TL;DR. One command spins up a working Hedera dapp with Next.js, a choice of Hardhat or Foundry, and AI agent context already wired in. Eight built-in templates at launch with more shipping through the year, plus a flagship cross-chain index strategy that takes ETH on Base and ends up holding native HBAR and an HTS token on Hedera. Built in the open with Buidler Labs.
npm create scaffold-hbar@latestWhy scaffold-hbar Exists
Bootstrapping a dapp typically means picking an SDK, hunting through examples, and stitching config together before the first transaction lands on testnet. scaffold-hbar collapses that into a single command, so prototypes ship in seconds rather than days. The templates ship with the patterns Hedera builders ask for most often, so projects start from best-practice foundations rather than a blank file.
New to Hedera? It’s the fastest way in. Already building? It’s a modern monorepo template built around Next.js, RainbowKit, and the scaffold-ui component library.
Three principles define scaffold-hbar:
- Multichain-first — Hedera as part of a multichain stack, not isolated.
- AI-native — AI coding agents are first-class users of the toolchain.
- Pick your tools — developer ergonomics over forced migration.
Multichain-First, Not Hedera-Only
Many Hedera builders ship across multiple chains. scaffold-hbar treats that as the default, with bridge primitives wired in from the start, so multichain projects start from a working baseline rather than a blank Solidity file.
The bridge template ships with LayerZero, Chainlink CCIP, and Axelar wired in. The wiring is a solid starting point for production work. Going to production from there is the developer’s call, with the modifications, integration testing, and security audits any cross-chain deployment warrants.
The flagship community template goes further. It is a cross-chain index strategy. A user deposits on Base in ETH, LayerZero carries the message to Hedera, and on arrival the strategy contract splits funds 50/50 across two on-chain positions: native HBAR and HUSTLER, a custom HTS token created inside the template. The HUSTLER token and liquidity pool is created on first deploy; the template doubles as a working walkthrough of HTS token creation, SaucerSwap integration, and LayerZero composition in a single project.
Eight built-in templates are available at launch, with more shipping throughout the year:
- Blank Template. Minimal scaffold. Pick your own primitives.
- Bridge. Cross-chain bridging through LayerZero, CCIP, or Axelar.
- Cross Chain DCA. Schedule smart contracts on other chains with Hedera as the hub.
- Hedera Native. HTS, HCS, and Schedule Service in a cohesive template.
- Oracles. Consume real time data with Chainlink datafeeds, Pyth, or Supra.
- Onchain Cron Job. Recurring on-chain payments via HIP-1215 Generalized Scheduled Contract Calls.
- Tokenize Subscriptions. Allow subscriptions / contracts to be sold and rented using a smart contract powered marketplace.
- x402 Pay Per Use. Use native online payments to buy and sell data stored in S3 buckets.
And the flagship cross-chain index, opted into with the community org/repo form:
npm create scaffold-hbar@latest --template hedera-dev/template-hedera-lz-appEvery template is testnet-ready out of the box, with deploy scripts and detailed READMEs that match.
AI-Native Foundations, Not Bolted-On
AI coding agents are doing a growing share of the typing. Their fluency depends on the context they have access to and the languages they have seen the most. Hedera’s native SDKs are available in Python, JavaScript, and Go: the languages AI agents write best. Generated code drops straight into a Hedera project without translation, so building velocity stays high whether the developer or the agent is writing.
AI agents also work from inferred user intent and prior patterns. A generic prompt for “mint a token” might generate ERC-20 logic by default, even when the project needs an HTS token created through the Hedera system contract. The remedy is targeted context.
scaffold-hbar handles this during scaffolding. The CLI installs Hedera Skills by default: a package that loads Hedera context straight into the agent in your editor, covering system contracts, native services, the Hedera Agent Kit, and the day-to-day dev workflow tools. With Hedera Skills installed, Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex generate code that aligns with Hedera’s actual primitives from the first prompt onwards.
AI coding agents are treated as first-class users of the toolchain.
Pick Your Tools
Developer ergonomics matter. Forcing a switch in package manager, Solidity framework, or component library is friction that kills projects before they start. scaffold-hbar meets developers where they already are.
Each scaffolded project is a monorepo with:
- A Next.js (App Router) frontend with RainbowKit, wagmi, viem, Tailwind, and DaisyUI
- The
scaffold-uicomponent library for Hedera-aware web3 UI (address inputs, balance displays, transaction signers) - A choice of Hardhat or Foundry for contracts, where the template supports both
- Hedera testnet, mainnet, or local forked networks pre-wired with Hashio RPC and Mirror Node endpoints
- Built-in deployment scripts for supported templates, on both Hardhat and Foundry
- One-command verification on HashScan
- Yarn workspaces by default, with npm and pnpm supported alongside
- Frontend-only or contracts-only scaffolds for projects that need just one half of the stack
Built in the Open
scaffold-hbar is OSS, with Buidler Labs as the technical partner on the CLI and template architecture.
BuidlerLabs built the scaffold-hbar libraries, CLI, and templates to bring a familiar developer experience to Hedera, helping builders move faster from exploration to working applications. Drawing on its history of MIT-licensed open-source developer tools for Hedera, BuidlerLabs focused on practical, real-world examples that reduce onboarding friction, showcase the network’s capabilities, and support broader ecosystem adoption.
In August 2026, a $5k HBAR bounty opens for community templates worth shipping in the CLI. Five winners receive $1k HBAR each. The winning templates merge into the CLI’s built-in list. The rubric publishes the day the bounty opens.
If you have a template you wish existed when you started your Hedera project, this is the moment to ship it.
Try It Now
Pick a template, run the deploy command, and a working dapp is on Hedera testnet in under a minute.
- Scaffold HBAR Docs: https://docs.hedera.com/solutions/tools/scaffold-hbar/index
- CLI repo: github.com/hedera-dev/create-scaffold-hbar
- Templates repo: github.com/hedera-dev/scaffold-hbar
- Hedera Skills: github.com/hedera-dev/hedera-skills
- Cross-chain index template: github.com/hedera-dev/template-hedera-lz-app
- Landing page: hedera.com/scaffold-hbar
- Discord: join the conversation
