> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.adi.foundation/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.adi.foundation/adi-network-components/airbender.md).

# Airbender

* zkSync Airbender is a new ZK proof system.
* [**ADI Network**](/adi-network-components/overview.md) utilizes an execution layer based on **zkSync OS**.

### What is Airbender?

Airbender is zkSync's next-generation proof system, purpose-built to enable efficient ZK proofs of RISC-V bytecode execution. Built on the foundation of highly optimized STARK/FRI implementations, Airbender is designed to support long-term scaling strategy by being fast, cheap, and flexible across a wide range of use cases without compromising security.

### Key Features

* RISC-V 32I+M instruction set
* AIR constraints
* Optimized DEEP STARK/FRI proofs
* Mersenne31 prime field
* Blake2s + Blake3 hash function

The name “Airbender” is a reference to AIR constraints (Arithmetic Intermediate Representation).

### Proving Pipeline

The proving process follows a structured six-stage pipeline designed for optimal performance and resource utilization:

* **Stage 1 - Witness Generation**: Computes Low-Degree Extensions (LDEs) of witness data and generates trace commitments. This stage establishes the foundational data structures for the proof.
* **Stage 2 - Lookup and Memory Argument**: Configures lookup tables and memory arguments, establishing the infrastructure for efficient verification of memory operations and table lookups.
* **Stage 3 - STARK Quotient Polynomial**: Computes the primary STARK quotient polynomial, which encodes the constraint satisfaction proof for the main circuit.
* **Stage 4 - DEEP Polynomial**: Implements FRI batching optimizations to reduce the overall proof size and verification complexity.
* **Stage 5 - FRI IOPP Generation**: Produces the final Interactive Oracle Proof of Proximity (FRI proof) that enables efficient verification.
* **Stage 6 - SNARK Wrapper:** Wrap the final FRI proof into a final FFLONK proof, which gets posted and verified on-chain.