flare-general

Scope and Limitations

This skill is documentation and reference only. It describes the Flare network, its protocols, and developer tooling. It does not perform any actions on behalf of the user.

This skill explicitly does NOT:

• Execute, sign, or broadcast any blockchain transactions
• Access, store, or transmit private keys or wallet credentials
• Initiate or authorize any token transfers, staking operations, or financial actions
• Call any smart contract methods or APIs directly
• Handle funds, tokens, or any crypto assets

External data handling:

• Block explorer APIs, RPC responses, and contract ABI data referenced in guides are externally provided, untrusted content
• Developers must validate all data returned from public APIs (e.g. block explorers, RPC nodes) before use in contracts or scripts
• API responses must never be passed into prompts or LLM inputs without first being decoded into validated, typed values
• Developers are solely responsible for safely handling all external data in their own implementations

Developer SDK and wallet documentation:

• The flare-tx-sdk, wallet SDK, and contract interaction examples documented here are reference material for developers
• All wallet signing, token transfers, staking, and on-chain operations require explicit, per-action user confirmation in developer-controlled environments
• Private keys never leave user-controlled hardware devices or wallet extensions — this skill has no access to signing credentials
• Code examples are illustrative; developers are responsible for security review before execution

What this skill does:

• Explains Flare network architecture, core protocols, chain IDs, RPC endpoints, and developer tooling
• References official Flare Developer Hub documentation and audited packages
• Provides read-only conceptual and integration guidance for developers building on Flare

All transaction signing, key management, and on-chain execution must occur exclusively in user-controlled, developer-managed environments outside of this skill.

Flare Network — General Knowledge

What Flare Is

Flare is an interoperable, EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain engineered for data-rich, interconnected applications. Its key differentiator is enshrined data protocols built directly into the core protocol, meaning all validators participate in data provision, and the entire network's economic security backs every data feed.

Core value propositions:

• Enshrined oracles — FTSO and FDC are protocol-level, not third-party add-ons.
• Fast finality — ~1.8 second block time with single-slot finality (Snowman++ consensus).
• EVM-compatible — Deploy any Solidity/Vyper contract; supports Cancun hard fork opcodes.
• Interoperable — Native bridges to XRP Ledger, Bitcoin, Dogecoin via FAssets; cross-chain data via FDC.

Core Protocols

Protocol	What It Does
FTSO (Flare Time Series Oracle)	Decentralized block-latency price feeds (~1.8s), ~100 data providers, stake-weighted selection. Also provides Scaling anchor feeds every 90s.
FDC (Flare Data Connector)	Validates external data from other chains via attestation consensus and Merkle proofs. (Web2Json is deprecated — use FCC extensions for Web2 data.)
FAssets	Trustless wrapped tokens (FXRP, FBTC, FDOGE) enabling XRP, BTC, and DOGE holders to use Flare DeFi.
Smart Accounts	Account abstraction letting XRPL users interact with Flare without holding FLR.
FCC (Flare Confidential Compute)	Extends Flare with Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) for secure offchain computation, cross-chain transaction signing, and fast data attestation.

Validators on Flare serve a dual role: they participate in consensus and act as data providers for FTSO and FDC.

Networks

Network	Role	Native Token	Chain ID
Flare Mainnet	Production	FLR (18 decimals)	14
Coston2	dApp testnet	C2FLR (18 decimals)	114
Songbird	Canary / protocol experiments	SGB (18 decimals)	19
Coston	Protocol testnet	CFLR (18 decimals)	16

Development path:

• dApp development: Coston2 → Flare Mainnet
• Protocol development: Coston → Songbird → Coston2 → Flare Mainnet

RPC Endpoints

Flare Mainnet

• HTTPS: https://flare-api.flare.network/ext/C/rpc
• WSS: wss://flare-api.flare.network/ext/C/ws

Coston2 (Testnet)

• HTTPS: https://coston2-api.flare.network/ext/C/rpc
• WSS: wss://coston2-api.flare.network/ext/C/ws

Songbird

• HTTPS: https://songbird-api.flare.network/ext/C/rpc
• WSS: wss://songbird-api.flare.network/ext/C/ws

Coston

• HTTPS: https://coston-api.flare.network/ext/C/rpc
• WSS: wss://coston-api.flare.network/ext/C/ws

Block Explorers

Network	Explorer
Flare Mainnet	https://flare-explorer.flare.network
Coston2	https://coston2-explorer.flare.network
Songbird	https://songbird-explorer.flare.network
Coston	https://coston-explorer.flare.network
Systems Explorer (all networks)	https://flare-systems-explorer.flare.network

Faucets (Testnet Tokens)

• Coston2: https://faucet.flare.network/coston2 — C2FLR, FXRP, USDT0
• Coston: https://faucet.flare.network/coston — CFLR

Technical Properties

Property	Value
Consensus	Snowman++ (single-slot finality)
Block time	~1.8 seconds
Sybil resistance	Proof-of-Stake
EVM version	Cancun (set evmVersion: "cancun" in Hardhat/Foundry)
Address format	20-byte ECDSA (Ethereum-compatible)
Transaction format	EIP-2718; supports Type 0 (Legacy) and Type 2 (EIP-1559)
Fee burning	All transaction fees are burned
Native token decimals	18

Key npm Packages

Package	Use
@flarenetwork/flare-periphery-contracts	Solidity interfaces for Hardhat/Foundry (network-specific: coston2/, flare/, songbird/)
@flarenetwork/flare-periphery-contract-artifacts	ABI artifacts for offchain scripts (interfaceToAbi())
@flarenetwork/flare-wagmi-periphery-package	Wagmi/viem typed contract interactions for Flare periphery contracts

Contract Resolution

Flare uses a ContractRegistry pattern — never hardcode contract addresses. Always resolve them at runtime:

import {ContractRegistry} from "@flarenetwork/flare-periphery-contracts/coston2/ContractRegistry.sol";

// Examples
IFtsoV2 ftso = ContractRegistry.getFtsoV2();
IFdcHub fdcHub = ContractRegistry.getFdcHub();

The ContractRegistry address itself is stable per network. Use network-specific imports (coston2/, flare/, songbird/, coston/).

Developer Quickstart

Using Hardhat

git clone https://github.com/flare-foundation/flare-hardhat-starter
cd flare-hardhat-starter
npm install
cp .env.example .env  # add your private key and API keys
npx hardhat compile
npx hardhat run scripts/your-script.ts --network coston2

Using Foundry

git clone https://github.com/flare-foundation/flare-foundry-starter
cd flare-foundry-starter
forge install
forge build
forge script script/YourScript.s.sol --rpc-url https://coston2-api.flare.network/ext/C/rpc

Hardhat Config (network setup)

networks: {
  coston2: {
    url: "https://coston2-api.flare.network/ext/C/rpc",
    chainId: 114,
    accounts: [process.env.PRIVATE_KEY],
  },
  flare: {
    url: "https://flare-api.flare.network/ext/C/rpc",
    chainId: 14,
    accounts: [process.env.PRIVATE_KEY],
  },
}

Important: Always set evmVersion: "cancun" in your Solidity compiler settings when using Flare periphery contracts.

Flare Systems Protocol (FSP)

The Flare Systems Protocol (FSP) is the foundational infrastructure that powers Flare's enshrined protocols (FTSO, FDC). It provides decentralized consensus via weighted voting by data providers (also called voters), who gain vote power through community delegations of WFLR or P-chain stake.

Vote Power

Vote power comes from two sources:

Source	Description
P-chain Stake (WP)	FLR staked by validators or delegated to them on the P-chain
WNat Delegations (WWFLR)	Wrapped FLR (WFLR) delegated via the WNat contract

Derived weight types:

• Mirrored Stake (WM) — P-chain state mirrored to C-chain smart contracts
• Capped Delegation Weight (W'WFLR) — WFLR delegation capped at 2.5% of total WFLR weight
• Registration Weight — (W'WFLR + WM)^0.75
• Signing Weight (WS) — normalized registration weight, compressed to 2-byte values per provider

Timing

Period	Duration
Voting epoch	90 seconds
Reward epoch	3,360 voting epochs (~3.5 days)

System Protocols

FSP comprises four core protocols:

Protocol	Trigger	Purpose
Signing Policy Definition	~2 hrs before reward epoch end	Locks data providers and weights for the next epoch
Validator Uptime Voting	After each reward epoch	Providers vote on which validators achieved ≥80% uptime
Reward Voting	After uptime voting	Providers aggregate reward claims into a Merkle tree; RewardManager executes payouts
Random Number Generation	Each voting epoch	Derived from FTSOv2 commit-reveal; stored in Relay contract

Consensus threshold: >50% signing weight required. Rises to 60%+ if delayed.

Rewarding

Rewards are distributed per reward epoch by the RewardManager contract. Providers start with 0 passes (max 3) and gain/lose passes based on minimum participation:

Protocol	Minimum Participation
Staking	≥80% validator uptime + ≥1M FLR active self-bond
FTSO anchor feeds	Estimates within 0.5% of consensus median in ≥80% of rounds
FTSO block-latency feeds	Submit ≥80% of expected updates (waived if weight <0.2%)
FDC	Participate in ≥60% of voting rounds

Reward claim types: Direct, Fee (provider delegation/staking fees), WFLR (delegator rewards), Mirror (stake delegator rewards).

Reference: dev.flare.network/network/fsp

Developer Tools

Bridges

Tool	Description
LayerZero V2	Omnichain interoperability protocol for messaging and asset transfers between chains
Stargate V2	Cross-chain liquidity protocol with unified liquidity pools
zkBridge	Zero-knowledge proof-based cross-chain bridge

RPCs

Tool	Description
QuickNode	High-performance APIs for queries, transactions, and cross-chain operations
Ankr	Infrastructure and developer tools for blockchain application deployment
NOWNodes	Blockchain node provider with RPC access for Flare
ChainList	Directory of all public RPCs supporting Flare (chain ID 14)

OFTs (Omnichain Fungible Tokens)

Token	Description
USD₮0	Tether's stablecoin omnichain fungible token
flrETH	Dinero's liquid staked ETH OFT
USDC.e, WETH, USDT	Stargate Hydra's wrapped OFTs

Indexers

Tool	Description
Envio	Modern multi-chain EVM indexer for real-time and historical data
Goldsky	Blockchain data platform with indexed APIs and subgraph hosting
sqd	Indexing solution optimized for speed, reliability, and data transformations
SubQuery	Open indexing protocol for organizing and querying blockchain data

Wallet SDKs

Tool	Description
Wagmi	React hooks library for wallet connections and contract interactions
RainbowKit	Customizable React components for wallet connections
MetaMask Embedded Wallets	OAuth social logins with non-custodial key management
Etherspot Prime SDK	ERC-4337 account abstraction (sponsored txs, ERC-20 gas payments)
Etherspot Modular SDK	ERC-7579 smart account modules
Turnkey	API for embedded wallets, smart signers, and onchain automation
Dfns	Wallets-as-a-service for digital asset operations

Full-Stack Infrastructure

Tool	Description
Tenderly	Development platform for debugging, monitoring, and simulation
Thirdweb	SDK for building, launching, and managing Web3 applications

Analytics

Tool	Description
Dune	Blockchain analytics for querying and visualizing onchain data
Sentora	Intelligence platform for crypto assets and DeFi
Arkham Intel	Analytics for de-anonymizing onchain wallets and transactions
Flare Metrics	Tracker for DeFi opportunities on Flare
Catenalytica	FTSO performance, vote power, reward analytics, and network monitoring
FlareBase	Web and REST APIs for Flare data and insights

Explorers

Tool	Description
Flare Explorer	Blockscout-based explorer for Flare Mainnet
Flare Systems Explorer	Explorer for FTSO, FDC, provider, and epoch metrics
Flare Space	Analytics for Flare's C-chain and P-chain

Full list with links: dev.flare.network/network/developer-tools

Flare TX SDK

The @flarenetwork/flare-tx-sdk is the official Node.js toolkit for performing common actions on all Flare networks.

Supported operations: claim rewards (FlareDrops, staking, FTSO delegation, rFLR), delegate to FTSO providers, stake on P-chain, vote on governance proposals, transfer native/wrapped tokens, interact with C-chain contracts.

Installation

npm install @flarenetwork/flare-tx-sdk

Core Concepts

• Network — represents the chain (Network.FLARE, Network.COSTON2, Network.SONGBIRD, Network.COSTON). Provides query and transaction methods using Flare's public RPCs.
• Wallet — represents a user account without storing private keys. Compatible with MetaMask (EIP-1193), Ledger, Trezor, or custom signers.
• Amount — unit conversion helper: Amount.nats(10) = 10 FLR in wei, Amount.wnats(10) = 10 WFLR in wei.

Quick Start (MetaMask)

import { Network, EIP1193WalletController } from "@flarenetwork/flare-tx-sdk";

const network = Network.FLARE;
await window.ethereum.request({ method: "eth_requestAccounts" });
const controller = new EIP1193WalletController(window.ethereum);
const wallet = await controller.getActiveWallet();
const publicKey = await wallet.getPublicKey();
const balance = await network.getBalance(publicKey);
// { availableOnC, wrappedOnC, availableOnP, stakedOnP } — all in wei

Common Operations

// Balances
await network.getBalance(publicKey);
await network.getBalanceOnC(cAddress);
await network.getBalanceWrappedOnC(cAddress);
await network.getBalanceOnP(publicKey);

// Wrap / transfer
await network.transferNative(wallet, recipient, Amount.nats(1));
await network.wrapNative(wallet, Amount.nats(1));
await network.transferWrapped(wallet, recipient, Amount.wnats(1));
await network.unwrapToNative(wallet, Amount.wnats(1));

// Claim rewards
await network.claimFlareDropReward(wallet);
await network.claimStakingReward(wallet);
await network.claimFtsoReward(wallet);
await network.claimRNatReward(wallet, [projectId1, projectId2]);

// FTSO delegation
await network.delegateToFtso(wallet, providerAddress, Amount.percentages(100));
await network.undelegateFromFtso(wallet);

// P-chain staking
await network.transferToP(wallet, Amount.nats(100));
await network.delegateOnP(wallet, Amount.nats(50), nodeId, startTime, endTime);
await network.transferToC(wallet);  // move back to C-chain
// NOTE: do not stake from one address to more than 3 validators at once (see warning below)

// Governance
await network.castVoteForFoundationProposal(wallet, proposalId, FoundationProposalSupport.FOR);
await network.delegateGovernanceVotePower(wallet, delegateAddress);

// C-chain contract calls
await network.invokeContractCallOnC(contractAddress, abi, "methodName", [params]);
await network.invokeContractMethodOnC(wallet, contractAddress, abi, "methodName", value, [params]);

Staking limit — max 3 validators per address. Do not stake from the same address to more than three validators at once. Although additional stakes may be technically possible outside the staking portal, the stake-mirroring service only processes the first three, and stakes beyond that will not earn rewards. See What You Should Consider When Staking FLR.

Wallet Integrations

Wallet	Package
MetaMask / WalletConnect (EIP-1193)	Built-in (EIP1193WalletController)
Ledger (Zondax Flare App)	@zondax/ledger-flare
Ledger (ETH App)	@ledgerhq/hw-app-eth
Trezor	@trezor/connect

Private keys never leave the hardware device or wallet extension.

Full guide: dev.flare.network/network/flare-tx-sdk

Wrapped Native Tokens (WNat)

Each Flare network has a native gas token (FLR, SGB, C2FLR, CFLR). WNat wraps native tokens into a standard ERC-20 token required for FTSO delegation and governance voting.

WNat is required for:

• FTSO delegation — delegating vote power to data providers to earn staking rewards
• Governance voting — participating in FIPs, STPs, and SIPs
• DeFi — any protocol expecting an ERC-20 token

Operation	Method	Notes
Wrap	deposit()	payable — send native tokens as msg.value
Wrap to address	depositTo(recipient)	Wraps on behalf of another address
Unwrap	withdraw(amount)	Burns WNat, returns native tokens 1:1
Unwrap to address	withdrawTo(recipient, amount)	Unwraps to a specific address

Resolve the WNat contract via ContractRegistry.getWNat(). Full guide with Solidity and TypeScript examples: wnat-guide.md

Consensus

Flare uses Snowman++, a Byzantine fault-tolerant probabilistic consensus protocol from the Snow family (originally introduced by Avalanche).

Protocol Layers

Layer	Description
Slush	Nodes sample peers and update preferences via majority voting (parameters: K = sample size, Alpha = vote threshold)
Snowball	Adds confidence counters tracking consecutive successful polls to improve finalization
Snowman	Linear blockchain ordering using Kahn's topological algorithm; runs multiple Snowball instances per block height
Snowman++	Adds stake-weighted proposer selection with time-based eligibility delays per validator

Key Parameters

Parameter	Value	Description
maxWindows	6	Validators selected per block height
WindowDuration	5 seconds	Delay between proposer eligibility windows
Beta	—	Consecutive successful queries required for finalization

Validator Selection

Validators are chosen via weighted sampling without replacement based on stake. Selection is deterministic, using the validator set and chain height as inputs.

Properties

• Finality: Single-slot finality — blocks are final once confidence reaches the Beta threshold.
• Block time: ~1.8 seconds.
• Fault tolerance: Byzantine fault-tolerant.
• Chains: Runs on both P-chain and C-chain in Flare networks.
• Validator dual role: Validators also serve as data providers for FTSO and FDC.

Reference: dev.flare.network/network/consensus

Governance

Flare uses on-chain governance for protocol changes. There are three proposal types across two networks.

Proposal Types

Type	Network	Voting Token	Mechanism
FIP (Flare Improvement Proposal)	Flare Mainnet	WFLR + staked FLR	Acceptance-based: >50% approval, no quorum required
STP (Songbird Test Proposal)	Songbird	WSGB	Rejection-based: requires 75% quorum AND >50% against to reject
SIP (Songbird Improvement Proposal)	Songbird	WSGB	Acceptance-based: >50% approval, no quorum required

STPs are used to test changes on Songbird before proposing them as FIPs on Flare Mainnet.

Voting

• Eligibility: Token holders at the snapshot block ("Vote Count Block"), selected randomly after proposal announcement.
• Vote power: Proportional to token holdings at snapshot time.
• Delegation: Voting power can be delegated to another address without transferring token ownership. Delegation is permanent until explicitly canceled.

Proposal Lifecycle

1. Announcement + community discussion period
2. Random Vote Count Block selection window
3. Voting period (typically one week)
4. Execution — automatic via smart contracts or manual by the Flare Foundation

Management Group

Introduced in FIP.02/STP.03 — a governance body of FTSO data providers that votes on:

• Punitive actions against non-compliant providers
• New data feed additions
• New attestation types for FDC
• Protocol parameter adjustments

Reference: dev.flare.network/network/governance

Flare Confidential Compute (FCC)

Flare Confidential Compute (FCC) extends the Flare blockchain with Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) to enable secure offchain computation, cross-chain transaction signing, and fast data attestation.

Status: FCC is in final development stages and not yet publicly available.

Reference: dev.flare.network/fcc/overview

Key Features

Feature	Description
Secure Offchain Computation	TEE machines run verifiable code in hardware-isolated environments, protecting against untrusted operators
Cross-Chain Transaction Signing	Protocol Managed Wallets allow smart contracts to programmatically assemble and sign transactions on external blockchains (XRPL, Bitcoin)
Fast Data Attestation	A TEE-based Flare Data Connector rapidly attests external data; TEE signatures prove data provider consensus
Extensible Architecture	Developers build custom Flare Compute Extensions (FCE) running arbitrary computations within TEE machines with onchain-verifiable results
Decentralized Consensus	Instructions reach TEE machines only after achieving 50%+ signature weight from Flare's data providers
Private Key Management	TEE machines securely generate, store, backup, and restore private keys for multi-signature wallet operations

Architecture

Three core components work together:

Component	Role
Smart Contracts	Govern logic and manage compute extensions, TEE registration, instruction issuance, and key administration
Data Providers and Cosigners	Relay instructions, parse events, augment with external data, and sign before transmission to TEE machines
TEE Machines	Verify consensus-weighted instructions, execute computations, and sign results with private keys

System Applications

Protocol Managed Wallets (PMW): Enable programmable transaction assembly and signing on external blockchains through Flare smart contracts, supporting multisig operations and nonce management.

Flare Data Connector (FDC) via TEE: Achieves rapid attestation by having data providers respond to attestation requests, with TEE signatures verifying consensus.

Flare Compute Extensions (FCE): Custom computation modules that developers can deploy to run arbitrary offchain logic within TEE machines, with results verifiable onchain.

When to Use This Skill

• Answering general questions about what Flare is and how it works.
• Providing network configuration (chain IDs, RPC URLs, explorers, faucets).
• Explaining the relationship between Flare's core protocols (FTSO, FDC, FAssets, Smart Accounts).
• Helping developers set up their tooling (Hardhat, Foundry, viem/wagmi) for Flare.
• Explaining Flare Confidential Compute (FCC/TEE) — what it is, how it works, Protocol Managed Wallets, Flare Compute Extensions.
• Any question about Flare that doesn't fall squarely into FTSO, FDC, FAssets, or Smart Accounts territory.

Additional Resources

• Detailed links and references: reference.md
• Contract registry guide: flare-contracts-registry-guide.md
• Secure random numbers guide: secure-random-numbers-guide.md
• Wrapped native tokens guide: wnat-guide.md
• Hardhat & Foundry starter kit: hardhat-foundry-starter-kit-guide.md
• JavaScript guide: flare-for-javascript-guide.md
• React guide: flare-for-react-guide.md
• Python guide: flare-for-python-guide.md
• Rust guide: flare-for-rust-guide.md
• Go guide: flare-for-go-guide.md
• FCC overview: dev.flare.network/fcc/overview
• Flare Developer Hub: dev.flare.network
• Network Overview: dev.flare.network/network/overview
• FTSO skill: flare-ftso
• FDC skill: flare-fdc
• FAssets skill: flare-fassets
• Smart Accounts skill: flare-smart-accounts