hardhat

List available subcommands (or create a new project if no configuration exists)

$ hardhat

$ hardhat compile

$ hardhat run [path/to/script.js]

$ hardhat test

$ hardhat test [path/to/file1.js path/to/file2.js ...]

$ hardhat node

$ hardhat node --hostname [hostname] --port [port]

$ hardhat clean

hardhat [GLOBAL OPTIONS] [<TASK>] [<TASK OPTIONS>]

--help, -h
    Display help for the command

--version, -v
    Print Hardhat version

--network <NETWORK>, -n
    Select network (e.g., localhost, hardhat)

--verbose
    Enable verbose logging

--quiet
    Suppress non-error logs

--config-dir <DIR>
    Custom config directory

--config <PATH>
    Path to hardhat.config.js

--max-memory <MB>
    Max memory for subprocesses

--show-stack-traces
    Always show stack traces

--gas-reporter <FLAG>
    Gas usage reporting (with plugin)

Hardhat is a powerful Ethereum development environment designed to help developers compile, deploy, test, and debug smart contracts. It provides a local Ethereum network for fast iterations, automatic compilation of Solidity code, a built-in testing framework compatible with Mocha and Chai, stack trace parsing for better debugging, and a console for interactive contract interaction.

Key features include task runners for automation (e.g., deploy, verify), plugin ecosystem for extensibility (e.g., ethers.js, OpenZeppelin), network support for mainnet, testnets, and local nodes, and advanced scripting capabilities. Hardhat simplifies the development workflow with hot-reloading compilation and gas estimation. It's widely used in Web3 projects for its reliability and community support.

Installation requires Node.js; run npm install --save-dev hardhat to initialize a project with sample files.

Requires Node.js (≥14) and npm. Not a native binary; run via npx hardhat or global install. Config file hardhat.config.js mandatory for tasks. Large projects may need memory tweaks.

compile (Solidity compilation), test (run tests), console (REPL), run <script> (scripts), deploy (deployment tasks via plugins)

npm init -y && npm install --save-dev hardhat, then npx hardhat

hardhat.config.js: Exports object with networks, solidity version, paths, mocha opts

Launched in 2020 by SmartCocoon as a flexible Ethereum dev tool. Acquired and open-sourced by Nomic Foundation in 2022, becoming a standard in Web3 development with active plugin ecosystem.

node(1), npm(1), npx(1), solc(1)