Introduction to Hiro tools

Overview

Core tools for building and testing smart contracts:

Clarinet - Local blockchain development environment
Clarinet JS SDK - JavaScript testing framework
Stacks.js - Frontend integration library
Chainhook - Event-driven blockchain applications

API services

Query blockchain data without running infrastructure:

Stacks Blockchain API - RESTful blockchain queries
Token Metadata API - NFT and token metadata
Ordinals API - Bitcoin inscriptions data
Runes API - Bitcoin fungible tokens

Platform services

Cloud-based tools for teams and production:

Hiro Platform - Cloud development environment
Contract Monitoring - Real-time alerts and metrics
Hosted Devnets - Isolated test environments

Integrations

How our tools connect and complement each other:

Tool	Integrates With	How They Work Together
Clarinet	Stacks.js	Deploy contracts locally, connect frontend
Clarinet	Chainhook	Test event handling in development
Stacks.js	Stacks API	Submit transactions, query results

Development workflows

Smart contract DApp

Building user-facing applications with smart contracts:

Terminal

$ clarinet new my-project && cd my-project
$ clarinet contract new token
$ clarinet test

$ clarinet devnet start
$ clarinet deployments apply --devnet

import { request } from '@stacks/connect';

const response = await request('stx_callContract', {
  contract: 'SP2MF04VAGYHGAZWGTEDW5VYCPDWWSY08Z1QFNDSN.counters',
  functionName: 'count',
  functionArgs: [Cl.int(3)],
  network: 'mainnet',
});

const balance = await fetch(
  'https://api.hiro.so/v2/accounts/ST1PQHQKV0RJXZFY1DGX8MNSNYVE3VGZJSRTPGZGM'
);

Tool flow: Clarinet → Stacks.js → Stacks API

Event-driven backend

React to blockchain events in real-time:

// 1. Create Chainhook predicate
{
  "chain": "stacks",
  "uuid": "my-hook",
  "networks": {
    "mainnet": {
      "if_this": {
        "scope": "contract_call",
        "method": "transfer"
      },
      "then_that": {
        "http_post": {
          "url": "https://my-api.com/webhook"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

// 2. Handle webhook in your backend
app.post('/webhook', (req, res) => {
  const { apply } = req.body;
  const transactions = apply[0].transactions;
  // Process event, update database
  db.save(transactions);
});

Tool flow: Chainhook → Your backend

Bitcoin applications

Build on Bitcoin L1 protocols:

# 1. Query existing data
curl https://api.hiro.so/ordinals/v1/inscriptions

# 2. Or create custom indexes
bitcoin-indexer --config my-protocol.json

// 3. Display in frontend
const inscriptions = await fetch(
  'https://api.hiro.so/ordinals/v1/inscriptions'
);

Tool flow: Ordinals / Runes APIs / Bitcoin Indexer → Your backend

Decision matrix

If You're Building	Use These Tools	Why
Smart contract app	Clarinet + Stacks.js + API	Complete dev-to-production flow
NFT marketplace	Clarinet + Stacks.js + API + Token Metadata API	Automatic metadata handling
Bitcoin explorer	Ordinals/Runes APIs	Pre-indexed Bitcoin data
Analytics dashboard	APIs + Chainhook	Historical + real-time data
Custom protocol	Chainhook + Bitcoin Indexer	Build your own indexes

Next steps

Install Clarinet to start building
Explore API references for integration details
View example projects on GitHub