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Deploy to Orbit Chains

Orbit chains are custom Layer 2 solutions built on Arbitrum's technology stack. Deploying to Orbit chains requires special configuration and considerations compared to standard Arbitrum networks.

Prerequisites​

Before deploying to Orbit chains, ensure you have:

  1. Stylus CLI tools installed (version ^0.6.1)
  2. Proper environment configuration for your target Orbit chain
  3. Contract initialization setup (Orbit chains require initialize() function instead of constructors)

Environment Configuration​

1. Set Up Environment Variables​

Create or update your .env file in packages/stylus/ with the appropriate environment variables for your target Orbit chain. Check packages/stylus/.env.example for the complete template.

Example Environment Configuration​

DEPLOYMENT_DIR=

...

# Orbit Chains - Educhain
ACCOUNT_ADDRESS_EDUCHAIN_TESTNET=your_account_address_here
RPC_URL_EDUCHAIN_TESTNET=https://testnet.educhain.org/rpc
PRIVATE_KEY_EDUCHAIN_TESTNET=your_private_key_here

ACCOUNT_ADDRESS_EDUCHAIN=your_account_address_here
RPC_URL_EDUCHAIN=https://educhain.org/rpc
PRIVATE_KEY_EDUCHAIN=your_private_key_here

...

2. Required Environment Variables​

For each Orbit chain, you need to set:

  • ACCOUNT_ADDRESS_<NETWORK>: Your wallet address
  • RPC_URL_<NETWORK>: The RPC endpoint for the Orbit chain
  • PRIVATE_KEY_<NETWORK>: Your wallet's private key
Security Note

Never commit your private keys to version control. Use environment variables and keep your .env file in .gitignore.

Contract Requirements for Orbit Chains​

Initialize Function Instead of Constructor​

Orbit chains don't support constructors in the same way as standard networks. Instead, you must use an initialize() function:

// In your Rust contract (lib.rs)
use stylus_sdk::prelude::*;

sol_storage! {
    pub struct YourContract {
        uint256 number;
        address owner;
    }
}

#[external]
impl YourContract {
    // Initialize function (replaces constructor)
    pub fn initialize(&mut self) -> Result<(), Vec<u8>> {
        // Set initial values here
        self.number.set(0);
        self.owner.set(msg::sender());
        Ok(())
    }

    // Your other functions...
    pub fn get_number(&self) -> Result<u256, Vec<u8>> {
        Ok(self.number.get())
    }
}
Important
  • The initialize() function should only be called once
  • Add proper checks to ensure functions don't run if the contract isn't initialized
  • Leave the initialize() function blank if you don't have any constructor logic

Deployment Configuration​

1. Update Deploy Script​

Ensure your packages/stylus/scripts/deploy.ts has the isOrbit flag set to true for Orbit chain deployments:

// In your deploy.ts script
await deployStylusContract({
    contract: "your-contract",
    constructorArgs: [],
    isOrbit: true,
    ...deployOptions,
  });

2. Update Frontend Configuration​

Update packages/nextjs/scaffold.config.ts to include your Orbit chain:

import * as chains from "./utils/scaffold-stylus/supportedChains";

export const scaffoldConfig = {
  targetNetworks: [
    chains.arbitrumSepolia,
    chains.educhainTestnet, // Add your Orbit chain
    // ... other networks
  ],
  // ... other config
};

Deployment Steps​

1. Check Your Contract​

Before deploying, verify your contract compiles correctly:

cargo stylus check

You should see output similar to:

Finished release [optimized] target(s) in 1.88s
Reading WASM file at target/wasm32-unknown-unknown/release/your-program.wasm
Compressed WASM size: 8.9 KB
Program succeeded Stylus onchain activation checks with Stylus version: 1

2. Deploy to Orbit Chain​

Deploy your contract to the Orbit chain:

yarn deploy --network <orbit-chain-name>

For example:

# Deploy to Educhain Testnet
yarn deploy --network educhain-testnet

# Deploy to Superposition
yarn deploy --network superposition

3. Initialize Your Contract​

After deployment, you need to call the initialize() function:

# This will be handled automatically by the deploy script if configured properly
# Or you can call it manually through the frontend Debug Contracts page

Available Orbit Chains​

Check which Orbit chains are supported:

yarn info:networks

This command will show you all available networks including Orbit chains and their RPC endpoints.

For more information on deploying your frontend, see Deploy Your NextJS App.