arbitrum-dapp-skill – OpenClaw Skill

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name: arbitrum-dapp-skill description: Opinionated guide for building dApps on Arbitrum using Stylus (Rust) and/or Solidity. Covers local devnode setup, contract development, testing, deployment, and React frontend integration with viem. Use when starting a new Arbitrum project, writing Stylus or Solidity contracts, deploying to Arbitrum, or building a frontend that interacts with Arbitrum contracts.

Arbitrum dApp Development

Stack

Layer	Tool	Notes
Smart contracts (Rust)	stylus-sdk v0.10+	Compiled to WASM, runs on Stylus VM
Smart contracts (Solidity)	Solidity 0.8.x + Foundry	Standard EVM path on Arbitrum
Local node	nitro-devnode	Docker-based local Arbitrum chain
Contract CLI	cargo-stylus	Check, deploy, export-abi for Stylus
Contract toolchain	Foundry (forge, cast, anvil)	Build, test, deploy, interact for Solidity
Frontend	React / Next.js + viem + wagmi	viem for all chain interaction
Package manager	pnpm	Workspace-friendly, fast

Decision Flow

When starting a new contract:

1. Need max performance / lower gas? → Stylus Rust. See references/stylus-rust-contracts.md.
2. Need broad tooling compatibility / rapid prototyping? → Solidity. See references/solidity-contracts.md.
3. Hybrid? → Use both. Stylus and Solidity contracts are fully interoperable on Arbitrum.

Project Scaffolding

Monorepo layout (recommended)

my-arbitrum-dapp/
├── apps/
│   ├── frontend/            # React / Next.js app
│   ├── contracts-stylus/    # Rust Stylus contracts
│   ├── contracts-solidity/  # Foundry Solidity contracts
│   └── nitro-devnode/       # Local dev chain (git submodule)
├── pnpm-workspace.yaml
└── package.json

Bootstrap steps

# 1. Create workspace
mkdir my-arbitrum-dapp && cd my-arbitrum-dapp
pnpm init
printf "packages:\n  - 'apps/*'\n" > pnpm-workspace.yaml

# 2. Local devnode
git clone https://github.com/OffchainLabs/nitro-devnode.git apps/nitro-devnode
cd apps/nitro-devnode && ./run-dev-node.sh && cd ../..

# 3a. Stylus contract
cargo stylus new apps/contracts-stylus

# 3b. Solidity contract
cd apps && forge init contracts-solidity && cd ..

# 4. Frontend
pnpm create next-app apps/frontend --typescript
cd apps/frontend
pnpm add viem wagmi @tanstack/react-query

Core Workflow

Stylus Rust

# Validate
cargo stylus check --endpoint http://localhost:8547

# Deploy (uses the nitro-devnode pre-funded deployer account)
cargo stylus deploy \
  --endpoint http://localhost:8547 \
  --private-key $PRIVATE_KEY

# Export ABI for frontend consumption
cargo stylus export-abi

Solidity (Foundry)

# Build
forge build

# Test
forge test

# Deploy locally (uses the nitro-devnode pre-funded deployer account)
forge script script/Deploy.s.sol --rpc-url http://localhost:8547 --broadcast \
  --private-key $PRIVATE_KEY

Note: The nitro-devnode ships with a pre-funded deployer account. See references/local-devnode.md for the default private key and address. For testnet/mainnet, use your own key via environment variables — never hardcode secrets.

Frontend (viem + wagmi)

import { createPublicClient, http } from "viem";
import { arbitrumSepolia } from "viem/chains";

const client = createPublicClient({
  chain: arbitrumSepolia,
  transport: http(),
});

// Read from contract
const result = await client.readContract({
  address: "0x...",
  abi: contractAbi,
  functionName: "myFunction",
});

See references/frontend-integration.md for full patterns with wagmi hooks, wallet connection, and write transactions.

Principles

• Always use viem for chain interaction.
• Test locally first against nitro-devnode before deploying to testnet.
• Export ABIs from both Stylus (cargo stylus export-abi) and Solidity (forge inspect) and keep them in a shared location the frontend can import.
• Use environment variables for RPC URLs, contract addresses, and private keys. Never hardcode secrets.
• Stylus contracts are EVM-compatible — they share the same address space, storage model, and ABI encoding as Solidity contracts. Cross-contract calls work seamlessly.

References

Load these as needed for deeper guidance:

• references/stylus-rust-contracts.md — Stylus SDK patterns, storage, macros, entrypoints
• references/solidity-contracts.md — Solidity on Arbitrum specifics and Foundry workflow
• references/frontend-integration.md — React + viem + wagmi patterns
• references/local-devnode.md — Nitro devnode setup, accounts, and debugging
• references/deployment.md — Deploying to testnet and mainnet
• references/testing.md — Testing strategies for both Stylus and Solidity

<p align="center"> <img src=".github/banner.svg" alt="arbitrum-dapp-skill" width="100%"> </p> <p align="center"> <a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg?style=flat-square" alt="License: MIT"></a> <a href="https://www.rust-lang.org"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Rust-1.81+-orange.svg?style=flat-square&logo=rust" alt="Rust"></a> <a href="https://soliditylang.org/"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Solidity-0.8+-363636.svg?style=flat-square&logo=solidity" alt="Solidity"></a> <a href="https://arbitrum.io"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Arbitrum-Stylus-28A0F0.svg?style=flat-square" alt="Arbitrum Stylus"></a> <a href="https://book.getfoundry.sh/"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Built%20with-Foundry-FFDB1C.svg?style=flat-square" alt="Foundry"></a> <a href="http://makeapullrequest.com"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/PRs-welcome-brightgreen.svg?style=flat-square" alt="PRs Welcome"></a> <a href="https://clawhub.ai/hummusonrails/arbitrum-dapp-skill"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/ClawHub-arbitrum--dapp--skill-FF6B4A.svg?style=flat-square" alt="ClawHub"></a> </p> <p align="center"> <strong>A <a href="https://github.com/anthropics/skills">Claude Code skill</a> for building high-performance dApps on Arbitrum with Stylus Rust and Solidity.</strong> <br> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsejiaOTmJA">Demo</a> · <a href="https://hummusonrails.github.io/arbitrum-dapp-skill?ref=github-readme">Documentation</a> · <a href="#quick-start">Quick Start</a> · <a href="https://github.com/hummusonrails/arbitrum-dapp-skill/issues">Report a Bug</a> </p> <p align="center"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsejiaOTmJA"> <img src=".github/video-thumbnail.png" alt="Watch the demo on YouTube" width="600"> </a> </p>

What it does

This skill gives Claude Code deep knowledge of the Arbitrum development stack so it can help you:

• Scaffold a monorepo with Stylus Rust contracts, Solidity contracts, and a React frontend
• Write and test smart contracts using the Stylus Rust SDK or Foundry
• Run a local Arbitrum devnode for development
• Build frontend interfaces with viem and wagmi
• Deploy contracts to Arbitrum Sepolia and Arbitrum One
• Interop across contract languages (Stylus and Solidity)

Quick Start

bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hummusonrails/arbitrum-dapp-skill/main/install.sh)

Then start Claude Code and ask it to build something:

> Create a Stylus contract for an ERC-20 token with a React frontend

That's it. The skill loads automatically.

<details> <summary><strong>Install from ClawHub</strong></summary> <br>

npx clawhub@latest install arbitrum-dapp-skill

Or browse the skill on ClawHub.

</details> <details> <summary><strong>Manual installation</strong></summary> <br>

git clone https://github.com/hummusonrails/arbitrum-dapp-skill.git ~/.claude/skills/arbitrum-dapp-skill

</details>

Stack

Layer	Tool	Notes
Smart contracts (Rust)	stylus-sdk v0.10+	Compiled to WASM, runs on Stylus VM
Smart contracts (Solidity)	Solidity 0.8.x + Foundry	Standard EVM path on Arbitrum
Local chain	nitro-devnode	Docker-based with pre-funded accounts
Contract CLI	cargo-stylus	Check, deploy, export-abi
Contract toolchain	forge / cast	Build, test, deploy, interact
Frontend	viem + wagmi	Type-safe chain interaction
Package manager	pnpm	Workspace-friendly, fast

<details> <summary><strong>Prerequisites</strong></summary> <br>

The skill will guide you through installing these, but for reference:

• Rust 1.81+
• cargo-stylus: cargo install --force cargo-stylus
• Foundry: curl -L https://foundry.paradigm.xyz | bash && foundryup
• Docker for the local devnode
• Node.js 20+ and pnpm

</details>

Usage examples

Once installed, start a Claude Code session and try:

> Help me create a new Arbitrum dApp
> Write a Stylus contract that implements an ERC-20 token
> Set up my local devnode and deploy my contract
> Add a frontend that reads from my deployed contract
> Help me write tests for my Stylus contract

Skill structure

arbitrum-dapp-skill/
├── SKILL.md                            # Main skill definition
├── references/
│   ├── stylus-rust-contracts.md        # Stylus SDK patterns and examples
│   ├── solidity-contracts.md           # Solidity on Arbitrum + Foundry
│   ├── frontend-integration.md         # viem + wagmi patterns
│   ├── local-devnode.md                # Nitro devnode setup
│   ├── deployment.md                   # Testnet and mainnet deployment
│   └── testing.md                      # Testing strategies
├── install.sh
└── README.md

Resources

Resource	Description
Demo Video	Watch the skill in action
Arbitrum Stylus Quickstart	Official getting-started guide
Stylus SDK	Rust SDK for writing Stylus contracts
Stylus Workshop	Game of Life example project
Nitro Devnode	Local Arbitrum chain for development
viem	TypeScript interface for Ethereum
wagmi	React hooks for Ethereum

Contributing

Contributions welcome. Open an issue or submit a pull request.

License

MIT