eth-lib

What is eth-lib?

eth-lib is a JavaScript library for Ethereum that provides a set of utilities for working with Ethereum data structures and cryptographic functions. It is designed to be lightweight and modular, making it easy to use in various Ethereum-related projects.

What are eth-lib's main functionalities?

Hashing

This feature allows you to perform keccak256 hashing, which is commonly used in Ethereum for creating unique identifiers and securing data.

const ethLib = require('eth-lib');
const hash = ethLib.Hash.keccak256('hello world');
console.log(hash);

RLP Encoding/Decoding

This feature provides functions for encoding and decoding data using Recursive Length Prefix (RLP), a serialization method used in Ethereum.

const ethLib = require('eth-lib');
const encoded = ethLib.RLP.encode(['hello', 'world']);
const decoded = ethLib.RLP.decode(encoded);
console.log(encoded, decoded);

Signing

This feature allows you to sign messages with a private key, which is essential for creating transactions and verifying ownership in Ethereum.

const ethLib = require('eth-lib');
const privateKey = '0x...';
const message = 'hello world';
const signature = ethLib.Account.sign(message, privateKey);
console.log(signature);

Address Generation

This feature enables you to generate Ethereum addresses from private keys, which is fundamental for creating new accounts and managing identities.

const ethLib = require('eth-lib');
const privateKey = ethLib.Account.create().privateKey;
const address = ethLib.Account.fromPrivate(privateKey).address;
console.log(address);

Other packages similar to eth-lib

web3

web3 is a comprehensive library for interacting with the Ethereum blockchain. It provides a wide range of functionalities including contract interaction, account management, and utilities for working with Ethereum data structures. Compared to eth-lib, web3 is more feature-rich but also heavier and more complex.

ethers

ethers is a library for interacting with the Ethereum blockchain and its ecosystem. It is designed to be a complete and compact library for Ethereum, offering utilities for signing, hashing, and interacting with smart contracts. ethers is similar to eth-lib in terms of functionality but is more modern and actively maintained.

ethereumjs-util

ethereumjs-util is a collection of utility functions for Ethereum. It provides low-level functions for hashing, signing, and encoding/decoding data. Compared to eth-lib, ethereumjs-util is more focused on providing low-level utilities and is often used as a building block for other libraries.

README

Eth-Lib

Lightweight Ethereum libraries. This is a temporary repository which will be used as the basis of an implementation on Idris (or similar).