Arbitrum Development Knowledge Base
User Responsibility Notice
This skill provides reference documentation only. All information is sourced from official Arbitrum documentation, open-source smart contract repositories, and MCP tools documentation. However:
- You are responsible for verifying all information before using it in production. AI responses based on this skill may be incomplete, outdated, or misinterpreted.
- On-chain actions are irreversible. If you use MCP tools referenced in this skill to deploy contracts, send transactions, or interact with protocols, always confirm the action, parameters, and target network before proceeding.
- Smart contract code included here is for reference. Do not deploy any contract code without independent review, testing on testnets, and security auditing.
- Never expose private keys or sensitive credentials in prompts or conversations with AI assistants.
Search Instructions
Always search and read files in this skill folder before answering. Do not rely on prior knowledge. Extract exact values (chain IDs, RPC URLs, addresses, commands, code) from the docs.
Context management: Start with narrow grep searches. Use the topic navigation below to identify target files before searching. Read selectively — avoid loading entire folders.
Response Guidelines
- Use section headers, tables, bullet points, and code blocks for clarity
- Put the most important information first (answer at top, details below)
- Follow correct step order for procedural responses
- Use bold for key values the user needs to spot quickly
- Always warn the user when a suggested action involves on-chain execution, gas costs, or private key usage
Decision Guide
Route to the right files based on what the user needs:
| User wants to... | Start with |
|---|---|
| Write a Solidity smart contract | build-decentralized-apps/01-quickstart-solidity-remix.md |
| Write a Rust/Stylus contract | stylus/quickstart.md, then stylus/overview.md |
| Bridge tokens (ETH/ERC-20) | arbitrum-bridge/01-quickstart.md |
| Bridge tokens programmatically | build-decentralized-apps/token-bridging/bridge-tokens-programmatically/01-get-started.md |
| Bridge USDC | arbitrum-bridge/02-usdc-arbitrum-one.md |
| Run a full node | run-arbitrum-node/02-run-full-node.md |
| Run a validator | run-arbitrum-node/more-types/02-run-validator-node.md |
| Run an archive node | run-arbitrum-node/more-types/01-run-archive-node.md |
| Launch an Orbit chain | launch-arbitrum-chain/01-a-gentle-introduction.md |
| Deploy an Orbit chain | launch-arbitrum-chain/03-deploy-an-arbitrum-chain/02-deploying-an-arbitrum-chain.md |
| Estimate gas | build-decentralized-apps/02-how-to-estimate-gas.md |
| Understand Arbitrum architecture | how-arbitrum-works/01-inside-arbitrum-nitro.md |
| Use cross-chain messaging | build-decentralized-apps/04-cross-chain-messaging.md |
| Get chain IDs / RPC URLs | for-devs/dev-tools-and-resources/chain-info.md |
| Use oracles | build-decentralized-apps/oracles/01-overview.md |
| Use precompiles | build-decentralized-apps/precompiles/01-overview.md |
| Use the SDK | sdk/index.md |
| Understand BoLD | how-arbitrum-works/bold/gentle-introduction.md |
| Use Timeboost | how-arbitrum-works/timeboost/gentle-introduction.md |
| Upgrade ArbOS | launch-arbitrum-chain/02-configure-your-chain/common/validation-and-security/13-arbos-upgrade.md |
| Find contract source code | See NAV-smart-contracts.md |
| Find OpenZeppelin Stylus examples | See NAV-openzeppelin-stylus.md |
| Find Stylus SDK source/examples | See NAV-stylus-sdk.md |
| Find Nitro contract source | See NAV-nitro-contracts.md |
Quick Search
Find specific content fast:
# Chain IDs, RPC URLs, network info
grep -ri "chain.*id\|rpc\|endpoint" for-devs/dev-tools-and-resources/
# Stylus contract patterns
grep -ri "sol_storage\|#\[public\]\|#\[entrypoint\]" stylus/
# Bridge addresses and contracts
grep -ri "gateway\|router\|bridge.*address" arbitrum-bridge/ build-decentralized-apps/token-bridging/
# Gas and fees
grep -ri "gas.*price\|l1.*fee\|l2.*fee\|basefee" build-decentralized-apps/ how-arbitrum-works/deep-dives/
# Node configuration
grep -ri "docker\|--chain\|--parent-chain" run-arbitrum-node/
# ArbOS versions and upgrades
grep -ri "arbos.*[0-9]" run-arbitrum-node/arbos-releases/ notices/
Topic Navigation
For the complete file listing of all documentation, see NAV-docs.md.
Root
Overview and general documentation
Arbitrum Bridge
Token bridging between Ethereum and Arbitrum chains
- Arbitrum bridge transaction traceability
- Arbitrum embedded bridge widget
- Quickstart: Arbitrum bridge
- USDC on Arbitrum One
Build Decentralized Apps
Building dApps on Arbitrum - cross-chain messaging, oracles, precompiles, token bridging
- Arbitrum chains overview
- Build a decentralized app with Solidity (Quickstart)
- Cross-chain messaging overview
- How to estimate gas in Arbitrum
- SDK support for custom gas token Arbitrum chains
- Subtopics: Arbitrum Vs Ethereum, Nodeinterface, Oracles, Precompiles, Reference, Token Bridging
For Devs
Developer tools, resources, and development frameworks
- Subtopics: Dev Tools And Resources, Oracles, Partials, Third Party Docs
Get Started
Getting started with Arbitrum development
How Arbitrum Works
Technical deep-dives into Arbitrum architecture - BOLD, AnyTrust, gas, sequencing
- Inside Arbitrum Nitro
- Subtopics: Bold, Deep Dives, Timeboost
Intro
Introduction to Arbitrum ecosystem
Launch Arbitrum Chain
Launching and configuring Arbitrum Orbit chains
- A gentle introduction: Arbitrum chains
- Arbitrum chain licensing
- Deploy a production chain: an overview
- Migrate between RaaSes
- Migrate from another stack to an Arbitrum chain
- Subtopics: 02 Configure Your Chain, 03 Deploy An Arbitrum Chain, 04 Maintain Your Chain, 05 Customize Your Chain, 06 Third Party Integrations, 07 Arbitrum Node Runners, 08 Ecosystem Support, Concepts, Features, How Tos, Partials
Node Running
Node infrastructure and operations
- Sequencer
- Subtopics: Partials
Notices
Important notices and announcements
Partials
- Client Flags
- Reference Nova Specific
- Troubleshooting Arbitrum Chain Partial
- Troubleshooting Bridging Partial
- Troubleshooting Building Partial
- Troubleshooting Nodes Partial
- Troubleshooting Stylus Partial
- Troubleshooting Users Partial
- Additional Configuration Parameters
- Arbitrum Contract Addresses Reference
- Arbitrum Glossary Definitions
- Arbitrum RPC Endpoints Reference
- Arbitrum: Introduction
- BoLD Configuration Parameters
- Chain parameters
- Documentation Contribution Guide
- Faucet list
- Local Development Network Flags
- Multidimensional Content Controls
- Not for Production Warning Banner
- Public Preview Banner
- Third-party RPC Endpoints Reference
- Subtopics: Glossary
Run Arbitrum Node
Running Arbitrum full nodes and validators
- Arbitrum nodes: an overview
- Beacon Nodes: Historical Blobs
- Data Availability
- How to run a feed relay
- How to run a full node for an Arbitrum chain
- How to run a local full chain simulation
- How to run a local Nitro dev node
- L1 Ethereum beacon chain RPC providers
- Troubleshooting: Run a node
- Subtopics: Arbos Releases, More Types, Nitro, Partials, Sequencer
Sdk
Arbitrum SDK documentation - bridgers, entities, messaging
Stylus
Stylus WASM smart contract development
- A gentle introduction to Stylus
- CLI Tools (cargo-stylus)
- Quickstart: write a smart contract in Rust using Stylus
- Recommended Libraries
- Using Stylus CLI
- Write Stylus Contracts
- Write Stylus Contracts
- Subtopics: Concepts, How Tos, Partials, Reference
Smart Contract Source Code
Reference implementations, code examples, and architectural guides from key Arbitrum repositories.
OpenZeppelin Rust Contracts for Stylus
Production-ready Rust smart contract implementations for Arbitrum Stylus - ERC20, ERC721, ERC1155, access control, proxy patterns, finance utilities, and cryptographic helpers.
- Full index: NAV-openzeppelin-stylus.md
- Directories: Contracts, Docs, Examples
Stylus SDK for Rust
Core Rust SDK for building Arbitrum Stylus contracts - storage abstractions, ABI encoding, proc macros, host I/O, testing framework, and cargo-stylus CLI tool.
- Full index: NAV-stylus-sdk.md
- Directories: Examples, Stylus Core, Stylus Proc, Stylus Sdk, Stylus Test
Nitro Contracts (Solidity)
Core Arbitrum Nitro L1/L2 smart contracts - bridge (Inbox, Outbox, SequencerInbox), rollup management, BoLD challenge protocol, one-step proof verification, and token bridging.
- Full index: NAV-nitro-contracts.md
- Directories: Docs, Src
MCP Tools
Available MCP tools for blockchain operations. After generating a response, check if a relevant MCP tool exists and suggest it to the user.
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
createStylusProject | Create a new Stylus project |
deployStylusContract | Deploy a Stylus contract |
checkStylusContract | Validate contract for deployment |
getAccountBalance | Get native token balance |
getTokenBalances | Get ERC-20 token balances |
getTransaction | Get transaction details |
getTransactionHistory | Get transaction history for an address |
getNfts | Get NFTs owned by an address |
getBlock | Get block details |
getBlockNumber | Get latest block number |
getGasPrice | Get current gas price |
simulateTransaction | Simulate a transaction |
estimateGas | Estimate gas for a transaction |
getContractEvents | Query contract events |
decodeTransactionCalldata | Decode transaction input data |
getAccountProtocols | Analyze protocol interactions |
Full documentation: arbitrum-mcp-tools/index.md
If the MCP tool is not available in the user's environment, suggest the MCP Tools setup guide from the documentation.