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Task Manager Overview

The Task Manager is a system that enables scheduling transactions for specific block heights on the Monad blockchain. It provides economic incentives for executors to include these transactions in their target blocks, creating a robust on-chain automation framework tailored for Monad's unique architecture.

note

While FastLane currently operates the executor service, the system is designed to support multiple competing executors in the future.

Why Choose Task Manager?​

Task Manager goes beyond simple scheduling—it's purpose-built to leverage Monad's asynchronous execution environment. Traditionally, transactions on Monad consume gas upfront, often leaving significant unused capacity. Task Manager unlocks this latent potential, enabling protocols (such as FastLane's 4337 Paymaster and Atlas services) to strategically utilize surplus gas, turning would-be waste into valuable computation.

By replacing centralized keeper setups, Task Manager provides a decentralized, economically incentivized approach to on-chain automation, dramatically boosting ecosystem efficiency and reliability.

Key Benefits​

  • Optimized Gas Utilization: Transform unused gas from Monad's async execution into productive computational power.
  • Robust On-Chain Automation: Reliably schedule and execute tasks without dependency on external, centralized systems.
  • Effortless Integration: Seamlessly plug into your existing applications using intuitive ITaskManager and ITaskExecutionEnvironment interfaces.
  • Decentralized and Competitive Execution: Harness a competitive marketplace of executors, economically motivated to reliably execute your tasks.
  • Adaptive and Scalable Pricing: Dynamic cost management ensures optimal resource allocation and incentivization, adjusting in real-time based on network traffic and historical execution data.
  • Trustworthy Execution Model: Tasks are secured economically through bonded shMONAD, safeguarding against execution risks. Each task executes within an isolated environment, ensuring interference-free, predictable results.

Key Features​

  • Block-Height Scheduling: Schedule transactions to execute at specific block heights.
  • Economic Incentives: Executors are rewarded for processing tasks by calling executeTasks. The Task Manager processes multiple tasks in a batch using the provided gas budget, and fees are distributed automatically to executors upon execution.
  • Secure Execution: Tasks execute in isolated Execution Environments with bonded shMONAD for economic security. Uses non-reentrant design patterns.
  • Dynamic Pricing: Execution costs adjust based on network conditions and historical metrics.

Core Concepts​

Task Categories & Load Balancing​

Tasks are categorized by gas usage to facilitate efficient scheduling and load balancing across blocks:

  • Small Tasks: ≤ 100,000 gas
  • Medium Tasks: ≤ 250,000 gas
  • Large Tasks: ≤ 750,000 gas

The system maintains separate queues for each category and automatically advances block pointers to skip blocks with no pending tasks.

Scheduling vs. Execution​

Scheduling​

  • Users submit tasks via scheduleTask (paying with MON) or scheduleWithBond (using bonded shMONAD).
  • They specify target block, gas limit, the implementation contract containing the task logic, and taskCallData.
  • The Task Manager deploys a minimal, task-specific proxy contract (mimic).
  • Requires payment (native MON) or bonding shMONAD tokens for economic security and execution costs.
  • Bond amount calculated dynamically based on task size and network conditions.

Execution​

  • Tasks execute at their targetBlock (or later, if the block is congested).
  • Performed by Executors who call executeTasks.
  • The Task Manager calls the task-specific proxy contract, which then delegatecalls the user's implementation contract, running its logic in the proxy's context.
  • Automatic fee distribution occurs upon successful execution.

System Architecture​

Economic Model​

The Task Manager uses a transparent economic framework based on native MON and bonded shMONAD tokens:

Payment Structure​

Task TypeSize CategoryGas LimitTypical Bond Requirement*
Small≤ 100,000 gas100,0000.01-0.05 shMONAD
Medium≤ 250,000 gas250,0000.05-0.15 shMONAD
Large≤ 750,000 gas750,0000.15-0.50 shMONAD
*Bond requirements fluctuate based on network conditions and historical execution costs

Fee Distribution​

When a task executes successfully, the collected fees are distributed:

  • Task Executor (70%): Rewards the entity that provides computation resources
  • Block Validator (20%): Compensates validators for including execution transactions
  • shMONAD Yield (10%): Contributes to staking yields and protocol sustainability

The system dynamically adjusts pricing based on:

  • Current network congestion
  • Historical execution costs
  • Task size category
note

Use estimateCost(targetBlock, gasLimit) to get the current execution cost for a specific task before scheduling.

Getting Started​

The Task Manager is straightforward to implement in your Monad blockchain applications. To begin working with the system:

  1. Ensure access to a Monad network environment
  2. Obtain MON tokens for task execution or bonding
  3. Learn how to schedule and manage tasks

For complete setup instructions, code examples, and implementation details, see our Getting Started Guide.

tip

See the shMONAD documentation for instructions on managing MON and shMONAD tokens.

Next Steps​