Governance Quickstart

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Choose Your Governance Path

Every DAO’s journey to full permissionless, trustless governance is unique. While the end goal might be a fully self-sustaining, onchain community, many start with more controlled environments and gradually open up. Agora supports every stage of this evolution:

• Tight Control to Start: Begin with a restrictive configuration—set high proposal thresholds or require proposals to originate from a designated manager role. This ensures stability, refined decision-making, and controlled growth in your early stages.

• Incremental Opening of Access: As your community gains confidence and experience, use Agora’s tools to systematically lower thresholds and expand proposal rights. Transition decision-making power from a trusted core to the broader community.

• Progressive Onchain Expansion: Start with low-risk onchain actions—such as updating parameters or distributing small grants—to build trust and validate your governance framework. Gradually expand to encompass treasury management, infrastructure upgrades, and critical parameters.

Not sure where to start? We recommend starting with more controls, as it’s always easier to progressively decentralize later.

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Deploy your token

When implementing governance with Agora, your token strategy is foundational. Choosing the right approach depends on your DAO’s current setup, objectives, and long-term vision. Here are the options:

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Using an Existing Token

If you already have an ERC20 token or NFT, you’re ready to integrate Agora’s governance framework seamlessly. This “plug and play” approach allows you to immediately empower your community with onchain voting and decision-making, leveraging the token’s established utility and familiarity.

Advantages:

• Fast integration with Agora’s governance system.

• Leverages an existing, recognized token within your ecosystem.

• Reduces development time and cost by skipping token creation.

Considerations:

• Ensure your token aligns with your governance goals (e.g., holder distribution and utility).

• Assess whether the current token design supports advanced features like delegation or partial delegation.

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Deploying a New Token

For DAOs that need a fresh start or additional flexibility, deploying a new token with Agora ensures a custom fit for your governance needs. Agora simplifies token creation and deployment, supporting both ERC20 and NFT standards.

Advantages:

• Tailor the token to align with your DAO’s vision and governance requirements.

• Seamlessly integrate features like partial delegation or specific voting thresholds.

• Opportunity to design a tokenomics model optimized for your community.

Considerations:

• Developing a new token requires thoughtful planning around distribution, utility, and compliance.

• Launch timing is critical—ensure readiness for the transition to governance.

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Facilitating Token Distribution with Agora Token Launch

Agora Token Launch provides a structured and compliant way to distribute tokens, catering to different community needs and regulatory requirements. Choose from the following options:

1. MiCA-Compliant Initial Coin Offering (ICO):

   • Launch your token in compliance with EU regulations for transparent and secure distribution.

   • Attract contributors with a legally sound framework.

2. Token Claims:

   • Soft Claim: Your DAO handles the gas fees, ensuring a seamless claim process for participants.

   • Hard Claim: Users pay their own gas fees to claim tokens, reducing cost burdens for the DAO.

   • Mixed Claim: Combine both methods to offer flexibility for your community.

Advantages:

• Clear, structured distribution methods tailored to your DAO’s needs.

• Builds trust and accessibility with compliant and efficient launch mechanisms.

• Flexibility to adapt to varying levels of user engagement and technical expertise.

Considerations:

• Token claims require precise configuration to ensure smooth execution.

• Compliance and transparency are critical—errors can damage trust and governance credibility.

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Final Advice

Token launches are high-stakes, one-time events. A poorly planned launch can undermine your DAO’s trust and governance framework. If you’re unsure which strategy suits your needs, it’s best to consult with Agora’s governance experts before proceeding. Together, we’ll ensure your launch is optimized for success.

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Deploy the Governor

First, clone the Agora Governor repository to your local environment:

git clone https://github.com/voteagora/agora-governor.git
cd agora-governor

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Install Foundry

curl -L https://foundry.paradigm.xyz | bash
foundryup

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Install dependencies

forge install

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Configure the Environment

cp .env.example .env

Edit the .env file to include your specific configuration, such as:

• Private key for the deployment wallet

• RPC URL for the Ethereum node you’ll connect to

• Contract-specific settings

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Build the contracts

forge build

Check for any compilation errors and resolve them before proceeding.

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Write the Deployment Script

// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
pragma solidity ^0.8.17;

import "forge-std/Script.sol";
import "../src/AgoraGovernor.sol";

contract DeployAgoraGovernor is Script {
    function run() external {
        uint256 deployerPrivateKey = vm.envUint("PRIVATE_KEY");
        vm.startBroadcast(deployerPrivateKey);

        IVotesUpgradeable votingToken = IVotesUpgradeable(vm.envAddress("VOTING_TOKEN_ADDRESS"));
        address admin = vm.envAddress("ADMIN_ADDRESS");
        address manager = vm.envAddress("MANAGER_ADDRESS");
        TimelockControllerUpgradeable timelock = TimelockControllerUpgradeable(vm.envAddress("TIMELOCK_ADDRESS"));
        IProposalTypesConfigurator proposalTypesConfigurator = IProposalTypesConfigurator(vm.envAddress("PROPOSAL_CONFIGURATOR_ADDRESS"));

        AgoraGovernor governor = new AgoraGovernor();
        governor.initialize(votingToken, admin, manager, timelock, proposalTypesConfigurator, new IProposalTypesConfigurator ProposalType        
        vm.stopBroadcast();
    }
}

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Deploy the contracts

forge script script/DeployAgoraGovernor.s.sol --rpc-url <RPC_URL> --broadcast --verify

Replace <RPC_URL> with your Ethereum node URL. If deployment verification is needed, ensure you’ve configured an Etherscan API key in your .env file.

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Verify the deployment

1. Check the deployed contract addresses in the output of your script.

2. Use a blockchain explorer (e.g., Etherscan) to verify the contracts were deployed correctly.

3. Interact with the contract’s methods to confirm its initialization, such as retrieving the votingToken or admin address.

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Next Steps

Now that your Agora Governor is deployed, it’s time to bring it to life with a client that interacts with your governance contracts. You have two options:

1. Use Agora’s open source client as a starting place Visit Agora Next to access a pre-built client designed to seamlessly work with Agora Governor. This client provides an open source solution to serve your governance app, complete with core features like proposal creation, voting, and results visualization. It’s the fastest way to get started and ensures you’re using a trusted, tested solution. You will need to modify the data endpoints and roll your own database, but if you are a skilled developer and willing to put in the time you can make it happen with this as a starting point. We accept PRs too 🥳.

2. Roll Your Own Custom Client If you prefer building your own governance interface, all data emitted by Agora Governor contracts can be indexed and stored by you. Use this data to design and develop a bespoke governance app tailored to your community’s unique needs. With Agora, you have full flexibility to innovate and create something amazing.