> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt).

Rootstock Essentials covers how Rootstock works under the hood, then walks you through writing, deploying, and building a first dApp.

- **Rootstock Architecture**: Bitcoin peg, merge-mining, and the Rootstock Virtual Machine. [Read](/developers/blockchain-essentials/rootstock-essentials/rootstock-architecture/)
- **Smart Contract Fundamentals**: Foundational concepts of smart contracts on Rootstock. [Read](/developers/blockchain-essentials/rootstock-essentials/smart-contract-fundamentals/)
- **Deploy Your First Contract**: Write, compile, deploy, and interact on Rootstock testnet. [Read](/developers/blockchain-essentials/rootstock-essentials/deploy-first-contract/)
- **Build Your First dApp**: Connect a frontend to a contract with Ethers.js and a wallet. [Read](/developers/blockchain-essentials/rootstock-essentials/build-first-dapp/)