Create a new contract

Use the interactive prompt to scaffold a contract:

pop new contract

If you run pop new without a subcommand, Pop CLI prompts you to choose a project type. You can also use the top-level alias pop n.

Command overview

pop new --list
pop new contract --list
pop new contract <NAME>

pop new --list prints the available chain and contract templates (based on which features are enabled) and exits. pop new contract --list prints only contract templates and exits.

Command map

• pop new (alias: pop n)

• pop new contract (alias: pop new c)

Options

Flag	Type	Default	Description
--template, -t	string	prompt	Contract template name.
--list, -l	boolean	false	List templates and exit.
--with-frontend, -f[=<TEMPLATE>]	string	none	Scaffold a frontend template. Use = when providing a value.
--package-manager	string	auto	Package manager for frontend scaffolding. Requires --with-frontend.

JSON mode

Use global --json for non-interactive contract generation:

pop --json new contract my_erc20 --template erc20

JSON mode requirements:

• Contract name positional argument is required.

• --template is required.

• --with-frontend must include a value (for example --with-frontend=typink).

• Existing destination paths are not overwritten in JSON mode.

Examples

# Interactive contract creation
pop new contract

# List contract templates
pop new contract --list

# Create a new contract using a template
pop new contract my_erc20 --template erc20

Pop CLI validates the contract name derived from your path. If it is invalid, the command stops without generating a contract.

Adding a frontend

You can scaffold your contract with a frontend template using the --with-frontend flag. Pop CLI supports the following community frontend templates for contracts:

• inkathon - Full-stack dApp boilerplate for ink! smart contracts

• typink - Type-safe frontend framework for ink! contracts

Interactive mode

The interactive prompt will ask you to select a frontend template:

pop new contract my_contract

If you pass --with-frontend without a value, Pop CLI prompts you to pick a frontend template.

CLI mode

You can specify the frontend template directly. When you provide a value, you must use =:

# With default frontend template selection
pop new contract my_contract --with-frontend

# With specific frontend template
pop new contract flipper --with-frontend=typink
pop new contract my_contract --with-frontend=inkathon

Frontend dependencies

Pop CLI will automatically check for required dependencies and prompt you to install them if not present:

• Node.js (version 20 or later)

• Bun (required for inkathon template)

You can also install frontend dependencies separately using:

pop install -y --frontend

Package manager selection

--package-manager only works with --with-frontend. If you do not provide it, Pop CLI auto-detects in this order: pnpm, bun, yarn, npm. The inkathon template requires Bun, so Pop CLI ignores any other package manager you specify for inkathon.

Behavior notes

• If the contract path is inside a Rust workspace, Pop CLI adds the contract to the workspace manifest.

Running the frontend

After scaffolding your contract with a frontend, you can start the frontend development server from your generated contract folder with:

pop up frontend

This command starts the frontend dev server for your contract project. Need help?

Ask on Polkadot Stack Exchange (tag it pop) or drop by our Telegram. We're here to help!