Publishing an EVM package

On the previous guides we have explored how to initialize a ZeppelinOS project, how to add contracts to it, how to upgrade those contracts and how to link to existing EVM packages. At this point we have a simple project that uses various ZeppelinOS functionalities. On this guide we will instead add new functionalities to the platform, nicely wrapped as an EVM package ready for others to use.

Let's first remember some of the things we've learned so far.

In the directory of our project, we initialize it:

mkdir <project-name>
cd <project-name>
npm init
npx zos init <project-name>

Then, we can add to our project all the contracts that we have in the contracts directory:

npx zos add <contract-name-1> <contract-name-2> ... <contract-name-n>

Next, we push the project to the network:

npx zos push --network <network>

Note that for the EVM package to be used by others, you need to use a real network instead of your local development one. We have a guide about Deploying to mainnet which can be useful.

All known commands so far. Here comes what's new. If you want to share your package in ZeppelinOS, do it by running the publish command:

npx zos publish --network <network>

It's that simple! Now you are the developer of an EVM package that lives in the blockchain ready to help building the next revolution. But this is only half of the story, because for the package to be discovered and linked by other projects, you will also need to publish it to npm.

If you haven't published a package before, you will need to sign up for an npm account.

The npm package should include all the source and compiled contracts and the ZeppelinOS configuration files, so add the following top-level field to the package.json file:

{
  ...,
  "files": [
    "build",
    "contracts",
    "test",
    "zos.json",
    "zos.*.json"
  ]
}

Remember that the zos configuration files are where ZeppelinOS keeps track of your contracts, the addresses of the instances you have created, and in this case the address of the EVM package you will have published. This is how ZeppelinOS solves the link of foreign projects that depend on yours.

Make sure to check that the rest of the fields describe your package accurately. It could be a good idea to remove the main field, if present, because it doesn't make sense for EVM packages. Also, if you have a zos.dev-<network_id>.json file, you can remove it now because it is specific for your local test environment. You can also add this file pattern to your .gitignore file.

With that, we should be ready. Log in to npm with:

npm login

And finally, publish to npm:

npm publish

Now we are done for real. Other developers will be able to link to your package by using:

npx zos link <your-project-name>

Spread the word! Tell others to reuse your work, and to help you improving it with more crazy ideas of how a decentralized society should be. Now, to finish this quick exploration of the ZeppelinOS features we will see how you can vouch to back the quality of your EVM packages.