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What is solidity-book?

gakonst/solidity-book — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-08-04 · repo last pushed 2022-01-23

839MakefileAudience · developerComplexity · 1/5DormantSetup · easy

In one sentence

A free online textbook that helps Solidity developers level up to senior engineer status by covering advanced concepts, best practices, and the deeper mechanics of Ethereum smart contracts.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Free online textbook
      Teaches advanced Solidity
      Browser readable
      Searchable interface
    Tech stack
      mdBook
      Markdown
      Makefile
      Testing framework
    Use cases
      Level up to senior
      Learn best practices
      Understand Ethereum internals
    Audience
      Junior developers
      Founders and PMs
    Status
      Early development
      Growing content
      Inspired by Rust book

Code map

Detail Auto

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Junior developers can study advanced Solidity concepts and best practices to reach a senior engineering level.

USE CASE 2

Founders or project managers can learn what technical depth is expected when hiring senior smart contract engineers.

USE CASE 3

Contributors can build and test the book locally to verify code examples and add new content.

USE CASE 4

Anyone can read the book in their browser as a structured course guide for Ethereum smart contract development.

What is it built with?

mdBookMarkdownMakefile

How does it compare?

gakonst/solidity-bookruanyf/articlespeng-zhihui/serialchart
Stars8391,015636
LanguageMakefileMakefileMakefile
Last pushed2022-01-232026-06-252021-05-24
MaintenanceDormantMaintainedDormant
Setup difficultyeasyeasyeasy
Complexity1/51/52/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

You need mdBook installed locally to build and view the book, but it is a lightweight tool with minimal setup.

The explanation does not mention a license, so it is unclear what permissions apply to using or modifying this resource.

So what is it?

The Senior Solidity Engineer's Book is a free online resource designed to help developers level up their skills and become senior engineers working with Solidity, the programming language used to write Ethereum smart contracts. You can read it directly in your browser, and it is essentially a structured textbook or course guide. The project is built using a tool called mdBook, which takes Markdown files and compiles them into a clean, searchable web interface. If you want to read it offline or contribute to it, you can run a few simple commands to build the book locally on your computer. It also includes a testing feature, so contributors can check that any code examples or technical explanations in the book actually work as expected. This resource is aimed at people who already know the basics of writing Solidity but want to reach a senior level. A junior developer building decentralized applications, for instance, could use it to understand advanced concepts, best practices, and the deeper mechanics of how Ethereum handles their code. It would also be useful for a founder or project manager who wants to understand what technical depth is expected of a senior smart contract engineer. The README notes that the project is still in early development, so readers should expect the content to grow and evolve over time. It borrows its setup and publishing workflow from the official Rust programming language book, which is a well-respected open-source project, so the infrastructure is built on a proven foundation for creating technical documentation.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
I want to become a senior Solidity engineer. Walk me through the advanced concepts, best practices, and deeper Ethereum mechanics I should master, as if writing a chapter for a textbook aimed at leveling up junior developers.
Prompt 2
I have the solidity-book repo cloned locally. Show me how to use mdBook to build and serve the book so I can read it offline in my browser, and how to run the tests that verify the code examples work.
Prompt 3
I want to contribute a new chapter to the solidity-book project. Explain how the project is structured, how the testing feature checks that code examples are correct, and what steps I should follow to add my content safely.
Prompt 4
As a founder hiring a senior smart contract engineer, summarize the key technical topics and depth of knowledge that this book covers so I understand what skills to look for in a candidate.

Frequently asked questions

What is solidity-book?

A free online textbook that helps Solidity developers level up to senior engineer status by covering advanced concepts, best practices, and the deeper mechanics of Ethereum smart contracts.

What language is solidity-book written in?

Mainly Makefile. The stack also includes mdBook, Markdown, Makefile.

Is solidity-book actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2022-01-23).

What license does solidity-book use?

The explanation does not mention a license, so it is unclear what permissions apply to using or modifying this resource.

How hard is solidity-book to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is solidity-book for?

Mainly developer.

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