# Commonly Used Libs

There are times we find helpful tools and libraries when working on blockchain projects and then we stick with them. We list them here, and hopefully you will find them helpful when working on your own blockchain projects.

Note that the CESS blockchain is built on top of Substrate blockchain SDK. Users can deploy both ink! smart contracts and EVM-compatible smart contracts on CESS blockchain.

| Name                                                         | Type                            | Description                                                                                                                                       |
| ------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Polkadot SDK](https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk)   | Substrate                       | An umbrella project encompassing three sub-projects: Substrate, Cumulus, and Polkadot. CESS node is built on top of the Substrate blockchain SDK. |
| [polkadot-js/api](https://polkadot.js.org/docs/api/)         | Substrate                       | Javascript/Typescript library to interact with Substrate-based blockchains. It has a set of utility libraries on cryptographic functions.         |
| [ink!](https://use.ink/)                                     | ink! Smart Contract             | Smart contract language for Substrate, compile down to Wasm.                                                                                      |
| [use-inkathon](https://use.ink/frontend/overview)            | ink! Smart Contract             | A hooks library for the popular frontend javascript framework React with focus on smart-contract interactions.                                    |
| [Hardhat](https://hardhat.org/)                              | EVM Smart Contract              | Toolchain to develop, build, test, and manage Solidity smart contracts.                                                                           |
| [hardhat-deploy](https://github.com/wighawag/hardhat-deploy) | EVM Smart Contract              | Hardhat plugin that helps deploy and manage smart contracts.                                                                                      |
| [ether.js](https://docs.ethers.org/v6/)                      | EVM Smart Contract              | Library to interact with EVM-compatible smart contracts.                                                                                          |
| [viem](https://viem.sh/)                                     | EVM Smart Contract              | Lightweight, composable, and type-safe modules that interface with EVM-compatible chains.                                                         |
| [wagmi](https://wagmi.sh/)                                   | EVM Smart Contract / React hook | React hook for EVM-compatible smart contract.                                                                                                     |
| [usehooks-ts](https://usehooks-ts.com/)                      | React hook                      | A set of useful React hooks and hook patterns.                                                                                                    |


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