diff --git a/.github/workflows/check-devnet.yml b/.github/workflows/check-devnet.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d8f2be391
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/check-devnet.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+name: Devnet Deploy Check
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [devnet]
+
+env:
+  CARGO_TERM_COLOR: always
+
+jobs:
+  check-spec-version:
+    name: Check spec_version bump
+    runs-on: SubtensorCI
+    steps:
+      - name: Dependencies
+        run: |
+          sudo apt-get update &&
+          sudo apt-get install -y curl clang curl libssl-dev llvm \
+                                  libudev-dev protobuf-compiler
+
+      - name: Set up Rust Toolchain
+        run: curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh -s -- -y
+
+      - name: Install substrate-spec-version
+        run: cargo install substrate-spec-version
+
+      - name: Check-out repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Check that spec_version has been bumped
+        run: |
+          spec_version=$(PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.cargo/.bin substrate-spec-version wss://dev.chain.opentensor.ai:443 | tr -d '\n')
+          echo "network spec_version: $spec_version"
+          : ${spec_version:?bad spec version}
+          local_spec_version=$(cargo run -p node-subtensor-runtime --bin spec_version | tr -d '\n')
+          echo "local spec_version: $local_spec_version"
+          echo "network spec_version: $spec_version"
+          if (( $(echo "$local_spec_version <= $spec_version" | bc -l) )); then echo "$local_spec_version ≯ $spec_version ❌"; exit 1; fi
+          echo "$local_spec_version > $spec_version ✅"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/check-finney.yml b/.github/workflows/check-finney.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c74980bcd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/check-finney.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+name: Finney Deploy Check
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [finney]
+
+env:
+  CARGO_TERM_COLOR: always
+
+jobs:
+  check-spec-version:
+    name: Check spec_version bump
+    runs-on: SubtensorCI
+    steps:
+      - name: Dependencies
+        run: |
+          sudo apt-get update &&
+          sudo apt-get install -y curl clang curl libssl-dev llvm \
+                                  libudev-dev protobuf-compiler
+
+      - name: Set up Rust Toolchain
+        run: curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh -s -- -y
+
+      - name: Install substrate-spec-version
+        run: cargo install substrate-spec-version
+
+      - name: Check-out repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Check that spec_version has been bumped
+        run: |
+          spec_version=$(PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.cargo/.bin substrate-spec-version wss://entrypoint-finney.opentensor.ai:443 | tr -d '\n')
+          echo "network spec_version: $spec_version"
+          : ${spec_version:?bad spec version}
+          local_spec_version=$(cargo run -p node-subtensor-runtime --bin spec_version | tr -d '\n')
+          echo "local spec_version: $local_spec_version"
+          echo "network spec_version: $spec_version"
+          if (( $(echo "$local_spec_version <= $spec_version" | bc -l) )); then echo "$local_spec_version ≯ $spec_version ❌"; exit 1; fi
+          echo "$local_spec_version > $spec_version ✅"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/check-rust.yml b/.github/workflows/check-rust.yml
index b1c36057d..8490f97ba 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/check-rust.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/check-rust.yml
@@ -5,16 +5,10 @@ concurrency:
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 on:
-  ## Run automatically for all PRs against main, regardless of what the changes are
-  ## to be safe and so we can more easily force re-run the CI when github is being
-  ## weird by using a blank commit
   push:
-    branches: [main, development, staging]
+    branches: [main, devnet-ready, devnet, testnet, finney]
 
-  ##
-  # Run automatically for PRs against default/main branch if Rust files change
   pull_request:
-    branches: [main, development, staging]
 
   ## Allow running workflow manually from the Actions tab
   workflow_dispatch:
@@ -56,7 +50,7 @@ jobs:
       TARGET: ${{ matrix.rust-target }}
     steps:
       - name: Check-out repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y build-essential
@@ -98,7 +92,7 @@ jobs:
       TARGET: ${{ matrix.rust-target }}
     steps:
       - name: Check-out repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: |
@@ -147,7 +141,7 @@ jobs:
       TARGET: ${{ matrix.rust-target }}
     steps:
       - name: Check-out repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: |
@@ -196,7 +190,7 @@ jobs:
       TARGET: ${{ matrix.rust-target }}
     steps:
       - name: Check-out repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: |
@@ -245,7 +239,7 @@ jobs:
       TARGET: ${{ matrix.rust-target }}
     steps:
       - name: Check-out repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: |
@@ -292,7 +286,7 @@ jobs:
         run: cargo install --locked -q zepter && zepter --version
 
       - name: Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v3
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0 # Dont clone historic commits.
 
@@ -304,7 +298,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
     steps:
       - name: Checkout sources
-        uses: actions/checkout@v3
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
       - name: Run Try Runtime Checks
         uses: "paritytech/try-runtime-gha@v0.1.0"
@@ -324,7 +318,7 @@ jobs:
   #   runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
   #   steps:
   #     - name: Checkout sources
-  #       uses: actions/checkout@v3
+  #       uses: actions/checkout@v4
   #
   #     - name: Run Try Runtime Checks
   #       uses: "paritytech/try-runtime-gha@v0.1.0"
@@ -339,7 +333,7 @@ jobs:
   #   runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
   #   steps:
   #     - name: Checkout sources
-  #       uses: actions/checkout@v3
+  #       uses: actions/checkout@v4
   #
   #     - name: Run Try Runtime Checks
   #       uses: "paritytech/try-runtime-gha@v0.1.0"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/check-testnet.yml b/.github/workflows/check-testnet.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5fe046b06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/check-testnet.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+name: Testnet Deploy Check
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [testnet]
+
+env:
+  CARGO_TERM_COLOR: always
+
+jobs:
+  check-spec-version:
+    name: Check spec_version bump
+    runs-on: SubtensorCI
+    steps:
+      - name: Dependencies
+        run: |
+          sudo apt-get update &&
+          sudo apt-get install -y curl clang curl libssl-dev llvm \
+                                  libudev-dev protobuf-compiler
+
+      - name: Set up Rust Toolchain
+        run: curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh -s -- -y
+
+      - name: Install substrate-spec-version
+        run: cargo install substrate-spec-version
+
+      - name: Check-out repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Check that spec_version has been bumped
+        run: |
+          spec_version=$(PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.cargo/.bin substrate-spec-version wss://test.finney.opentensor.ai:443 | tr -d '\n')
+          echo "network spec_version: $spec_version"
+          : ${spec_version:?bad spec version}
+          local_spec_version=$(cargo run -p node-subtensor-runtime --bin spec_version | tr -d '\n')
+          echo "local spec_version: $local_spec_version"
+          echo "network spec_version: $spec_version"
+          if (( $(echo "$local_spec_version <= $spec_version" | bc -l) )); then echo "$local_spec_version ≯ $spec_version ❌"; exit 1; fi
+          echo "$local_spec_version > $spec_version ✅"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/devnet-labels.yml b/.github/workflows/devnet-labels.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0fe409d1d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/devnet-labels.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+name: Tested on Devnet
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    types: [opened, labeled, unlabeled, synchronize]
+jobs:
+  check-labels:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      issues: write
+      pull-requests: write
+    steps:
+      - uses: mheap/github-action-required-labels@v5
+        with:
+          mode: minimum
+          count: 1
+          labels: |
+            devnet-pass
+            devnet-skip
diff --git a/.github/workflows/label-triggers.yml b/.github/workflows/label-triggers.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d32396e07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/label-triggers.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+name: Label Triggers
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    types:
+      - labeled
+
+permissions:
+  issues: write
+  pull-requests: write
+
+jobs:
+  comment_on_breaking_change:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Check if 'breaking change' label is added
+        if: github.event.label.name == 'breaking-change'
+        uses: actions/github-script@v6
+        with:
+          script: |
+            github.rest.issues.createComment({
+              issue_number: context.issue.number,
+              owner: context.repo.owner,
+              repo: context.repo.repo,
+              body: '@opentensor/cerebrum / @opentensor/gyrus / @opentensor/cortex breaking change detected! Please prepare accordingly!'
+            })
diff --git a/.github/workflows/testnet-labels.yml b/.github/workflows/testnet-labels.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f471f9991
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/testnet-labels.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+name: Tested on Testnet
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    types: [opened, labeled, unlabeled, synchronize]
+jobs:
+  check-labels:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      issues: write
+      pull-requests: write
+    steps:
+      - uses: mheap/github-action-required-labels@v5
+        with:
+          mode: minimum
+          count: 1
+          labels: |
+            testnet-pass
+            testnet-skip
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d3616041b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,205 @@
+# Subtensor Contributor Guide
+
+## Lifecycle of a Pull Request
+
+1. Individuals wishing to contribute to subtensor should develop their change/feature/fix in a
+   [Pull Request](https://github.com/opentensor/subtensor/compare) (PR) targeting the `main`
+   branch of the subtensor GitHub repository. It is recommended to start your pull request as a
+   draft initially until you are ready to have other developers actively look at it. Any
+   changes to pallet/runtime code should be accompanied by integration and/or unit tests fully
+   testing all the edge cases of this functionality, if applicable.
+2. Once you have finished developing your change/feature/fix and the Rust portion of the CI is
+   passing for your PR (everything prefixed with "CI"), you should mark your PR as "Ready for
+   Review" and request review from "Nucleus".
+3. Core Nucleus team members will review your PR, possibly requesting changes, and will also
+   add appropriate labels to your PR as shown below. Three positive reviews are required.
+4. Once the required passing reviews have been obtained, you are ready to request that your PR
+   be included in the next `devnet` deploy. To do this, you should open a companion PR merging
+   your branch into the `devnet-ready` branch. You must include a link to the parent PR in the
+   description and preface your PR title with "(Devnet Ready)" or the PR will be
+   closed/ignored.
+5. A core team administrator will review your "(Devnet Ready)" PR, verifying that it logically
+   matches the changes introduced in the parent PR (there will sometimes be minor differences
+   due to merge conflicts) and will either request changes or approve the PR and merge it. Once
+   your companion PR is merged, the administrator will add the `devnet-ready` label to the
+   parent PR, indicating that the PR is on the `devnet-ready` branch and will be included in
+   the next deploy to `devnet`.
+6. At some point, a core team administrator will open a PR merging the current `devnet-ready`
+   branch into `devnet`, and the CI will enforce some additional safety checks on this PR
+   including a requirement that the new `spec_version` be greater than the current on-chain
+   `spec_version`. The PR should include a bulleted list of all PRs included in the deploy so
+   they can be easily found after the fact (TODO: automate this). This PR will require two
+   reviews from the core team as a sanity check. After merging, the administrator will then
+   need to update all PRs with the `devnet-ready` label to instead have the `on-devnet` label
+   (TODO: automate this upon merge). The administrator will then deploy `devnet`.
+7. Once the `on-devnet` label appears on your PR, if you are a core team member it is your
+   responsibility to verify that the features/changes/fixes introduced by your PR are
+   functioning properly on `devnet` by interacting with the live network. If you are an
+   external contributor, a core team member will be assigned to test this for you.
+8. If your feature/change/fix is confirmed working on `devnet`, the `devnet-pass` label should
+   be added. Otherwise if there are issues, the `devnet-fail` label should be added and you
+   will need to make changes to your PR and repeat the previous steps in this process. In some
+   cases a revert PR will need to be created reverting your changes from the `pre-devnet` and
+   `devnet` branches, respectively.
+9. Once `devnet-pass` has been added to your PR, it is eligible for inclusion in the next
+   `testnet` deploy. We typically run `testnet` deploys every other wednesday.
+10. On the appropriate date, an administrator will open a PR merging the current `devnet`
+    branch into `testnet`. This PR should include a bulleted list of all PRs included in the
+    deploy so they can be easily found after the fact (TODO: automate this). The PR should
+    exclude any PRs that currently have the `devnet-fail` label via a revert (TODO: enforce via
+    CI). This PR will require two reviews from the core team as a sanity check. After merging
+    into `testnet`, the administrator will then need to run the deploy and update all PRs
+    included in the deploy with the `on-testnet` label (TODO: automate this upon merge). Next
+    the administrator must cut a (pre-release) release in GitHub for `testnet` (TODO: github
+    action to generate the release and release notes).
+11. Once the `on-testnet` label appears on your PR, if you are a core team member it is your
+    responsibility to once again verify that the features/changes/fixes introduced by your PR
+    are functioning properly on `testnet` by interacting with the live network, if applicable.
+    If you are an external contributor, a core team member may be assigned to do this testing
+    for you but otherwise it will be your responsibility to show evidence on the PR that the
+    testing is successful. Once this has been verified, the `testnet-pass` label should be
+    added. If testing fails, the `testnet-fail` label should be added and PRs should be opened
+    reverting the change from `devnet-ready`, and then a PR should be opened merging the
+    modified `devnet` into `testnet`. These revert PRs, if they occur, _must_ be merged before
+    a new deploy can be run (TODO: enforce this via CI).
+12. After the SOP period (1 week on `testnet`) has passed and the `testnet-pass` label has been
+    added, the CI checks on your PR should now turn all green and a core team member will be
+    able to merge your PR into `main`. At this point your PR is done and is eligible to be
+    included in the next `finney` deploy (TODO: track and enforce SOP compliance on a per-PR
+    basis in CI based on the timestamps of label changes). We typically run `finney` deploys
+    every other Wednesday, so this will typically happen the Wednesday following the Wednesday
+    your PR was deployed to `testnet`. An administrator will run this deploy. The process the
+    administrator follows is to open a PR merging `main` into the `finney` branch, which will
+    always track the current state of `finney`. This PR automatically has some additional
+    checks on it such as asserting that the spec_version gets bumped properly and other sanity
+    checks designed to stop a bad deploy. Once the PR is reviewed and merged, the administrator
+    will run the actual deploy. Once that is successful, the administrator will cut a new
+    GitHub release tagged off of the latest `main` branch commit that was included in the
+    deploy, and announcements will be made regarding the release.
+
+## PR Labels
+
+| Name  | Description | Automations |
+| ----- | ----------- | ----------- |
+| `red-team` | PR is focused on feature additions/changes | none |
+| `blue-team` | PR is focused on preventative/safety measures and/or dev UX improvements | none |
+| `runtime` | PR contains substantive changes to runtime / pallet code | none |
+| `breaking-change` | PR requires synchronized changes with bittensor | Triggers an automatic bot message so the relevant teams are made aware of the change well in advance |
+| `migration` | PR contains one or more migrations | none |
+| `devnet-ready` | PR's branch has been merged into the `devnet-ready` branch and will be included in the next `devnet` deploy | none |
+| `on-devnet` | PR has been deployed to `devnet` | Removes `devnet-ready` |
+| `devnet-pass` | PR has passed manual testing on `devnet` | `devnet-pass` or `devnet-skip` required |
+| `devnet-skip` | Allows a critical hotfix PR to skip required testing on `devnet` | `devnet-pass` or `devnet-skip` required |
+| `devnet-fail` | PR has failed manual testing on `devnet` and requires modification | none |
+| `on-testnet` | PR has been deployed to `testnet` | none |
+| `testnet-pass` | PR has passed manual testing on `testnet` | `testnet-pass` or `testnet-skip` required |
+| `testnet-skip` | Allows a critical hotfix PR to skip required manual testing and SOP on `testnet` | `testnet-pass` or `testnet-skip` required |
+| `testnet-fail` | PR has failed manual testing on `testnet` and requires modification | none |
+
+
+## Branches
+
+
+### `devnet-ready`
+
+Companion PRs merge into this branch, eventually accumulating into a merge of `devnet-ready`
+into `devnet`, coinciding with a deploy of `devnet`.
+
+#### Restrictions
+* no deleting the branch
+* no force pushes
+* no direct pushes
+* require 1 positive review from an administrator
+* new code changes invalidate existing reviews
+* only merge commit style merging allowed
+
+#### CI-Enforced Restrictions
+* `check-rust.yml` must pass
+* TODO: parent PR must be linked to in description
+* TODO: parent PR must have the required number of positive reviews
+
+
+### `devnet`
+
+Tracks the current state of what is deployed to `devnet`. Modified by an administrator via a PR
+merging `devnet-ready` into `devnet`, in concert with a deploy of `devnet`.
+
+#### Restrictions
+* no deleting the branch
+* no force pushes
+* no direct pushes
+* require 2 positive reviews from core team members
+* new code changes invalidate existing reviews
+* only merge commit style merging allowed
+
+#### CI-Enforced Restrictions
+* `check-rust.yml` must pass
+* `check-devnet.yml` must pass
+* spec_version must be greater than what is currently on live `devnet`
+* TODO: other pre-deploy sanity checks here
+
+
+### `testnet`
+
+Tracks the current state of what is deployed to `testnet`. Administrator will open a PR merging
+current `devnet` into `testnet` and merge it in concert with a deploy to `testnet`. Contains
+tags for `testnet` releases.
+
+#### Restrictions
+* no deleting the branch
+* no force pushes
+* no direct pushes
+* require 2 positive reviews from core team members
+* new code changes invalidate existing reviews
+* only merge commit style merging allowed
+
+#### CI-Enforced Restrictions
+* `check-rust.yml` must pass
+* `check-testnet.yml` must pass
+* spec_version must be greater than what is currently on live `testnet`
+* TODO: other pre-deploy sanity checks here
+
+
+### `main`
+
+Default branch for all new PRs. Slightly ahead of what is currently on `finney`. When a PR is all
+green and "done", meaning it has been tested on `devnet` and `testnet`, it can be merged into
+`main`. Contains tags for `finney` releases.
+
+#### Restrictions
+* no deleting the branch
+* no force pushes
+* no direct pushes
+* require 3 positive reviews from core team members
+* new code changes invalidate existing reviews
+* all conversations must be resolved
+* only merge commit style merging allowed
+
+#### CI-Enforced Restrictions
+* `check-rust.yml` must pass
+* `check-labels.yml` must pass
+* must have `devnet-skip` or `devnet-pass` label
+* must have `testnet-skip` or `testnet-pass` label
+* if `breaking-change` label is present, bot will message the appropriate teams
+* TODO: when we get auditing, presence of `needs-audit` label = require a review from auditor
+* TODO: track SOP on PR based on label age
+
+
+### `finney`
+
+Tracks the current state of what is deployed to `finney` (mainnet). Updated via an
+administrator-submitted PR merging `main` into `finney` in concert with a `finney` deploy.
+
+#### Restrictions
+* no deleting the branch
+* no force pushes
+* no direct pushes
+* require 3 positive reviews from core team members
+* new code changes invalidate existing reviews
+* only merge commit style merging allowed
+
+#### CI-Enforced Restrictions
+* `check-rust.yml` must pass
+* `check-finney.yml` must pass
+* spec_version must be greater than what is currently on live `finney`
+* TODO: other pre-deploy sanity checks here
diff --git a/runtime/Cargo.toml b/runtime/Cargo.toml
index 5e4fd1900..9d07eab38 100644
--- a/runtime/Cargo.toml
+++ b/runtime/Cargo.toml
@@ -15,6 +15,10 @@ workspace = true
 [package.metadata.docs.rs]
 targets = ["x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu"]
 
+[[bin]]
+name = "spec_version"
+path = "src/spec_version.rs"
+
 [dependencies]
 pallet-subtensor = { version = "4.0.0-dev", default-features = false, path = "../pallets/subtensor" }
 subtensor-custom-rpc-runtime-api = { version = "0.0.2", path = "../pallets/subtensor/runtime-api", default-features = false }
diff --git a/runtime/src/spec_version.rs b/runtime/src/spec_version.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..20b75ac04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/runtime/src/spec_version.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+use node_subtensor_runtime::VERSION;
+
+fn main() {
+    println!("{}", VERSION.spec_version);
+}