Solidity Smart Contract development on Windows

[abcoathup]

There are two main options to setup our environment for Solidity Smart Contract development on Windows.

The Microsoft recommendation is to use Windows Subsystem for Linux.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/nodejs/setup-on-windows#use-windows-subsystem-for-linux-for-production
Many Node.js packages and frameworks are created with a *nix environment in mind and most Node.js apps are deployed on Linux, so developing on WSL ensures consistency between your development and production environments.

Set up on Windows Subsystem for Linux (Windows 10)

I use Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2) on Windows 10.

Set up Node.js on WSL 2

See @Jshanks21 walkthrough for installing WSL:

How to Install WSL for Windows 10 - Includes WSL2 Optional Steps

This walkthrough attempts to compile multiple sources and guides on how to install WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) to optimize for smart contract development. Ideally, this will serve as a full guide for functional installation. In many cases, this will serve as just another resource to help optimize the installation for your specific needs. All the information in this walkthrough can be found in other guides and resources online. They will be presented as used in relevant steps. They will a…

Set up on native Windows

Install nvm (Node Version Manager)
(Note: There are alternate ways to install node such as nodejs installer: https://nodejs.org/en/download/ )

Set up Node.js on native Windows

Then install Git:

Set up Node.js on native Windows

Install Windows Build Tools:
https://github.com/felixrieseberg/windows-build-tools#readme

If you are unpacking Starter Kits then you can use Git Bash terminal (thanks @pantsme).

---

For an editor, I recommend VS Code:

Visual Studio Code - The open source AI code editor

Along with @juanfranblanco's Solidity Extension:

solidity - Visual Studio Marketplace

The settings for use with OpenZeppelin are documented in the repository: https://github.com/juanfranblanco/vscode-solidity#openzeppelin

---

Note: This is a wiki post, please update/edit.

[JasonRussell]

Hey there! That's great! As you mentioned, one of the main options recommended by Microsoft is to use Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Using WSL allows you to work within a Linux environment directly within your Windows operating system. This is particularly useful for Node.js development, since many Node.js packages and frameworks are created with a *nix environment in mind. When setting up WSL on Windows 10, it's important to keep in mind that you'll need a valid Windows activation key to properly activate your operating system. Once you have that taken care of, you can follow the instructions provided by Microsoft to set up WSL on your machine.