Viem
A lightweight, composable, and type-safe TypeScript interface for building reliable Ethereum apps and libraries.
Overview
Viem is a TypeScript interface designed to provide developers with a reliable, efficient, and modular way to interact with the Ethereum blockchain. It offers lightweight, composable modules that enable building Ethereum applications and libraries with a focus on type safety and developer experience. Viem addresses common issues found in existing Ethereum libraries such as ethers.js and web3.js by emphasizing stability, minimal bundle size, and performance. Its APIs are designed to be explicit and flexible, allowing developers to understand Ethereum concepts deeply while maintaining strong typing and autocomplete support.
The tool supports abstractions over the JSON-RPC API, first-class smart contract interaction APIs, and utilities for ABI encoding and decoding. It integrates seamlessly with popular Ethereum development environments like Anvil, Hardhat, and Ganache, and supports importing wallets via browser extensions, WalletConnect, or private keys. Viem’s modular architecture enables tree-shaking to keep final bundle sizes small, which is critical for web applications targeting users on slow networks.
Viem stands out by combining a test-driven development approach with comprehensive documentation and stable, deterministic APIs. It is built by the same team behind wagmi, a popular React hooks library for Ethereum, ensuring tight integration and a smooth developer experience. Developers can get started quickly by installing the package via npm and creating clients configured for specific Ethereum chains and transports. Extensive guides and examples are available to ease onboarding and migration from other libraries.
The Problem
Existing low-level Ethereum interface libraries often suffer from poor developer experience, large bundle sizes, unstable APIs, and suboptimal performance. These issues complicate building reliable and efficient Ethereum applications, especially when strong typing and modularity are required.
The Solution
Key Features
JSON-RPC API Abstractions
Simplifies interaction with Ethereum nodes by wrapping low-level JSON-RPC calls into easy-to-use functions.
Smart Contract Interaction
First-class support for contract calls, transactions, and event handling with ABI encoding and decoding utilities.
Wallet Integration
Supports importing wallets from browser extensions, WalletConnect, and private keys for signing transactions.
Compatibility with Ethereum Development Tools
Works seamlessly with Anvil, Hardhat, and Ganache for testing and development.
Key Strengths
How Developers Use Viem
Building Type-Safe Ethereum Dapps
Developers use viem to create decentralized applications with strong TypeScript support, ensuring fewer bugs and better maintainability.
Creating Modular Ethereum Libraries
Library authors leverage viem’s composable modules to build reusable Ethereum interaction components with minimal dependencies.
Integrating Wallets and Smart Contracts
Teams integrate wallet connections and smart contract calls into their apps using viem’s wallet client and contract APIs.
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Pricing
Open Source | |
|---|---|
| Price (Monthly) | Free |
| Price (Annual) | Free |
| Messaging | N/A |
| Support | Community support via GitHub and Discord |
| Analytics |
Resources
Viem offers comprehensive documentation, examples, and community support to help developers get started and migrate from other Ethereum libraries. The project maintains a high test coverage and provides guides on advanced topics such as error handling, EIP-7702, and blob transactions.