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Quick Start

Get your first Polkadot dapp running in just a few minutes!

Prerequisites​

Make sure you've completed the Installation steps before proceeding.

Local Development Setup​

Terminal 1: Start All Services​

yarn hub

This single command starts:

Terminal 2: Deploy Your Contract​

yarn deploy

That's it. Your dapp is running.

What You Get​

Your running dapp includes:

  • 🏠 Home Page (/) - Landing page with wallet connection
  • 🐛 Debug Contracts (/debug) - Interact with your deployed contracts
  • 🔍 Block Explorer (/blockexplorer) - Browse blocks, transactions, and contracts
  • 📝 Example Contract - A simple greeting contract you can modify

Exploring the Dapp​

1. Connect Your Wallet​

Click the "Connect Wallet" button in the top right. You can:

  • Use MetaMask or any WalletConnect-compatible wallet
  • Sign in with email (OTP verification)
  • Use social login (Google, Twitter, GitHub, etc.)

2. Interact with Your Contract​

Navigate to the Debug Contracts page to:

  • Read contract state (e.g., view the greeting)
  • Write to the contract (e.g., set a new greeting)
  • Watch contract events in real-time

3. Use the Burner Wallet​

When configured for localNode, Scaffold-DOT includes a burner wallet for quick testing:

  1. Click "Connect Wallet" in the top right
  2. In the wallet modal, select "Burner Wallet" (listed under Recommended)
  3. A temporary account is created and stored in your browser's localStorage
  4. Click the faucet button in the header to fund it with local tokens

On subsequent visits, the burner wallet reconnects automatically using the stored key.

caution

The burner wallet is for local development only — don't use it for real funds!

Project Structure​

Your dapp has this structure:

scaffold-dot/
├── packages/
│   ├── hardhat/
│   │   ├── contracts/              # Your Solidity contracts
│   │   │   └── YourContract.sol
│   │   ├── ignition/modules/       # Deployment scripts
│   │   │   └── YourContract.ts
│   │   ├── test/                   # Contract tests
│   │   └── hardhat.config.ts       # Hardhat configuration
│   │
│   ├── nextjs/
│   │   ├── app/                    # NextJS pages (App Router)
│   │   ├── components/             # React components
│   │   ├── contracts/              # Generated contract ABIs
│   │   ├── hooks/                  # Custom React hooks
│   │   └── scaffold.config.ts      # Frontend configuration
│   │
│   └── asset-hub-pvm/
│       └── bin/                    # Polkadot binaries

Making Changes​

Modify Your Smart Contract​

  1. Edit packages/hardhat/contracts/YourContract.sol
  2. Save the file
  3. In Terminal 3, redeploy: 
    yarn deploy
  4. Your frontend automatically updates with the new contract!

Customize the Frontend​

  1. Edit pages in packages/nextjs/app/
  2. Use components from packages/nextjs/components/scaffold-eth/
  3. Leverage hooks from packages/nextjs/hooks/scaffold-eth/
  4. Changes hot-reload automatically

Next Steps​