---
title: "Believing 'backend-agnostic' means you have options"
description: "A project advertises multiple proving backends, but only one has CI, releases and issue traffic."
type: "failure-mode"
url: "https://zkpick.com/frameworks/failure-modes/believing-backend-agnostic-means-you-have-options/"
section: "02 Choosing a framework"
authors:
  - "MarketComp"
publisher: "MarketComp"
version: "1.3"
updated: "2026-09-12"
license: "CC-BY-4.0"
json: "https://zkpick.com/data/frameworks/failure-modes/believing-backend-agnostic-means-you-have-options.json"
---

*By MarketComp. Updated 2026-09-12. Version 1.3. CC BY 4.0.*

# Believing 'backend-agnostic' means you have options

A project advertises multiple proving backends, but only one has CI, releases and issue traffic. The alternative backends are architectural possibilities that nobody currently maintains, and discovering this at migration time is expensive.

**Mitigation:** Treat a backend as real only if you can find recent commits, releases and issues for it — or if you validate it yourself and are prepared to maintain it.