# Lighthouse v3.1.0 [DRAFT RELEASE NOTES]

## Summary

This **high-priority** release contains an important fix to ensure that Lighthouse does not attempt to produce invalid blocks. Furthermore, it improves block production efficiency, thereby increasing the likelihood of a Lighthouse-produced block being included in (and rewarded by) the canonical chain.

We recommend all mainnet users **update before the Bellatrix upgrade on Sept 6, 2022, 11:34:47am UTC**. Testnet users should upgrade at their next convenience.

Notable changes include:

* Improved handling of offline EEs during sync (#3428)
* Optimisations to block production (#3312)
* Improvements to how builder-enabled VCs interact with non-builder BNs (#3488)
* Easier recovery from EE consensus faults (#3498)
* Log suggested fee recipient addresses in the VC (#3526)

## Merge Reminder

The Ethereum mainnet network will upgrade to proof-of-stake on or around the 15th of September 2022. Before that, the Beacon Chain will perform the "Bellatrix" upgrade on Sept 6, 2022, 11:34:47am UTC.

Users *do not* have until Sept 15th to be "ready for the merge", rather they *must* be ready by Sept 6th. **There is less than a week before users must be merge ready**. See [Merge Migration](https://lighthouse-book.sigmaprime.io/merge-migration.html) for more information.

## Breaking Changes

### Breaking Change: Database Migration

There is one database migration in this release: v12 (#3312).

Older database versions will automatically upgrade to the latest version without user intervention.

Downgrading requires the user to use the `lighthouse db` tool. See the [Database Migrations](https://lighthouse-book.sigmaprime.io/database-migrations.html) documentation for detailed instructions.

### Breaking Change: Keystore API
Lighthouse will now return `readonly: true` rather than `readonly: null` on the `GET /eth/v1/keystores` endpoint. This does not affect any other behaviour beyond that return value. We do not expect this behaviour to have an adverse impact on users.

## Update Priority

This table provides priorities for which classes of users should update particular components.

|User Class |Beacon Node | Validator Client|
--- | --- | ---
|Staking Users| High Priority | High Priority |
|Non-Staking Users| High Priority |---|

The Beacon Node *may* be updated without the Validator Client, however both components **must** be updated to support the merge. A validator client running a pre-v3.0.0 release will not produce blocks after the Bellatrix upgrade.

*See [Update Priorities](https://lighthouse-book.sigmaprime.io/installation-priorities.html) for more information about this table.*

## All Changes

* v3.1.0 (#3525)
* Log fee recipients in VC (#3526)
* Separate committee subscriptions queue (#3508)
* Docker builds in GitHub actions (#3523)
* Harden slot notifier against clock drift (#3519)
* Add more logging for invalid payloads (#3515)
* Reset payload statuses when resuming fork choice (#3498)
* Validator registration request failures do not cause us to mark BNs offline (#3488)
* Refactor op pool for speed and correctness (#3312)
* More merge doc updates (#3509)
* Return `readonly: false` for local keystores (#3490)
* Enable `block_lookup_failed` EF test (#3489)
* don't register exited or slashed validators with the builder api (#3473)
* Pause sync when EE is offline (#3428)
* Update docs for mainnet merge release (#3494)