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General Questions

What is Hyperlane?

Hyperlane is the first universal and permissionless interoperability framework built for the modular blockchain stack. Anyone can deploy Hyperlane to any blockchain environment, whether it is a layer 1, rollup, or app-chain, allowing that chain to communicate seamlessly with any other chain on which Hyperlane has been deployed.

What are the benefits of using Hyperlane for blockchain developers?

Hyperlane offers benefits for both blockchain and dapp developers.

  • For blockchain developers, a Hyperlane deployment expands accessibility to users, assets, and valuable state from other connected blockchains on which Hyperlane has been deployed.
  • For dapp developers, Hyperlane provides seamless connectivity across multiple blockchains, allowing developers to create interchain network effects and liquidity and users to interact with applications from their preferred chain.

What is Abacus Works?

Abacus Works is the name of a legal identity working on Hyperlane. You may encounter some references to Abacus in older posts and repositories. Hyperlane rebranded from Abacus to Hyperlane in Fall 2022.

What can I build with Hyperlane?

Hyperlane’s messaging interface allows dapp developers to send arbitrary bytes between smart contracts on different chains. This can be used to create interchain applications, dapps which span multiple chains.

For inspiration, take a look at some of the pre-built applications built on top of Hyperlane, including:

  • Hyperlane Warp Routes (HWR): Lets users move tokens from one chain to another.
  • Interchain Accounts: Lets users make interchain function calls.
  • Interchain Queries: Lets users make interchain view calls.

I’m a developer. How can my team build with Hyperlane? If you’re reading this FAQ, you’ve found the docs which is a great place to start. That said, we know that questions arise during implementation, and we’re happy to help you on your way. The Hyperlane community is regularly active in the Discord. Feedback from developers directly influences the product roadmap.

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Technical Questions

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Messaging

What happens when I send a message on Hyperlane?

See the send and receive pages for more details. In summary:

  1. An application calls the dispatch() function on the origin chain, inserting the message into the Mailbox’s Merkle tree.
  2. A Hyperlane Relayer observes the dispatched messages and assembles metadata for the recipient’s Interchain Security Module (ISM).
  3. A relayer delivers the message to the recipient by calling Mailbox.process().
  4. The Mailbox verifies the message with the recipient’s ISM and calls recipient.handle() to deliver the message.

How can I see the status of a message I have sent?

Paste an address or transaction hash into the search bar of the Hyperlane Message Explorer to view details about a message’s status and history.

If the message has failed to send for some reason, there will be error messages indicating what may have gone wrong. See Explorer Debugging for more information.

Does sending interchain messages with Hyperlane mean live chat & text?

No, Hyperlane is a protocol designed to allow smart contracts on different chains to interact with each other. When we refer to message-passing, it’s the sending of arbitrary bytes between smart contracts rather than peer-to-peer or text messaging.

For chat use cases, consider XMTP, Push, or Orbis.

Is Hyperlane a token bridge?

Not exactly. Hyperlane is a general message passing (GMP) protocol that allows communication between blockchains. Token bridges are just one of many types of applications that can be built on top of Hyperlane!

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Deployment

Where is Hyperlane deployed?

A list of known deployments can be found on the contract addresses page.

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Advanced Topics

How is Hyperlane secured?

Hyperlane is secured by its modular security stack featuring Interchain Security Modules (ISMs). Developers can configure various pre-built ISMs, compose them with each other, or even create custom ISMs based on their application’s needs. A modular approach to security ensures that Hyperlane will continue to stay up to the latest industry advances in security models.

How many validators does Hyperlane have, and who operates them?

The number of validators depend on the Interchain Security Module (ISM) configuration. The Default ISM uses a specific validator set, and you can view the details such as threshold, operator and address here.

How can we ensure message integrity?

Hyperlane’s message security is driven by the Interchain Security Module (ISM) configuration. By default, messages rely on the Default ISM’s validator set, which requires a quorum of validators to sign for security. In the unlikely event of a validator compromise, the security of messages could be impacted. However, developers have the flexibility to configure their own ISM, enabling them to customize and strengthen the security model to suit their application’s needs.

Does the source chain receive confirmation whether the transaction was executed on the destination chain?

Currently, the source chain does not automatically receive a confirmation of execution from the destination chain. However, this functionality can be added by customizing the handle function on the destination chain. For more information, refer to the handle function.

Why are outbound message IDs stored in the Merkle tree?

Outbound message IDs are stored in the Merkle tree to efficiently track and verify messages. This mechanism ensures validators can accurately detect and sign new messages as they are created.

Why do validators call MerkleTreeHook.latestCheckpoint()?

Validators use the MerkleTreeHook.latestCheckpoint() function to determine when new transactions need to be indexed. This polling mechanism ensures validators can immediately start signing new messages without the need to backfill the entire tree.

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Community & Contributions​

How can I join the Hyperlane community?

You can join the Discord or follow Hyperlane on Twitter, where you can find a growing community of developers and enthusiasts to chat about the interchain future.

I’m interested in working on Hyperlane. Where can I see job openings?

Check out our open roles here.

How can I contribute to improve this documentation?

You can make a PR to edit this documentation directly via the docs repo.

Where can I get support or ask questions about Hyperlane?

You can get support and ask questions on our Hyperlane Discord, where the community and team are active and ready to assist.