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Dev Environment Setup

Before deploying smart contracts or interacting with the Watr Network, you need to set up a local development environment with the right tools. Since Watr runs on the Avalanche network architecture, you can use standard EVM-compatible tools like Hardhat.

Prerequisites​

Make sure you have the following installed:

Install Hardhat​

Hardhat is a popular Ethereum development framework that works seamlessly with Avalanche and Watr.

mkdir watr-dev
cd watr-dev
npm init -y
npm install --save-dev hardhat
npx hardhat

Choose “Create a basic sample project” when prompted.

Install Additional Dependencies​

For Hardhat projects, install the following plugins:

npm install --save-dev @nomicfoundation/hardhat-toolbox

To support Ethers.js, Solidity testing, and deployment.

Create a .env file to securely store sensitive data like private keys and RPC URLs:

PRIVATE_KEY=your_private_key_here
WATR_RPC_URL=https://rpc.watr.org/ext/bc/EypLFUSzC2wdbFJovYS3Af1E7ch1DJf7KxKoGR5QFPErxQkG1/rpc # Replace with actual Watr RPC

Then install dotenv:

npm install dotenv

And load it in your hardhat.config.js:

require("dotenv").config();

module.exports = {
  networks: {
    watr: {
      url: process.env.WATR_RPC_URL,
      accounts: [process.env.PRIVATE_KEY],
    },
  },
  solidity: "0.8.21",
};
watr-dev/
├── contracts/              # Your Solidity smart contracts
├── scripts/                # Deployment & interaction scripts
├── test/                   # Contract test cases
├── hardhat.config.js       # Hardhat configuration
└── .env                    # Environment variables (not committed)

Connect via Code​

Using ethers.js​

import { ethers } from "ethers";

const provider = new ethers.JsonRpcProvider(
  "https://rpc.watr.org/ext/bc/EypLFUSzC2wdbFJovYS3Af1E7ch1DJf7KxKoGR5QFPErxQkG1/rpc"
);

Using viem​

import { createPublicClient, http } from "viem";

const client = createPublicClient({
  transport: http(
    "https://rpc.watr.org/ext/bc/EypLFUSzC2wdbFJovYS3Af1E7ch1DJf7KxKoGR5QFPErxQkG1/rpc"
  ),
});

Useful VSCode Extensions​

  • Solidity by Juan Blanco
  • Hardhat Runner
  • Prettier & ESLint
  • GitLens