Do you want to develop on the Hyperlane interoperability platform, but you don't know where to start? Don't panic! Discover the possibilities offered by Hyperlane as well as the tools made available to support you.
What is Hyperlane?
Hyperlane is an interoperability framework that allows more than 100 different blockchains to be connected together through cross-chain message communication or token transfer. With a system of “ Mailbox “, simply deploy Hyperlane to connect a new blockchain to those already supported by the framework.
Omnipresent in the blockchain ecosystem, Hyperlane's solution can be integrated into a very wide range of tools, ranging from blockchain frameworks like OP Stack or Polygon CDK, to data availability projects like Celestia or EigenLayer. .
👉 Before going any further: Everything you need to know about Hyperlane, this new key player in blockchain interoperability?
Why use Hyperlane for your blockchain solution?
Hyperlane has a “permissionless” architecture, which means that anyone can deploy this solution on any blockchain environment (layer 1, rollup, etc.) without requiring validation from any intermediary. This greatly contributes to the expansion of Hyperlane's cross-chain network.
Furthermore, Hyperlane has developed a security module called Interchain Security Modules (ISM), which gives developers access to the configurability of their security model according to their needs. This solution can attract protocols that do not find adequate security systems for their applications through other interoperability technologies.
Hyperlane has its own technical documentation to onboard developers on its technology. The documentation offers resources to understand how Hyperlane's solution works, as well as tools and tutorials to start developing on it.
The main functionalities of Hyperlane such as the integration of a new blockchain or the creation of a bridge do not particularly require prerequisites. However, prior experience with command lines and configuration files (YAML for example) may be an asset. Then, for more advanced developments, experience in Solidity is strongly recommended.
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Where to start?
At first, it can be difficult to know where to start developing on Hyperlane, even by reading their documentation. However, the project has taken care to simplify the task for developers as much as possible.
The first thing to do is to understand how Hyperlane works, and in particular its communication technology using Mailbox.
Next, Hyperlane provides the first simple examples to learn how to use its technology:
- Deployment of Hyperlane on a new blockchain;
- Sending a message between 2 local blockchains;
- Deployment of a bridge between 2 blockchains;
- Deployment of a graphical interface for a bridge.
These examples are available as relatively short tutorials to familiarize developers with its technology. Subsequently, it is possible to use Hyperlane directly within smart contracts through their libraries, allowing better modularity in the use of its functionalities.
Please note, these tutorials are suitable for a test environment, and not for a production environment. If you want to switch to production mode, you will need to modify your configuration according to the recommendations in the Hyperlane documentation.
What tools to use?
Hyperlane provides several tools for developers to facilitate the use of its solution.
The Command Line Interface (CLI)
The first is the “ Command Line Interface » (CLI) available as an NPM package (available for versions of Node 18 or higher). The latter is the official CLI for deploying Hyperlane on new blockchains, but also for interacting with those already integrated.
To know and quickly access the smart contracts responsible for these integrations, the CLI maintains a register which lists all the metadata relating to the blockchains already connected to Hyperlane.
In short, the CLI provides a set of commands to achieve the essential functionality of the protocol, making it an ideal tool for getting started with Hyperlane.
Bookstores
The second tool for developers is the set of libraries that can be used in smart contracts. These libraries, developed in Solidity, are now 5 in number:
- MailboxClient : ensures that the smart contract sends and receives cross-chain messages in the correct way;
- Router : deploys a smart contract on a multitude of blockchains;
- TypeCasts : provides functions to convert addresses to bytes32 format and vice versa;
- Message : formats and analyzes cross-chain messages to make them compatible with Mailboxes;
- StandardHookMetadata : help with supporting and formatting metadata (gas costs, gas limit, message, etc.).
These libraries can be integrated (and are even recommended) as part of the development of a smart contract using Hyperlane to carry out communication between different blockchains.
The Hyperlane Explorer
The Hyperlane Explorer is the tool that allows you to navigate the network of blockchains that integrate Hyperlane. It is possible to view all cross-chain transactions as well as their states.
To summarize, Hyperlane provides two tools specific to using its technology for developers. The first being the CLI, essential, ideal for getting started, and available as an NPM package, and the second being all the libraries available for the development of smart contracts, intended for developers wanting more advanced functionalities.
Up to you !
From now on, you know that development on Hyperlane requires specific tools (CLI, libraries, explore), and that your possibilities include deploying on a new blockchain, sending messages, creating a bridge, etc. All you have to do is develop! Check out the section Quick start Hyperlane documentation to access your first tutorials.
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Coming from computer science studies and passionate about the world of Web 3 since 2020, I pool my skills to popularize technical concepts and help readers better understand blockchain and its ecosystem.
