What is Chain Forge?

Chain Forge is a Foundry-inspired multi-chain development tool suite designed to simplify local blockchain development and testing. It provides a unified interface for working with different blockchain networks, starting with Solana support.

The Problem

Blockchain developers often face these challenges:

• Inconsistent tooling across different blockchain ecosystems
• Complex setup for local development environments
• Manual account management and funding
• Different CLIs and APIs for each chain
• Difficulty integrating into automated testing pipelines

The Solution

Chain Forge provides:

• Unified Interface: One CLI and API for multiple blockchain networks
• Instant Setup: Start a local validator with pre-funded accounts in seconds
• Developer Experience: Simple commands inspired by Ethereum's Foundry
• Standard Wallets: BIP39/BIP44 account generation compatible with popular wallets
• Programmatic Access: TypeScript SDK for seamless integration

Core Features

Multi-Chain Support

Built with a trait-based architecture that makes adding new blockchain networks straightforward. Currently supports:

• ✅ Solana - Full support with CLI and TypeScript package
• 🔜 Bitcoin - Planned
• 🔜 Ethereum - Planned

Account Management

• Generate accounts using standard BIP39 mnemonics
• BIP44 derivation paths for wallet compatibility
• Pre-fund accounts automatically on startup
• Fund additional accounts via CLI or API

CLI Tools

Each supported chain gets its own CLI tool:

# Solana
cf-solana start --accounts 10 --balance 100
cf-solana accounts
cf-solana fund <address> 50

TypeScript Packages

Programmatic access via NPM packages:

import { SolanaClient } from '@chain-forge/solana';

const client = new SolanaClient({ accounts: 10 });
await client.start();
const accounts = await client.getAccounts();

Configuration System

Flexible TOML-based configuration with:

• Project-level configuration
• Global user defaults
• Multiple profiles (default, ci, devnet, etc.)

Architecture

Chain Forge uses a ChainProvider trait as the core abstraction:

pub trait ChainProvider {
    async fn start(&mut self) -> Result<()>;
    async fn stop(&mut self) -> Result<()>;
    async fn get_accounts(&self) -> Result<Vec<Account>>;
    async fn set_balance(&self, address: &str, amount: f64) -> Result<()>;
    // ... more methods
}

Each blockchain implementation:

1. Implements the ChainProvider trait
2. Lives in chains/<chain-name>/
3. Provides a CLI binary (cf-<chain>)
4. Exposes a TypeScript package (@chain-forge/<chain>)

Use Cases

Smart Contract Development

Test your programs locally before deploying to testnet or mainnet:

cf-solana start --accounts 5 --balance 100
# Deploy and test your Solana program
anchor deploy
anchor test

dApp Development

Build frontends against a local blockchain with controlled state:

const client = new SolanaClient();
await client.start();

// Connect your dApp to localhost:8899
const connection = client.getConnection();

Automated Testing

Integrate into CI/CD pipelines for reproducible test environments:

- name: Start validator
  run: cf-solana start --accounts 3 --balance 10 &

- name: Run integration tests
  run: npm test

Learning & Experimentation

Experiment with blockchain development without spending real tokens:

# Try different scenarios
cf-solana start --accounts 20 --balance 1000
# Make mistakes, restart fresh anytime

Why "Chain Forge"?

Inspired by Ethereum's Foundry, Chain Forge aims to bring the same level of developer experience and tooling quality to multi-chain development.

The name reflects the project's goal: to be a forge for building blockchain applications across any chain.

Design Principles

1. Developer First: Optimize for developer productivity and happiness
2. Simple Defaults: Works out of the box with sensible defaults
3. Flexible Configuration: Easy to customize when needed
4. Standards Compliant: Use standard protocols (BIP39/44) for compatibility
5. Wraps Official Tools: Leverage official blockchain tooling rather than reimplementing

Next Steps

• Installation Guide
• Getting Started
• Solana Documentation