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Local Development

EVM and Bitcoin​

EVM Setup​

If you are developing on the BOB network, you need to install a wallet and a development environment.

Install a wallet​

You can also use other EVM wallets. BOB has a special Snap though so that you can use MetaMask for both the BOB chain and Bitcoin.

Install a development environment​

Quickstart:

# Install foundry
curl -L https://foundry.paradigm.xyz | bash
# Init a new project
forge init hello_bob
cd hello_bob
# Build the project
forge build

# Start a local chain
anvil

Check the docs for more information: Foundry.

Bitcoin​

Install​

Install Bitcoin Core 25.0 or higher so that you have access to the bitcoind and bitcoin-cli commands:

  • MacOS: brew install bitcoin
  • Ubuntu: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:bitcoin/bitcoin && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install bitcoind
  • Arch: yay bitcoin-core
  • Download a binary: https://bitcoin.org/en/download

Start Bitcoin Core​

# Start a regtest node
bitcoind -regtest
# Create a wallet named Alice
bitcoin-cli -regtest createwallet alice
# Get a new address for Alice
ADDRESS=$(bitcoin-cli -regtest -rpcwallet=alice getnewaddress)
# Mine 101 blocks to the address
bitcoin-cli -regtest -rpcwallet=alice generatetoaddress 101 $ADDRESS

Wallet​

You can use bitcoin-cli to manage the wallet. However, if you prefer a UI, you can use Bitcoin QT.

Start Bitcoin QT (for wallet functionality):

bitcoin-qt -regtest

RPCs and APIs​

Esplora​

Very useful for Bitcoin blockchain indexing and querying.

  • Fork of electrs (Electrum Server in Rust)
  • Indexes data using Bitcoin Core
  • Provides REST API

The good:

  • Can be run locally

API documentation: Esplora

Quickstart:

git clone https://github.com/Blockstream/esplora && cd esplora
npm install
export API_URL=http://localhost:3000/ # or https://blockstream.info/api/ if you don't have a local API server
(see more config options below)
npm run dev-server

Ord​

If you are working with ordinals on a deeper level or in a local environment with Bitcoin regtest, this is a useful tool.

  • Indexer, block-explorer and wallet
  • Uses Bitcoin Core for signing and indexing
  • Provides JSON-API

The good:

  • Shows ordinals and inscriptions
  • Can be run locally

The bad:

  • Slow to index mainnet

Get started: https://docs.ordinals.com/

UniSat​

If you are working with ordinals or BRC20 tokens on Bitcoin testnet or mainnet, the hosted service is easier to use than using ord.

  • Hosted service
  • Provides REST API

The good:

  • BRC20 indexing
  • Swagger supports code-gen
  • Additional APIs (inscription, swap, marketplace)

The bad:

  • Only mainnet and testnet (hosted)

Get started: https://docs.unisat.io/dev/unisat-developer-service

More Tools​

BOB SDK​

Third-Party Tools on BOB​

Collection of Bitcoin Tools​

Lopp Development Tool List