Remote Proving with Bonsai

Generate proofs remotely using Boundless, a decentralized proving marketplace for RISC Zero applications

Boundless is a decentralized proving marketplace that lets you generate proofs for your RISC Zero zkVM applications without using your own hardware. Instead of running provers locally, you request proofs from the Boundless protocol, and permissionless provers generate them on your behalf.

Why Use Boundless?

Boundless offers several advantages over local proving:

• No Hardware Required: Generate proofs without investing in expensive GPU infrastructure
• High Reliability: Decentralized architecture ensures high availability and fault tolerance
• Scalability: Handle variable workloads without managing your own infrastructure
• Cost Efficiency: Pay only for the proofs you need, without maintaining idle hardware

For applications requiring private data, consider local proving to ensure your sensitive information never leaves your machine.

Getting Started with Boundless

Boundless provides a straightforward way to offload proof generation to the network. Here’s how to get started:

1. Set Up Your Account
2. Visit the Boundless website to create an account and obtain your API credentials.
3. Install the SDK
4. Add the Bonsai SDK to your project:
5. [dependencies]
   bonsai-sdk = "0.8"
   risc0-zkvm = { version = "1.0", features = ["prove"] }
   

6. Configure Environment Variables
7. Set your Bonsai API credentials:
8. export BONSAI_API_URL="https://api.bonsai.xyz"
   export BONSAI_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"
   

How Boundless Works

When you request a proof through Boundless:

1. Specify the zkVM application and inputs you want to run
2. Submit the request to the Boundless protocol
3. Permissionless provers compete to generate your proof
4. Receive your receipt when proving completes

The entire process is transparent and verifiable, ensuring the integrity of your proofs.

Documentation and Tutorials

Boundless provides comprehensive documentation to help you get started:

Boundless Docs

Complete documentation for the Boundless protocol

Quick Start

Get up and running in minutes

Request a Proof Tutorial

Step-by-step guide to requesting proofs

Bonsai SDK

Learn to use the Bonsai SDK directly

Comparison: Boundless vs Local Proving

Feature	Boundless	Local Proving
Setup Complexity	Low - just API credentials	Medium - requires hardware setup
Hardware Required	None	CPU/GPU infrastructure
Scalability	High - elastic capacity	Limited by your hardware
Cost Model	Pay per proof	Fixed hardware costs
Private Data	Data sent to provers	Data stays on your machine
Latency	Network dependent	Local - typically faster
Availability	High (decentralized)	Depends on your infrastructure

Best Practices

Private Data Considerations: If your zkVM application processes sensitive information, ensure you understand what data is being sent to the proving network. For maximum privacy, use local proving.

Development Workflow: Many teams use local proving during development for faster iteration, then switch to Boundless for production deployments.

Monitoring and Debugging

Boundless provides tools to monitor your proof requests:

• Session Status: Track the progress of your proving jobs
• Error Logs: Access detailed error messages if proving fails
• Usage Metrics: Monitor your API usage and costs
• Quotas: View your current cycle budget and limits

Refer to the Bonsai SDK documentation for details on checking session status and retrieving logs.

Next Steps

Bonsai SDK Reference

Detailed SDK usage and API reference

Local Proving

Set up local proving for development

Groth16 Proofs

Generate blockchain-ready SNARK proofs

Proof Composition

Compose proofs for modular applications