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An Ethereum hard fork is a change to the blockchain’s consensus rules that can make blocks or other structures valid under new rules even though they were invalid under the old ones. Nodes that have not upgraded may then be unable to validate the chain followed by upgraded nodes.
What does “hard fork” mean in Ethereum?
Ethereum’s rules determine which blocks and transactions nodes accept. A hard fork changes those consensus rules in a way that can expand what is valid: structures rejected under the old rules may be accepted under the new rules. That validity change is the defining distinction in EIP-4.
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The Ethereum.org glossary also describes a hard fork as a permanent divergence in a blockchain. In practical terms, incompatible rule sets can cause upgraded and non-upgraded nodes to follow different chains. The term here means a protocol change, not a fork of a software repository or Git project. See the Ethereum glossary.
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Ethereum clients are software that implement the protocol rules. When a network upgrade is activated, upgraded clients apply the new rules. A node still running software with the old rules may reject blocks that upgraded nodes consider valid, so it cannot reliably validate or follow their chain. It may continue on a chain governed by the old rules, but that chain is incompatible with the upgraded one.
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A hard fork does not automatically mean that Ethereum splits into two enduring, equally used networks. The outcome depends on which rule set participants follow. The Ethereum Foundation’s 2016 FAQ describes protocol changes being activated at a specified block number; that is a historical explanation, not a current schedule or a guide to a particular upgrade.
How do Ethereum upgrades and EIPs relate?
Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) document proposed changes and technical specifications. Network upgrades can bundle multiple EIPs, which clients implement so participating nodes can remain in consensus. An EIP’s existence alone does not mean the change has been accepted, included in an upgrade, or activated. The Ethereum EIPs overview explains the relationship between proposals, client implementation, and network upgrades.
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Hard fork vs. soft fork
The key comparison is whether a new rule set accepts structures that the old rules rejected, and whether old software can continue validating the resulting chain.
| Change | Effect on validity | What old software may do |
|---|---|---|
| Hard fork | Can make structures invalid under the old rules valid under the new rules. | May reject blocks accepted under the new rules and follow an incompatible chain. |
| Soft fork | Can make some structures valid under the old rules invalid under the new rules; it does not make old-invalid structures valid. | Is backward compatible in the sense described by the Ethereum glossary, though old software may not enforce all of the new restrictions. |
This validity distinction follows EIP-4; the glossary characterizes a soft fork as backward compatible.
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How can nodes identify fork compatibility?
Fork identifiers help nodes distinguish networks and assess whether a peer is compatible with the same chain history. EIP-2124 specifies identifiers that summarize a network’s genesis and forks already applied. They support compatibility checks; they do not replace the protocol rules or turn an unimplemented proposal into an active upgrade.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Does a hard fork require new hardware?
No physical product is part of the definition. A hard fork concerns protocol rules and coordination among software clients; the cited Ethereum materials do not establish a hardware purchase as necessary. The relevant action for a node operator is to use client software compatible with the network’s activated rules.
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