Python Implementation of the Ethereum protocol

Py-EVM

Py-EVM is an implementation of the Ethereum protocol in Python. It contains the low level primitives for the original proof-of-work (POW), (formerly known as Ethereum 1.0) chain as well as emerging support for the proof-of-stake (POS) (formerly known as Ethereum 2.0) spec.

Goals

Py-EVM aims to eventually become the defacto Python implementation of the Ethereum protocol, enabling a wide array of use cases for both public and private chains.

In particular Py-EVM aims to:

• be a reference implementation of the Ethereum POW and POS implementations in one of the most widely used and understood languages, Python.

• be easy to understand and modifiable

• have clear and simple APIs

• come with solid, friendly documentation

• deliver the low level primitives to build various clients on top (including full and light clients)

• be highly flexible to support both research as well as alternate use cases like private chains.

Quickstart

python -m pip install py-evm

Get started in 5 minutes

Documentation

Check out the documentation on our official website

Developer Setup

If you would like to hack on py-evm, please check out the Snake Charmers Tactical Manual for information on how we do:

• Testing
• Pull Requests
• Documentation

We use pre-commit to maintain consistent code style. Once installed, it will run automatically with every commit. You can also run it manually with make lint. If you need to make a commit that skips the pre-commit checks, you can do so with git commit --no-verify.

Development Environment Setup

git clone git@github.com:ethereum/py-evm.git
cd py-evm
virtualenv -p python3 venv
. venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"
pre-commit install

Release setup

To release a new version:

make release bump=$$VERSION_PART_TO_BUMP$$

To issue the next version in line, specify which part to bump, like make release bump=minor or make release bump=devnum. This is typically done from the main branch, except when releasing a beta (in which case the beta is released from main, and the previous stable branch is released from said branch).

Want to help?

Want to file a bug, contribute some code, or improve documentation? Excellent! Read up on our guidelines for contributing and then check out one of our issues that are labeled Good First Issue.