Contents
From core protocol contributions to improvements in Hiro’s devtools, let’s take a look at what we shipped in February and share some of our priorities in March:
Release Roundup
DevTools
Platform
- We launched new fullstack app templates with frontend and smart contract components that can be deployed in <5 minutes. With these NFT marketplace and crowdfunding templates, you can rapidly start prototyping and scaffolding your envisioned application without getting bogged down in setup details.
- We’ve also tightened the connection between the platform and GitHub. Now your platform account will link directly to your GitHub account, and all of your code will be hosted in your GitHub repo. This Git-first architecture helps the platform integrate into your existing development workflows and CI/CD pipeline, so you can take full advantage of all of the testing, data intelligence, and hosted monitoring tools available in the platform.
- Lastly, we launched a new faucet page in the platform, so you can easily access both testnet STX and testnet sBTC in your workflows.
Clarinet
- You can now use mainnet data in unit tests with Clarinet’s new mainnet transaction simulation feature. This makes it much easier to test transactions with other contracts like oracles and DeFi protocols.
- We also released a new Clarity formatter, which will automatically format your code, making your code easier to read and easier to maintain. This formatting feature will evolve as we collect user feedback. If you have thoughts you’d like to share, please chime in on this issue or reach out to us on the #clarinet channel on Discord.
- In addition, you can now test your code with sBTC across all of your development environments with expanded sBTC support in Clarinet. You can preload your test wallets in simnet and devnet with mock sBTC the same way that you do with STX today, which lets you instantly test sBTC transfers, speeding up your feedback loop and removing the need to add extra code to simulate sBTC on your own.
- Clarinet now automatically remaps the sBTC address in your code as you move from one environment to another. No more tweaking your testnet code before deploying to production on mainnet.
- Get the latest version of Clarinet here.
Stacks Connect
- Streamline your app code with a major release of Stacks Connect. Now Stacks Connect uses a simple RPC interface to connect wallets to applications.
- This release removes heavy dependencies and complexity, enabling wallets and apps to seamlessly interact while reducing friction in the development process.
- This release also provides a more flexible interface that makes it much easier for wallets to add new functionality in the future.
- Note: this release does include breaking changes. Learn more here.
Ordhook
- Housekeeping note: the Ordhook repo has been renamed the Bitcoin Indexer repo as we improve our indexing services and prepare for a major Chainhook update. More details to come.
API Services
Stacks Blockchain API
- You can now more easily show your users’ pending balances in your app with new <code-rich-text>pending_balance_inbound<code-rich-text> and <code-rich-text>pending_balance_outbound<code-rich-text> values in the <code-rich-text>/balances<code-rich-text> endpoint, which reflect balance changes that are currently pending in the Stacks mempool. This was a feature request from the Leather wallet team and should be helpful for wallet-like use cases.
Blockchain
- Hiro engineers contributed to the public blockchain working group on issues related to the Stacks network, including faster cost-tracking (which should improve genesis sync and general execution), improved reliability in block production, and several bug fixes and improvements. Learn more in the changelog.
Documentation
- This month we focused on docs changes to support all of the updates to Hiro products. We’ve updated platform documentation to reflect the new Git-first flow, updated Stacks Connect docs to reflect its new RPC interface, and we’ve added a new guide for sBTC support in Clarinet and new recipes for creating hashes in the Hiro Cookbook.
Looking Ahead to March
Here are some of the big things we’re working on in March:
- Access higher API rate limits: We've been talking to our dev community, and one message that we've heard loud and clear is that many of you want access to higher rate limits. We are in the final stages of preparing new revamped API tiers, so rate limits never get in the way of scaling your application. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks, and if you’d like to learn more, you can reach out to us at platform@hiro.so.
- Release Clarinet 3.0: The upcoming major release of Clarinet will come with full support for Stacks.js v7 and the latest version of stacks-core, stable mainnet transaction simulation, improved Clarity formatting, and faster boot times.
- Prepare Wormhole core contracts for audit: We are working on a Wormhole <> Stacks integration, which will pave the way for sBTC to go multichain. In March, we plan to get the core contracts ready for audit.
As always, we will be shipping new features and upgrades outside of what’s listed here. Keep an eye out for new updates.
Learn More
For a full list of releases and improvements by product, please view the following links:
