# Introduction

BigchainDB is a scalable blockchain database. That is, it's a "big data" database with some blockchain characteristics, including [decentralization](topic-guides/decentralized.html), [immutability](topic-guides/immutable.html) and [native support for assets](topic-guides/assets.html).

You can read about the motivations, goals and high-level architecture in the [BigchainDB whitepaper](https://www.bigchaindb.com/whitepaper/).


## Setup Instructions for Various Cases

* [Set up a stand-alone BigchainDB node for learning and experimenting: Quickstart](quickstart.html)
* [Set up and run a dev/test node](dev-and-test/setup-run-node.html)
* [Deploy a testing cluster on AWS](clusters-feds/aws-testing-cluster.html)
* [Set up and run a federation](clusters-feds/set-up-a-federation.html) (i.a. an organization with a BigchainDB cluster)

(Instructions for setting up a client will be provided once there's a public testnet.)


## Is BigchainDB Production-Ready?

No, BigchainDB is not production-ready. You can use it to build a prototype or proof-of-concept (POC); many people are already doing that.

BigchainDB is currently in version 0.X. ([The Releases page on GitHub](https://github.com/bigchaindb/bigchaindb/releases) has the exact version number.) Once we believe that BigchainDB is production-ready, we'll release version 1.0.

[The BigchainDB Roadmap](https://github.com/bigchaindb/org/blob/master/ROADMAP.md) will give you a sense of the things we intend to do with BigchainDB in the near term and the long term.


## Can I Help?

Yes! BigchainDB is an open-source project; we welcome contributions of all kinds. If you want to request a feature, file a bug report, make a pull request, or help in some other way, please see [the CONTRIBUTING.md file](https://github.com/bigchaindb/bigchaindb/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md).