# Hardhat

Deploying Smart Contracts using Hardhat

### What is Hardhat?  <a href="#what-is-hardhat" id="what-is-hardhat"></a>

Hardhat is a development environment for Ethereum that helps developers manage and automate the common tasks involved in building smart contracts and decentralized applications. It can directly interact with Caldera's Ethereum API, allowing for the deployment of smart contracts into the Caldera network. Additionally, Hardhat is a comprehensive set of tools for creating Ethereum-based software, which includes various components that aid in editing, compiling, debugging, and deploying smart contracts and decentralized applications. All of these components work together to create a complete development environment.

### Creating a Hardhat Project  <a href="#creating-a-hardhat-project" id="creating-a-hardhat-project"></a>

1. Create a directory for your project  &#x20;

```
mkdir hardhat && cd hardhat
```

2. Initialize the project which will create a `package.json` file

```
npm init -y 
```

3. Install Hardhat

```
npm install hardhat
```

4. Create a project

```
npx hardhat 
```

5. Create an empty hardhat.config.js and install the Ethers plugin to use the Ethers.js library to interact with the network.

```
npm install @nomiclabs/hardhat-ethers ethers
```

### Creating your Smart Contract <a href="#creating-your-smart-contract" id="creating-your-smart-contract"></a>

1. Create a `contracts` directory

```
mkdir contracts && cd contracts
```

2. Create `your_contract.sol` file in `contracts` directory

```
touch your_contract.sol
```

### Creating your Configuration File  <a href="#creating-your-configuration-file" id="creating-your-configuration-file"></a>

Modify the Hardhat configuration file and create a secure file to store your private key in.

1. Create a `secrets.json` file to store your private keytouch secrets.json
2. Add your private key to `secrets.json`{"privateKey": "YOUR-PRIVATE-KEY-HERE"}
3. Add the file to your project's `.gitignore`, and never reveal your private key.
4. Modify the `hardhat.config.js` file
   * Import the Ethers plugin
   * Import the `secrets.json` file
   * Inside the `module.exports`add the Caldera network configuration

//hardhat.config.js​require('@nomiclabs/hardhat-ethers');const { privateKey } = require('./secrets.json');​module.exports = {solidity: "0.8.1",defaultNetwork: "rinkeby",networks: {rinkeby: {url: "<https://eth-rinkeby.alchemyapi.io/v2/123abc123abc123abc123abc123abcde",accounts>: \[privateKey]},caldera: {url: "RPC URL", // Insert your RPC URL HerechainId: CHAINID, //Insert your ChainID Here}},}