involvex Ethereum Development Tools
What You Probably Got Wrong
Blockscout MCP server exists: https://mcp.blockscout.com/mcp — gives AI agents structured blockchain data via Model Context Protocol. This is cutting-edge infra as of Feb 2026.
abi.ninja is essential: https://abi.ninja — paste any verified contract address, get a UI to call any function. Zero setup. Supports mainnet + all major L2s. Perfect for agent-driven contract exploration.
x402 has production SDKs: @x402/fetch (TS), x402 (Python), github.com/coinbase/x402/go — production-ready libraries for HTTP payments.
Foundry is the default for new projects in 2026. Not Hardhat. 10-100x faster tests, Solidity-native testing, built-in fuzzing.
Tool Discovery Pattern for AI Agents
When an agent needs to interact with Ethereum:
- Read operations: Blockscout MCP or Etherscan API
- Write operations: Foundry
cast sendor ethers.js/viem - Contract exploration: abi.ninja (browser) or
cast interface(CLI) - Testing: Fork mainnet with
anvil, test locally - Deployment:
forge createorforge script - Verification:
forge verify-contractor Etherscan API
Blockscout MCP Server
URL: https://mcp.blockscout.com/mcp
A Model Context Protocol server giving AI agents structured blockchain data:
- Transaction, address, contract queries
- Token info and balances
- Smart contract interaction helpers
- Multi-chain support
- Standardized interface optimized for LLM consumption
Why this matters: Instead of scraping Etherscan or making raw API calls, agents get structured, type-safe blockchain data via MCP.
abi.ninja
URL: https://abi.ninja — Paste any contract address → interact with all functions. Multi-chain. Zero setup.
x402 SDKs (HTTP Payments)
TypeScript:
npm install @x402/core @x402/evm @x402/fetch @x402/express
import { x402Fetch } from '@x402/fetch';
import { createWallet } from '@x402/evm';
const wallet = createWallet(privateKey);
const response = await x402Fetch('https://api.example.com/data', {
wallet,
preferredNetwork: 'eip155:8453', // Base
});
Python: pip install x402
Go: go get github.com/coinbase/x402/go
Docs: https://www.x402.org | https://github.com/coinbase/x402
Scaffold-ETH 2
- Setup:
npx create-eth@latest - What: Full-stack Ethereum toolkit: Solidity + Next.js + Foundry
- Key feature: Auto-generates TypeScript types from contracts. Scaffold hooks make contract interaction trivial.
- Deploy to IPFS:
yarn ipfs(BuidlGuidl IPFS) - UI Components: https://ui.scaffoldeth.io/
- Docs: https://docs.scaffoldeth.io/
Choosing Your Stack (2026)
| Need | Tool |
|---|---|
| Rapid prototyping / full dApps | Scaffold-ETH 2 |
| Contract-focused dev | Foundry (forge + cast + anvil) |
| Quick contract interaction | abi.ninja (browser) or cast (CLI) |
| React frontends | wagmi + viem (or SE2 which wraps these) |
| Agent blockchain reads | Blockscout MCP |
| Agent payments | x402 SDKs |
Essential Foundry cast Commands
# Read contract
cast call 0xAddr "balanceOf(address)(uint256)" 0xWallet --rpc-url $RPC
# Send transaction
cast send 0xAddr "transfer(address,uint256)" 0xTo 1000000 --private-key $KEY --rpc-url $RPC
# Gas price
cast gas-price --rpc-url $RPC
# Decode calldata
cast 4byte-decode 0xa9059cbb...
# ENS resolution
cast resolve-name vitalik.eth --rpc-url $RPC
# Fork mainnet locally
anvil --fork-url $RPC
RPC Providers
Free (testing):
https://eth.llamarpc.com— LlamaNodes, no keyhttps://rpc.ankr.com/eth— Ankr, free tier
Paid (production):
- Alchemy — most popular, generous free tier (300M CU/month)
- Infura — established, MetaMask default
- QuickNode — performance-focused
Community: rpc.buidlguidl.com
Block Explorers
| Network | Explorer | API |
|---|---|---|
| Mainnet | https://etherscan.io | https://api.etherscan.io |
| Arbitrum | https://arbiscan.io | Etherscan-compatible |
| Base | https://basescan.org | Etherscan-compatible |
| Optimism | https://optimistic.etherscan.io | Etherscan-compatible |
MCP Servers for Agents
Model Context Protocol — standard for giving AI agents structured access to external systems.
- Blockscout MCP — multi-chain blockchain data (primary)
- eth-mcp — community Ethereum RPC via MCP
- Custom MCP wrappers emerging for DeFi protocols, ENS, wallets
MCP servers are composable — agents can use multiple together.
What Changed in 2025-2026
- Foundry became default over Hardhat for new projects
- Viem gaining on ethers.js (smaller, better TypeScript)
- MCP servers emerged for agent-blockchain interaction
- x402 SDKs went production-ready
- ERC-8004 tooling emerging (agent registration/discovery)
- Deprecated: Truffle (use Foundry/Hardhat), Goerli/Rinkeby (use Sepolia)
Testing Essentials
Fork mainnet locally:
anvil --fork-url https://eth.llamarpc.com
# Now test against real contracts with fake ETH at http://localhost:8545
Primary testnet: Sepolia (Chain ID: 11155111). Goerli and Rinkeby are deprecated.