basic-hardhat

Basic Contract Hardhat Example

A minimal Hardhat project that deploys a Storage contract to Polkadot Hub, demonstrating the foundational workflow for EVM-compatible smart contract development on Polkadot.

Overview

This project shows how to write, compile, and deploy a simple storage contract using Hardhat and Hardhat Ignition. The Storage contract stores a single uint256 value on-chain and exposes two functions — store and retrieve — making it ideal as a first hands-on example.

Contract

The Storage contract implements:

• store(uint256 num) — writes a number to contract state
• retrieve() — reads and returns the stored number

Project Structure

basic-hardhat/
├── contracts/
│   └── Storage.sol               # Core storage contract
├── ignition/
│   └── modules/
│       └── Storage.ts            # Ignition deployment module
├── artifacts/                    # Compiled contracts (auto-generated)
├── cache/                        # Hardhat cache (auto-generated)
├── typechain-types/              # TypeScript types (auto-generated)
├── hardhat.config.ts             # Hardhat configuration
├── package.json                  # Project dependencies
├── tsconfig.json                 # TypeScript configuration
└── README.md                     # This file

Quick Start

1. Install Dependencies

npm install

2. Set Your Private Key

npx hardhat vars set PRIVATE_KEY

3. Compile the Contract

npx hardhat compile

4. Deploy to Polkadot TestNet

npx hardhat ignition deploy ignition/modules/Storage.ts --network polkadotTestnet

Confirm the network prompt when asked. The deployment output will include the deployed contract address.

Configuration Variables

Hardhat Configuration Variables provide secure, local storage for sensitive data.

Variable	Required	Description
PRIVATE_KEY	Yes	Private key of a funded account (no 0x prefix)

Useful commands:

# Set a variable (prompts for value)
npx hardhat vars set PRIVATE_KEY

# List all variables
npx hardhat vars list

# Read a variable
npx hardhat vars get PRIVATE_KEY

# Delete a variable
npx hardhat vars delete PRIVATE_KEY

# Show storage location
npx hardhat vars path

Prerequisites

• Node.js v22.13.1 or later
• npm
• A funded account on Polkadot Hub TestNet — get tokens from the Polkadot Faucet

Versions

Component	Version
Hardhat	^2.22.16
Solidity	0.8.28
Node.js	v22.13.1+

Learn More

• Deploy a Basic Contract with Hardhat — step-by-step guide on docs.polkadot.com
• Hardhat Documentation
• Hardhat Ignition
• Hardhat Configuration Variables