The OP Stack is the standardized, shared, and open-source development stack that powers Optimism, maintained by the Optimism Collective.

The OP Stack consists of the many different software components managed and maintained by the Optimism Collective that, together, form the backbone of Optimism. The OP Stack is built as a public good for the Ethereum and Optimism ecosystems.

Optimism Bedrock is the current iteration of the OP Stack. The Bedrock release provides the tools for launching a production-quality Optimistic Rollup blockchain. At this point in time, the APIs for the different layers of the OP Stack are still tightly coupled to this Rollup configuration of the stack.

If you'd like to learn more about the current state of the OP Stack, check out the page describing the Bedrock release.

The OP Stack of today was built to support the Optimism Superchain, a proposed network of L2s that share security, communication layers, and a common development stack (the OP Stack itself). The Bedrock release of the OP Stack makes it easy to spin up an L2 that will be compatible with the Superchain when it launches. If you'd like to launch a Superchain-ready L2, check out our guide for running a chain based on the Bedrock release of the OP Stack.

It is possible to modify components of the OP Stack to build novel L2 systems. If you're interested in experimenting with the OP Stack, check out the OP Stack Hacks section of this site. Please note that, as of the Bedrock release, the OP Stack is not designed to support these modifications and you will very much be hacking on the codebase. As a result, you should, for the moment, expect limited (if any) developer support for OP Stack Hacks. OP Stack Hacks will likely make your chain incompatible with the Optimism Superchain. Have fun, but at your own risk and stick to the Bedrock release if you're looking to join the Superchain!

The OP Stack is an evolving concept. As Optimism grows, so will the OP Stack. Today, the Bedrock Release of the OP Stack simplifies the process of deploying new L2 Rollups. As work on the stack continues, it should become easier to plug in and configure different modules. As the Superchain begins to take shape, the OP Stack can evolve alongside it, to include the message-passing infrastructure that allows different chains to interoperate seamlessly. At the end of the day, the OP Stack becomes what Optimism needs.