---
title: "consensus"
description: "OP Stack consensus implementation — derivation pipeline, gossip networking, P2P discovery, and sequencing."
source: https://basehub.org/crates/consensus/overview/
---
The `consensus` crate group implements the OP Stack consensus protocol for Base. The crates derive from the [Kona](https://github.com/op-rs/kona) project and handle L1 derivation, P2P networking, gossip, and block sequencing.

## Sub-crates

| Crate | Package Name | Purpose |
|-------|-------------|---------|
| [cli](/crates/consensus/cli/) | `kona-cli` | Consensus node CLI |
| [derive](/crates/consensus/derive/) | `kona-derive` | L1 derivation pipeline |
| [disc](/crates/consensus/disc/) | `kona-disc` | Peer discovery |
| [engine](/crates/consensus/engine/) | `kona-engine` | Consensus engine driver |
| [genesis](/crates/consensus/genesis/) | `kona-genesis` | Genesis state and chain configuration |
| [gossip](/crates/consensus/gossip/) | `kona-gossip` | Gossip protocol implementation |
| [hardforks](/crates/consensus/hardforks/) | `kona-hardforks` | OP Stack hardfork definitions |
| [macros](/crates/consensus/macros/) | `kona-macros` | Procedural macros for consensus code |
| [peers](/crates/consensus/peers/) | `kona-peers` | Peer management |
| [protocol](/crates/consensus/protocol/) | `base-protocol` | Base-specific protocol extensions |
| [providers-alloy](/crates/consensus/providers-alloy/) | `kona-providers-alloy` | Alloy-based data providers for L1/L2 |
| [registry](/crates/consensus/registry/) | `kona-registry` | Chain and rollup configuration registry |
| [rpc](/crates/consensus/rpc/) | `base-consensus-rpc` | Consensus RPC endpoints |
| [service](/crates/consensus/service/) | `kona-node-service` | Consensus node service orchestration |
| [sources](/crates/consensus/sources/) | `kona-sources` | Data source abstractions for derivation |

## Role in the Architecture

The consensus layer runs independently from the execution layer, communicating via the Engine API. It:

1. Connects to L1 Ethereum to read rollup data (`sources`, `providers-alloy`)
2. Derives L2 blocks from L1 data using the derivation pipeline (`derive`)
3. Manages P2P networking for block gossip (`gossip`, `disc`, `peers`)
4. Drives the consensus engine that feeds payloads to the execution layer (`engine`)
5. Handles chain configuration and hardfork activation (`genesis`, `hardforks`, `registry`)

The `base-consensus` binary (in `bin/consensus`) runs this layer.

## Source

[`crates/consensus/`](https://github.com/base/base/tree/main/crates/consensus)