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Not gonna be at the hackathon? Not a problem. These steps will still help you start your development journey on Stacks regardless.
1. Set Up Your Account in the Hiro Platform
The Hiro Platform enables you to create, test, and deploy smart contracts directly from a web browser. The platform comes pre-installed with a number of handy tools, such as VS Code, Clarity for VS Code, and Clarinet, which offer easy-to-use contract syntax support and debugging capabilities. With the Hiro Platform, you can test your code in devnet, a local blockchain environment, create event streams for Stacks and Bitcoin, generate API keys, and more.
With the Hiro Platform, you can go from an idea for a contract to deploying that idea on mainnet faster than you can say “Nakamoto.”
2. Get STX Testnet Tokens
Testnet is a blockchain environment, complete with its own miners and nodes, that simulates the Stacks mainnet environment. It enables you to safely test your code without any real-world, financial risk.
To use testnet, however, you need testnet tokens in order to pay gas fees (note: these testnet tokens are free and have no value). First, you’ll need to get a Stacks wallet (Leather and Xverse are popular choices). Then watch this video to learn 3 easy ways that you can get your STX testnet tokens:
3. Brainstorm Hackathon Ideas
Hackathons are an opportunity to push the boundaries of your creativity. What do you want to build? What will put you in the best position to win prize money?
One of the best ways to get inspired is to see what apps are already on the market. You can see a list of Stacks apps here, and for further inspiration check out this list of Bitcoin DeFi app ideas for inspiration. From decentralized exchanges to lending protocols, crowdfunding mechanisms or stable swaps, the world of Bitcoin is yours to explore!
4. Jumpstart Your Front-End With Stacks.js Starters
Stacks.js is a collection of JavaScript libraries that handles a lot of the basic functions you need when building a web app, and Stacks.js Starters are the fastest way to get started with Stacks.js.
With these templates, you can pick your favorite framework and the basic features you need (e.g. connecting a wallet, sending/receiving tokens, interacting with NFTs, etc.), and then generate a new project template with just a few clicks. You’ll be miles ahead of the competition in no time.
5. Check Out These Clarity Coding Tutorials
There are a number of tutorials out there to jumpstart your Clarity coding. Check out the tutorials in Hiro docs, as well as the community tutorials in Stacks docs, which cover a wide range of use cases from basic “hello, world” contracts to advanced DEX applications.
If you want a more guided experience, you can also try the Bitcoin Builders Primer, which will take you through the basics of building on Bitcoin and teach you how to mint an NFT on Stacks, as well as the Clarity book, which is a great resource for learning Clarity.
Note: all tutorials are for demo purposes only to illustrate how to build with Clarity smart contracts and should not be used in production.
Conclusion
With these 5 steps under your belt, you’re ready to excel at the Harvard hackathon. Good luck hacking!
