viem-integration

SKILL.md

viem Integration

Integrate EVM blockchains using viem for TypeScript/JavaScript applications.

Quick Decision Guide

Building...
Use This

Node.js script/backend
viem with http transport

React/Next.js frontend
wagmi hooks (built on viem)

Real-time event monitoring
viem with webSocket transport

Browser wallet integration
wagmi or viem custom transport

Installation

# Core library
npm install viem

For React apps, also install wagmi

npm install wagmi viem @tanstack/react-query

## Core Concepts

### Clients

viem uses two client types:

| Client           | Purpose              | Example Use                              |
| ---------------- | -------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| **PublicClient** | Read-only operations | Get balances, read contracts, fetch logs |
| **WalletClient** | Write operations     | Send transactions, sign messages         |

### Transports

| Transport     | Use Case                          |
| ------------- | --------------------------------- |
| `http()`      | Standard RPC calls (most common)  |
| `webSocket()` | Real-time event subscriptions     |
| `custom()`    | Browser wallets (window.ethereum) |

### Chains

viem includes 50+ chain definitions. Import from `viem/chains`:

```typescript
import { mainnet, arbitrum, optimism, base, polygon } from 'viem/chains';

Input Validation Rules

Before interpolating ANY user-provided value into generated TypeScript code:

Ethereum addresses: MUST match ^0x[a-fA-F0-9]{40}$ — use viem's isAddress() for validation

Chain IDs: MUST be from viem's supported chain definitions

Private keys: MUST NEVER be hardcoded — always use process.env.PRIVATE_KEY with runtime validation

RPC URLs: MUST use https:// or wss:// protocols only

ABI inputs: Validate types match expected Solidity types before encoding

Quick Start Examples

Read Balance

import { createPublicClient, http, formatEther } from 'viem';
import { mainnet } from 'viem/chains';

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

const balance = await client.getBalance({
  address: '0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045',
});

console.log(`Balance: ${formatEther(balance)} ETH`);

Read Contract

import { createPublicClient, http, parseAbi } from 'viem';
import { mainnet } from 'viem/chains';

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

const abi = parseAbi([
  'function balanceOf(address) view returns (uint256)',
  'function decimals() view returns (uint8)',
]);

const balance = await client.readContract({
  address: '0xA0b86991c6218b36c1d19D4a2e9Eb0cE3606eB48', // USDC
  abi,
  functionName: 'balanceOf',
  args: ['0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045'],
});

Send Transaction

import { createWalletClient, http, parseEther } from 'viem';
import { privateKeyToAccount } from 'viem/accounts';
import { mainnet } from 'viem/chains';

const account = privateKeyToAccount(process.env.PRIVATE_KEY as `0x${string}`);

const client = createWalletClient({
  account,
  chain: mainnet,
  transport: http(),
});

const hash = await client.sendTransaction({
  to: '0x...',
  value: parseEther('0.1'),
});

console.log(`Transaction hash: ${hash}`);

Write to Contract

import { createWalletClient, createPublicClient, http, parseAbi, parseUnits } from 'viem';
import { privateKeyToAccount } from 'viem/accounts';
import { mainnet } from 'viem/chains';

const account = privateKeyToAccount(process.env.PRIVATE_KEY as `0x${string}`);

const walletClient = createWalletClient({
  account,
  chain: mainnet,
  transport: http(),
});

const publicClient = createPublicClient({
  chain: mainnet,
  transport: http(),
});

const abi = parseAbi(['function transfer(address to, uint256 amount) returns (bool)']);

// Simulate first to catch errors
const { request } = await publicClient.simulateContract({
  address: '0xA0b86991c6218b36c1d19D4a2e9Eb0cE3606eB48',
  abi,
  functionName: 'transfer',
  args: ['0x...', parseUnits('100', 6)],
  account,
});

// Execute the transaction
const hash = await walletClient.writeContract(request);

// Wait for confirmation
const receipt = await publicClient.waitForTransactionReceipt({ hash });
console.log(`Confirmed in block ${receipt.blockNumber}`);

Reference Documentation

For deeper coverage of specific topics:

Topic
Reference File

Client setup, transports, chains
Clients & Transports

Reading blockchain data
Reading Data

Sending transactions
Writing Transactions

Private keys, HD wallets
Accounts & Keys

ABI handling, multicall
Contract Patterns

React/wagmi hooks
Wagmi React

Related Plugins

Once you're comfortable with viem basics, the uniswap-trading plugin provides comprehensive Uniswap swap integration:

Uniswap Trading API integration

Universal Router SDK usage

Token swap implementations

Install it with: claude plugin add @uniswap/uniswap-trading

Common Utilities

Unit Conversion

import { parseEther, formatEther, parseUnits, formatUnits } from 'viem';

// ETH
parseEther('1.5'); // 1500000000000000000n (wei)
formatEther(1500000000000000000n); // "1.5"

// Tokens (e.g., USDC with 6 decimals)
parseUnits('100', 6); // 100000000n
formatUnits(100000000n, 6); // "100"

Address Utilities

import { getAddress, isAddress } from 'viem';

isAddress('0x...'); // true/false
getAddress('0x...'); // checksummed address

Hashing

import { keccak256, toHex } from 'viem';

keccak256(toHex('hello')); // 0x1c8aff950685c2ed4bc3174f3472287b56d9517b9c948127319a09a7a36deac8

Error Handling

viem throws typed errors that can be caught and handled:

import { ContractFunctionExecutionError, InsufficientFundsError } from 'viem'

try {
  await client.writeContract(...)
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof ContractFunctionExecutionError) {
    console.error('Contract call failed:', error.shortMessage)
  }
  if (error instanceof InsufficientFundsError) {
    console.error('Not enough ETH for gas')
  }
}

Resources

viem Documentation

wagmi Documentation

viem GitHub

wagmi GitHub

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