00 / ZEC_COOK

The cookbook.

Cook a proof. Mint a chicken. Trade with ZEC.

ZEC_COOK is a collection of 10,000 pixel chickens for Zcash Mainnet. This guide describes the launch experience: browser proof of work, wallet-approved minting and direct ZEC purchases. You can follow the user steps or open the technical sections to inspect the protocol.

SUPPLY: 10,000 chickens
THE CANVAS: 60 × 60 pixels
THE EQUIPMENT: Your CPU or GPU

CHOOSE CPU OR GPU.

You control when to start or stop. After finding a proof, approve the mint in Noir and wait for confirmation and indexing.

Your mint price depends on the collection position. Mining does not pay Zcash block rewards.

Use the Noir Mainnet browser extension on desktop to mint or buy. Mobile visitors can browse.

Zcash records the ZEC transactions. ZEC_COOK records collectible ownership in its application registry. Read payment and ownership before approving a transaction.

01 / THE RECIPE

Find a proof.

Your processor or graphics card tests nonces against a SHA-256 target. Choose CPU or GPU. After your proof passes verification, review the ZEC quote and approve the mint in Noir.

Connect and start.
Connect Noir and choose your receiving address. Select CPU or GPU, then press Start cooking.
Find a proof.
Your computer changes a number called a nonce and computes a SHA-256 hash. It keeps searching for a result below the challenge’s target. The counters show your attempts and hashrate.
Verify the proof.
The verifier recomputes the result and checks the challenge’s identity, validity window and target. You can use an accepted proof once for minting.
Approve the mint.
Check the mint position, ZEC quote, fees and expiry. After approval, follow the transaction through confirmation and collection indexing.

The exact hash recipe

SHA-256(work_prefix[32 bytes] || nonce[8 bytes]) < issued_target

The nonce is an unsigned 64-bit integer in big-endian order. The work prefix identifies the challenge being solved; changing the challenge changes the search.

The prefix commits to the version, network domain, challenge ID, session identity, Cook Epoch, Zcash anchor, previous accepted cook, target and expiry. The server reconstructs it from its own challenge before checking your nonce. You cannot lower the difficulty or move work between epochs by changing a value in your browser.

Finding the result takes repeated attempts. Checking it takes a single hash calculation plus validation of the challenge. A valid hash alone is not a completed mint.

TRY ONE HASH SHA-256

Change the nonce and inspect the result. This uses the cooker’s CPU hash function with a public example prefix and an 8-bit target. It does not start a mining session.

NONCE

EXAMPLE PREFIX · 32 BYTES: —
SHA-256 RESULT: —

Enable JavaScript to calculate a hash.

A lower hash passes. The same inputs give the same output. A matching example does not mint or reserve a chicken.

Read your cooker.

Choose Connect wallet and approve account access in Noir. You can then view or copy your receiving address. Disconnect removes the site connection. Connecting does not verify ownership for minting or send a transaction.

Deepest hash shows your best reported attempt by leading zero bits. Compare it with the target in the proof panel. The verifier checks the full hash against the exact target.

Expected wait estimates the average time to a proof at your current measured speed. Chance / min estimates the chance of finding at least one proof in the next minute at that speed and target. Neither guarantees a finish time; previous misses do not make the next attempt more likely to succeed.

You can revisit previous best hashes in the thumbnail row. We select those art previews from a small set using the hash. They do not determine or reserve your minted chicken.

Which checks protect a proof?

The server reconstructs the issued challenge, checks its wallet commitment and expiry, then recomputes the full hash. It checks the previous accepted work head and consumes accepted work once. Two competing submissions cannot advance the same head.

Before mint preparation, you sign an authentication challenge in Noir. The server verifies that signature and ties the accepted proof to the receiving-address commitment and mint reservation. Connecting the wallet grants account access; signing establishes the registry identity.

OPEN THE COOKER ↗

02 / YOUR EQUIPMENT

Choose your engine.

CPU / PROCESSOR

Browser mining

Choose CPU and press Start cooking. The cooker balances work across your browser without another setup step.

GPU / GRAPHICS CARD

WebGPU batches

WebGPU searches in compute batches. Before a run, the engine checks test vectors and target comparisons. It rechecks a candidate on the CPU before server verification.

Both engines solve the same puzzle. Your speed depends on your hardware, drivers and browser. A browser can expose WebGPU yet fail to provide a working adapter; in that case, choose CPU. The app does not switch engines without your choice.

Choose CPU or GPU, then start. GPU needs WebGPU support in your browser. If it is unavailable, use CPU. Nothing starts until you press Start cooking.

START AND STOP IN COOK.

Press Start cooking to begin and Stop cooking to end the run. Opening Market or minimizing Cook inside the desktop keeps your run alive. Hiding the browser tab or leaving the website stops mining.

Mining uses electricity and may cause heat, fan noise or battery drain. Stop the run when you need to free up your device. A run has no guaranteed completion time or financial return.

Use the taskbar to switch apps and Arrange windows to place two apps side by side. Animations respect your device’s reduced-motion setting.

03 / PROOF OF WORK

Difficulty and odds.

Difficulty sets how hard a proof is to find. For example, a 20-bit target gives each hash a 1 in 1,048,576 chance of passing. That is an average of 1,048,576 attempts, not a countdown: a run can finish much earlier or later.

TRY THE MATH EDUCATIONAL ONLY

Difficulty bits 20

16 BITS32 BITS

1,048,576AVERAGE HASHES PER PROOF

Add one bit and the average work doubles. This slider does not change the cooker’s target or predict your finishing time.

Cook Epochs.

The 10,000 positions are split into 11 epochs: a 300-chicken Free Run followed by ten 970-chicken Heat epochs. Each epoch publishes a minimum difficulty floor. The first paid epoch keeps the opening 20-bit floor; after that the floor rises by one bit every two Heat epochs, reaching 25 bits in the final epoch. One extra bit doubles the average work.

Inside an epoch, the target reviews a window of eight confirmed cooks and aims for a global pace of one confirmed cook per minute. A very fast window can add one bit; a very slow window can remove one. The live target stays between the epoch floor and four bits above it. After ten idle minutes it relaxes one bit at a time toward the floor, never below it.

Read the difficulty and epoch shown on your cooker for the current challenge. More hashes per second means more attempts, not a guaranteed finishing time. Price and difficulty use separate published schedules even though they share the same collection boundaries.

Does another cook invalidate my work?

Every Zcash challenge commits to the previous accepted cook. When another cook lands first, competing work on the old head is stale and the cooker requests fresh work. A challenge also expires after three minutes and can be accepted only once. A proof does not hold a collection position.

The target comes from the server’s epoch state. Only confirmed cooks move the retarget window; browser-reported speed, CPU/GPU choice and unconfirmed reservations cannot choose the target.

You are computing application-level SHA-256 proofs. You are not mining Zcash blocks or earning ZEC block rewards. The puzzle is not ASIC-resistant, and faster hardware can search more candidates.

04 / THE MINT PRICE

Mint prices by epoch.

The collection is capped at 10,000 chickens. Epoch 1 is the Free Run: the first 300 positions have a zero project mint price. Epochs 2–11 each contain 970 chickens. Their USD mint prices are $3, $6, $9, $12, $15, $18, $21, $24, $27 and $30.

POSITIONS 1–3000 ZEC

POSITION 301— ZEC

POSITION 10,000— ZEC

You pay in ZEC. A fresh Kraken ZEC/USD rate converts the epoch's USD price when your mint reservation is prepared. That exact ZEC amount is saved for the reservation; later exchange-rate changes do not alter it. Expired reservations need a new quote. Paid minting stays closed while independent payment verification is unavailable. Network fees are separate, including during the free phase.

How the price is displayed

n ≤ 300: free
n ≥ 301: paid epoch = floor((n − 301) / 970) + 1
USD price = paid epoch × $3
ZEC quote = USD price ÷ ZEC/USD rate

Here, n is a mint position from 1 to 10,000. You can check any position in this section without starting the miner.

All 11 epochs

Epoch	Mint positions	USD target
1 · Free Run	1–300	$0
2 · Heat 01	301–1,270	$3
3 · Heat 02	1,271–2,240	$6
4 · Heat 03	2,241–3,210	$9
5 · Heat 04	3,211–4,180	$12
6 · Heat 05	4,181–5,150	$15
7 · Heat 06	5,151–6,120	$18
8 · Heat 07	6,121–7,090	$21
9 · Heat 08	7,091–8,060	$24
10 · Heat 09	8,061–9,030	$27
11 · Heat 10	9,031–10,000	$30

These are USD price targets, not USD payments. Noir shows the saved ZEC quote and its network fee before you approve.

After an accepted proof, review the time-limited mint reservation and ZEC quote. Check the receiving address, price, fees and expiry before approval. Refresh an expired quote. The calculator does not reserve a position or request payment.

Can I cook more than once?

The current mint flow has no enforced per-wallet mint cap or per-wallet cooldown. Each mint needs fresh accepted work and its own reservation. You can stop a search whenever you choose.

The first 300 collection positions have a zero project mint price. A connected wallet or an unfinished search does not reserve a free position. Another confirmed cook can make your current work stale; the cooker then requests a fresh challenge.

CHECK A MINT POSITION ↗

05 / THE INGREDIENTS

60 × 60 pixel artwork.

Each chicken combines a background, body, clothing, eyes, hand and head. The collection contains 10,000 unique images made from 80 distinct selectable traits, including the zec background.

The source canvas is 60 × 60 pixels. Previews scale up with pixelated rendering, keeping every square edge crisp without making the source image larger.

A small image needs fewer bytes, but its dimensions alone cannot determine a mint fee. The storage format, chosen protocol and transactions determine the final cost.

ARTWORK PREVIEWS

Browse the collection in the gallery. Mining previews do not reserve the traits your mint will receive.

How does rarity work?

We assign selection weights to the six trait layers before generating the collection. Golden Egg, crowns and golden laser eyes receive lower weights than everyday traits. The duplicate Metal Spatula artwork counts as one trait.

We calculate rarity from the final 10,000 images: each trait contributes −log₂(count / 10,000). The sum gives a chicken’s score; higher scores mean less common combinations. Equal scores share a rank. Rarity does not change the mint price.

Does more work buy rarer traits?

The mining previews do not allocate traits. Extra leading zero bits earn no rarity bonus in the cooker. Artwork allocation belongs to the issuance rules, separate from the visual feedback during a search.

OPEN THE MARKET ↗

06 / ZCASH MAINNET

Your mint on Zcash.

You authorize ZEC transactions in Noir. The site asks for a wallet signature to establish your registry identity and a separate transaction approval to move funds.

Review the mint.
After verification, check the receiving address, collection position and exact ZEC amount, including the project price and network fees.
Approve in Noir.
You authorize the mint transaction in your wallet. Starting a mining run does not authorize a payment.
Follow the transaction.
Use the transaction ID on your receipt to check confirmations in a Zcash explorer. Submission does not mean confirmation.
Find your chicken.
After confirmation, the collection indexer validates the issuance record and records its owner. Indexing can take longer than transaction confirmation.

CONFIRMATION AND OWNERSHIP

Check payment confirmation in a Zcash explorer and ownership in the collection registry. The indexer validates the issuance record under the collection’s rules.

ZEC_COOK records ownership in an application registry backed by confirmed Zcash receipts. These collectibles are not native Zcash Shielded Assets or ERC-721 contracts. The registry coordinator verifies payments and ownership updates; a transaction receipt alone does not prove the registry’s current owner.

Free mint and paid mint

For a free mint, Noir sends one zatoshi (0.00000001 ZEC) back to your connected shielded address with a mint memo. You pay the network fee. The memo identifies the token, reservation and proof; the registry keeps the associated artwork hash and metadata.

For a paid mint, Noir sends the reserved ZEC amount to the project receiver. The server checks the exact transparent output through lightwalletd and waits for 10 confirmations before recording the mint. The default mint funding source remains shielded. A transparent project receiver makes the destination and amount public; do not treat this as a fully shielded payment.

Record	Where you check it
ZEC payment	Zcash Mainnet transaction ID and explorer
Collectible owner	ZEC_COOK application registry and Market
Image and traits	Hosted PNG files and collection catalogue
Mint commitments	Reservation: proof digest, artwork hash and wallet commitment

What should a mint receipt let me check?

Check the network, transaction ID, collection position, recipient commitment, artwork commitment and issuance format. The indexer must reject duplicate issuance records and account for chain reorganizations before treating ownership as settled.

A PNG in this gallery is artwork, not evidence of issuance. “On-chain artwork” requires the image data or a reconstructable recipe in chain storage; a transaction containing only a link or image hash does not establish that claim.

Never enter your seed phrase or private keys on a website. Review the network, recipient and amount in your wallet before approving any transaction.

07 / BUY & SELL

Trade with real ZEC.

Marketplace prices use ZEC. The USD view converts those prices for display; choosing USD does not change the listing or let you pay in dollars. Hover a converted price to inspect its ZEC value.

List your chicken

Connect the owner wallet.
Open Market, select Owned by you, then open your chicken and choose List for sale.
Set a ZEC price.
Noir exposes the Mainnet transparent address where you receive the payment. Review the price and sign the listing intent. Listing sends no ZEC.
Edit or cancel.
Use the same owner wallet. During an active checkout, the registry blocks listing changes to protect the reserved price and destination.

Older listings without a signed seller payment address need an update. The owner opens the chicken, chooses Edit listing and approves Update with Noir. Buyers cannot pay those listings until the owner supplies that address.

Buy a listed chicken

Review Buy now.
Use Noir Mainnet 1.0.27 or later, with enough transparent ZEC for the price and network fee. Shielded balance alone cannot fund this Buy flow. Transparent funding does not support Keystone accounts.
Sign the purchase intent.
Noir asks for a derived identity signature and a current-address signature. The server verifies both and binds the buyer's transparent funding address to this checkout. These signatures move no ZEC.
Approve one payment.
Noir sends the exact listing price to the seller's signed address. The seller receives 100%; the buyer pays the network fee in addition. The site takes no marketplace commission.
Wait for three confirmations.
The server checks the public transaction's sender, destination, amount and reserved block window through Blockchair. After three confirmations, it records the sale and changes the owner in the website registry.

Example: a 1 ZEC listing	Amount
Buyer payment to seller	1 ZEC
Seller receives	1 ZEC · 100%
Marketplace commission	0 ZEC
Network fee	Extra; shown by Noir

Payment verification and duplicate protection

The server reserves the listing for a signed buyer and records the chain height at preparation. It requires payment from that buyer's verified transparent address, for the exact price, to the reserved seller address. It binds a confirmed payment transaction to one checkout so another purchase cannot reuse it.

After observing a matching mined payment, the server retains the reservation while confirmations finish. Redis Lua checks and updates ownership, listing removal and sale activity in one operation. The site creates no seller payout job: the original wallet transaction already paid the seller.

PAYMENT AND OWNERSHIP ARE TWO STEPS.

The ZEC transfer runs on Zcash; the collectible transfer depends on the site's registry and payment-data providers. This is not an atomic on-chain NFT swap. A website error cannot reverse a broadcast ZEC payment.

Transparent Buy exposes the sender, seller and amount on-chain. Keep the page open during confirmation. If verification is delayed, reopen the same chicken in the same browser and wallet to resume the saved checkout. Do not pay again. An unknown wallet result needs a transaction-history check before another attempt.

An offer records a signed request. It does not transfer ZEC or reserve the item, and the current offer flow does not execute a purchase.

OPEN THE MARKET ↗

08 / THE COOKING LOOP

Cook. Verify. Mint. Collect.

Free and paid mints require a proof. Check the current epoch for its minimum difficulty and mint price. Your hardware does not set the price.

Cook → proof.
Your CPU or GPU searches. Hashrate and attempts show the work in progress.
Proof → quote.
Verified work leads to a mint offer. Check its price and expiry before you decide to continue.
Approval → chicken.
Your wallet approval submits the mint. Confirmation and indexing complete the collection record.
Another chicken → fresh work.
To mint again, start with a new challenge and a new quote. The same proof cannot mint twice. The loop ends when all 10,000 positions are filled.

You mine proofs to mint a collectible, with no guaranteed income. The session proof counter records accepted proofs; it does not count confirmed mints.

09 / HELP & SAFETY

Common questions.

Does finding a proof finish the mint?

No. Review the quote, approve the transaction and wait for confirmation and indexing. A proof is not an ownership receipt.

Will I need a Zcash wallet?

Yes. Connect Noir with a receiving address and enough ZEC to cover the quote and fees. Do not share your seed phrase.

Does “free” include all costs?

The first 300 positions have no project mint charge. You approve the one-zatoshi self-transfer and network fee in Noir. Proof searching consumes electricity.

Buy is disabled on a listed chicken. What should I check?

The seller must supply a signed Mainnet transparent payment address. Older listings need Edit listing → Update with Noir from the owner wallet. Buy also stays closed if payment verification or the durable registry is unavailable.

My payment was sent, but I do not see ownership yet.

Keep the transaction ID. Buy needs three confirmations; paid mint needs ten. Wallet submission and registry completion are separate. Reopen the same chicken with the same wallet and browser to resume a saved Buy checkout. If the site reports an expired reservation or unknown wallet result, inspect Noir's transaction history and contact ZEC_COOK with the public transaction ID. Do not send a second payment.

Is a message signature a payment?

A signature approves the action written in its challenge. It does not send ZEC. Read the action, token and terms before signing. A transaction approval is the separate Noir screen that shows the payment destination, amount and network fee.

Why is GPU unavailable, or why did it fail?

Your browser may lack WebGPU support, or the graphics adapter and drivers may prevent a run. Select CPU to continue. The app does not switch from GPU to CPU on its own.

Why did cooking stop after I changed tabs?

We stop work when the tab is hidden so your machine does not keep mining in the background. Return and press Cook for a fresh challenge.

What if my challenge or quote expires?

Request fresh work or a refreshed quote, as the cooker indicates. Don’t send ZEC against an expired payment request. A quote does not stay valid just because the page is still open.

What does a faster computer change?

More hashrate gives you more attempts per second. It does not guarantee a completion time, a free position or a particular chicken. The current artwork preview is not an allocation.

Does mining earn ZEC?

You solve ZEC_COOK’s application-level proof of work to mint a chicken. You do not mine Zcash blocks or receive block rewards.

Why use a 60 × 60 image?

It keeps the original pixel artwork compact. Pixelated scaling makes it look sharp at larger sizes without adding bytes to the source image. Dimensions alone do not determine blockchain fees or where an image is stored.