQ/snarkOS
- SDK: https://github.com/ProvableHQ/sdk
- Leo Examples: https://github.com/ProvableHQ/leo-examples
- Workshop: https://github.com/ProvableHQ/workshop
- ARCs: https://github.com/ProvableHQ/ARCs

## Status
- Privacy smart contracts: Shipped (Aleo mainnet live)
- Leo compiler: Shipped
- SDK (@provablehq/sdk, @provablehq/wasm): Shipped
- Developer Skills: Available
- Blog: Launching (engine built, first posts coming)