Upgrade Steps
The Mesa upgrade proceeds through four sequential phases. Each phase has specific actions for different node operator types.
| Phase | Description |
|---|---|
| Pre-Upgrade | Prepare infrastructure, upgrade to the stop-slot release, run archive upgrade scripts |
| State Finalization | 100-slot stabilization period — no new transactions accepted, block production continues |
| Upgrade | Network halts, state is exported, Mesa build is published |
| Post-Upgrade | Block production resumes on Mesa, flags and configurations for the new network |
Please note: A simplified Node Status service will be part of the upgrade tooling and enabled by default in the Pre-Upgrade release with stop-slots (3.x.x). This feature allows for a safe upgrade by monitoring the amount of upgraded active stake. Only non-sensitive data is reported.
Before proceeding, make sure you have reviewed the Requirements and chosen your Upgrade Mode.
Walkthroughs by role
The per-phase pages above describe what every role does at each step. For end-to-end narrative walkthroughs with concrete commands by role and deployment style (block producer automode/manual, archive node, zkApp developer, exchange), see the Examples page.
Role-specific quick references:
- Block Producers & SNARK Coordinators — pick a mode on Upgrade Modes. Install commands for automode are in Upgrade Modes — Installing automode.
- SNARK Workers — coordinator-spawned workers inherit the coordinator's binary; standalone
mina internal snark-workerdeployments must be redeployed with the Mesa binary after the fork. - Archive Node Operators — archive nodes do not support automode. See Archive Upgrade for the schema upgrade and trustless/trustful paths.
- Exchanges — disable MINA deposits and withdrawals before the stop-transaction-slot and keep them disabled until Mesa block production resumes. See Exchanges on the Post-Upgrade page for the re-enable checklist.
Any transactions submitted after the stop-transaction-slot will not exist on the Mesa chain. Disable deposits and withdrawals before State Finalization begins and keep them disabled until block production resumes on Mesa.