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This document is in progress and will be refined.
Monad mainnet and Monad testnet are both live and supported. Switch with setNetwork('monad') or setNetwork('monadTestnet'). New to Monad? Start on testnet with free MON see Testnet.
The IQLabs Ethereum SDK works on Monad out of the box. Same API, one line to switch networks. Store data on-chain, build databases, send encrypted DMs, gate content by token ownership. Monad is fast and cheap, so everything just works better.

Installation

The SDK ships as CommonJS for Node.js and works in browsers via any modern bundler.

Network

The SDK ships with three network modes. Set the one you want once at app startup with setNetwork().
The contract is identical across all three networks (same ABI, same functions). Only the address, chain, and fees differ. The SDK reads fees on-chain, so you never hardcode them.

Testnet

Develop and test for free on Monad testnet before touching mainnet. The contract is deployed and verified there with the same fees as mainnet, so testnet is an exact rehearsal.

1. Get free testnet MON

You need testnet MON to pay fees. Grab some from the official faucet:
  1. Go to faucet.monad.xyz
  2. Paste your wallet address
  3. Request testnet MON arrives in seconds
The faucet hands out a modest amount per request (about 20 MON at a time, with roughly 25 MON extra if you connect a social account). Testnet fees are 1/10 of mainnet (basicFee 0.65 MON, linkedListFee 1.95 MON, tableCreationFee 1.95 MON), so one faucet claim is enough for plenty of writes.
Testnet MON has no real value and only works on chain ID 10143. Never send it to a mainnet address.

2. Point the SDK at testnet

That’s the only change. Every reader/writer call now targets the testnet deployment. codeIn, writeRow, connections, and encryption all behave exactly as on mainnet.

3. Wallet setup for testnet

For a Node.js signer, point your provider at the testnet RPC:
For MetaMask, add the testnet network:
Use assertChainMatches(signer) after setNetwork('monadTestnet') to catch a signer that’s still pointed at the wrong chain before you send a transaction.

4. Going to mainnet

When your app works on testnet, switch one line:
No other code changes. The same dbRootIds and table names will be separate on mainnet (different chain, different contract state), so you re-create them there.

Wallet / Signer Setup

Every writer function takes an ethers.Signer. Two ways to get one:

Node.js (private key)

Browser (MetaMask / injected wallet)

Add Monad to MetaMask first: Then connect:
Reader functions don’t need a signer they use the RPC configured via setRpcUrl().

Core Concepts


Data Storage (Code In)

Store any data (files, text, JSON) directly on-chain. Data lives in transaction calldata, not on a centralized server. Reads reconstruct data by walking a linked list of transactions.

How is it stored?

Depending on data size, the SDK picks the optimal method:
  • Inline (small): data fits in a single transaction’s metadata field, no chunking
  • Linked list (large): data is split into chunks, uploaded via sendCode() calls in batches up to ~96 KB each, and the tail tx hash is recorded
  • codeIn(): upload data and get a transaction hash
  • readCodeIn(): read data back from a transaction hash

User State

Each address has an on-chain record managed by the contract. No separate account to initialize.

What gets stored?

  • User-set metadata (name, profile, bio, anything you serialize)
  • userTxChainTail: the most recent inventory write, used as the head of the user’s tx-chain

When is it created?

No explicit “create user” step. The first codeIn() call writes both the inventory entry and advances the chain tail. Each codeIn() charges basicFee (6.5 MON mainnet / 0.65 MON testnet) for an inline payload, or linkedListFee (19.5 / 1.95 MON) when the data is chunked.

Connection State

An on-chain relationship between two addresses (friends, DM channels, etc.).

What states can it have?

  • pending (0): request sent but not accepted yet
  • approved (1): request accepted, users are connected
  • blocked (2): one side blocked the other
A blocked connection can only be unblocked by the blocker.
The connection seed is derived deterministically from the two addresses via deriveDmSeed(userA, userB), so either party can recompute it.

Database Tables

Store JSON data in tables like a database, all on-chain.

How are tables created?

  1. Call initializeDbRoot() once per dbRootId. The caller becomes the DbRoot creator.
  2. Call createTable() to create a table. tableCreationFee (19.5 MON mainnet / 1.95 MON testnet) is charged here and split 31/69 between feeReceiver and the DbRoot’s creator.
  3. Call writeRow() to append rows.
A table is uniquely identified by dbRootId + tableName. Both are hashed with keccak256 internally, but raw names are also stored on-chain so the SDK can list them without a hardcoded lookup.
Tables must exist before writeRow() is called. There is no implicit creation.

Token & Collection Gating

Tables can be gated so only users holding a specific ERC-20 token or ERC-721 NFT can write data.

Gate Types

ERC-20 amount is in raw token units (wei-style). For an 18-decimal token, “100 tokens” = parseEther("100"), not 100.
ERC-1155 is not supported.

Gate parameter


Encryption (Crypto)

Built-in encryption module (iqlabs.crypto) for encrypting data before storing on-chain. Primitives are identical to the Solana SDK, so the same plaintext flows across chains.

Three encryption modes

  • DH Encryption (single recipient): Ephemeral X25519 ECDH → HKDF-SHA256 → AES-256-GCM
  • Password Encryption: PBKDF2-SHA256 (250k iterations) → AES-256-GCM
  • Multi-recipient Encryption: PGP-style hybrid, one CEK wrapped per recipient via ECDH
Users derive a deterministic X25519 keypair from their wallet signature. The wallet is the key, no separate keystore.

Fees

Fees are owner-mutable per network and read live from the contract (utils.getBasicFee / getLinkedListFee / getTableCreationFee). Defaults shipped at deploy time: Testnet fees are exactly 10× cheaper than mainnet because the official Monad faucet drips only 0.05 MON / 12h — full mainnet pricing would make even one round trip unreachable for devs. Where the value goes:
  • dbCodeIn / walletConnectionCodeIn / userInventoryCodeIn: 100% to feeReceiver.
  • createTable: split 31% to feeReceiver / 69% to the DbRoot’s creator. Root creators can pin or zero out their own value via setRootTableCreationFee().
Free: updateTableTxChainTail, updateConnectionTxChainTail, updateUserTxChainTail, requestConnection, manageConnection, dbInstructionCodeIn. Pointer bumps and instruction edits don’t cost fee, only gas.

Function Details

Data Storage and Retrieval

codeIn()


readCodeIn()


Connection Management

requestConnection()

requestConnection is free in this version (gas only).

manageConnection()

Approve, block, or unblock a connection.
  • 0: pending
  • 1: approved
  • 2: blocked

readConnection()


writeConnectionRow()


readConnectionRows()


fetchUserConnections()


Table Management

initializeDbRoot()

Claim a dbRootId. Only the creator can later modify table-creator allowlists or schema.

manageTableCreators()

Set who can create tables. Caller must be the DbRoot creator.

createTable()

Create a new table. Charges tableCreationFee (19.5 MON mainnet / 1.95 MON testnet by default — or whatever value the DbRoot creator pinned with setRootTableCreationFee). Split 31% to feeReceiver, 69% to DbRoot.creator.

updateTable()

Modify an existing table’s schema, gate, or writer list. Caller must be the DbRoot creator. Existing rows are preserved.

writeRow()

Append a row to an existing table. Charges basicFee (6.5 / 0.65 MON) for inline payloads or linkedListFee (19.5 / 1.95 MON) when chunked.
Table must already exist. writeRow will revert if the table was never created.
Fires two transactions internally: dbCodeIn (data — fee charged here, basic or linkedList by payload size) + updateTableTxChainTail (free pointer bump).

readTableRows()

Walk the table’s tx-chain and reconstruct rows.

getTablelistFromRoot()

tables = public only. globalTables = public + private.

fetchInventoryTransactions()

Walk a user’s inventory tx-chain (everything uploaded via codeIn()).

Encryption

deriveX25519Keypair()

Derive a deterministic X25519 keypair from a wallet signature. Same wallet = same keypair every time.

dhEncrypt() / dhDecrypt()

Single-recipient encryption via X25519 ECDH.

passwordEncrypt() / passwordDecrypt()

Password-based encryption via PBKDF2-SHA256.

multiEncrypt() / multiDecrypt()

Multi-recipient PGP-style hybrid encryption.

User Metadata

updateUserMetadata()

Store arbitrary metadata under the caller’s address. Overwrites any previous value.

Environment Settings

setNetwork()

Switch the active network mode. Call once at app startup.

getNetwork()

| Returns | 'sepolia' \| 'monad' \| 'monadTestnet' |

assertChainMatches()

Throws if RPC chainId doesn’t match active network mode.

setRpcUrl() / getRpcUrl()

Override reader RPC without changing network mode.

Tutorial: On-Chain Fortune Cookies 🥠

Build a permanent on-chain fortune cookie machine on Monad. Anyone can submit a fortune. Anyone can draw a random one. All fortunes live on-chain forever. What this teaches: initializeDbRootcreateTablewriteRowreadTableRows

Setup

Full Code

How to extend

  • NFT gate: only holders of a specific collection can submit fortunes
  • Encrypted fortunes: use passwordEncrypt so only readers with the password see the message
  • User profiles: call updateUserMetadata so each author has a name + avatar
  • Like counter: use manageRowData to annotate fortunes with reactions