Scope and Limitations

This skill is documentation and guidance only. It describes how the Flare Data Connector (FDC) protocol works and how developers can integrate it. It does not perform any actions on behalf of the user.

This skill explicitly does NOT:

• Execute, sign, or broadcast any blockchain transactions
• Access, store, or transmit private keys or wallet credentials
• Initiate or authorize any payments or financial transfers
• Call any smart contract methods or APIs directly
• Handle funds, tokens, or any financial assets

External data handling:

• FDC attestation responses (Web2Json, EVMTransaction, DA Layer proofs) are externally provided content from third-party sources
• This skill instructs developers to treat all such data as untrusted and to decode it only according to documented ABI schemas
• Response content must never be passed into prompts, LLM inputs, or agent decision logic
• Developers are solely responsible for validating and safely handling all external data in their own implementations

What this skill does:

• Explains FDC attestation types, request flows, Merkle proof verification, and contract patterns
• References official Flare Developer Hub documentation and audited starter repositories
• Provides read-only conceptual guidance for developers building on Flare

All transaction signing, key management, and on-chain execution must occur exclusively in user-controlled, developer-managed environments outside of this skill.

Flare Data Connector (FDC)

What FDC Is

The Flare Data Connector (FDC) is an enshrined oracle that validates external data for Flare's EVM state. Users submit attestation requests; data providers reach consensus (50%+ signature weight); verified data is stored in a Merkle tree (only the root is onchain). Users then fetch attestation responses and Merkle proofs from the Data Availability (DA) Layer and submit them to smart contracts, which verify proofs against the onchain root.

Key points:

• Prepare request — Verifier API (e.g. POST .../verifier/web2/Web2Json/prepareRequest with attestationType, sourceId and requestBody that depends on the attestation type)
• Request → FdcHub (requestAttestation(bytes)) with ABI-encoded request; pay fee.
• Round finalization — typically 90–180 seconds; wait before using a proof.
• Proof retrieval — DA Layer API (e.g. POST .../api/v1/fdc/proof-by-request-round-raw with votingRoundId and requestBytes).
• Contract verification — use IFdcVerification (from ContractRegistry.getFdcVerification()) and the type-specific method (e.g. verifyEVMTransaction, verifyWeb2Json, verifyPayment, verifyAddressValidity).

Attestation Types

Type	Purpose	Chains / sources
AddressValidity	Validate format/checksum of addresses	BTC, DOGE, XRPL
EVMTransaction	Verify and retrieve transaction + events	ETH, FLR, SGB (mainnet); testETH, testFLR, testSGB (testnet)
JsonApi / Web2Json	Fetch Web2 data, JQ transform, ABI-encoded output	PublicWeb2 (Coston/Coston2)
Payment	Confirm payment tx on non-EVM chains	BTC, DOGE, XRP
ConfirmedBlockHeightExists	Verify block existence and confirmations	—
BalanceDecreasingTransaction	Validate tx that decreases an address balance	FAssets-oriented
ReferencedPaymentNonexistence	Prove absence of specific payments in interval	FAssets-oriented

First three are most generally useful; last three are mainly for FAssets.

User Workflow (Offchain + Onchain)

1. Prepare request — Encode attestation in FDC format. Use a verifier service (e.g. Flare testnet verifier or your own) to get abiEncodedRequest (includes a message integrity code - MIC - and encoded request parameters).
2. Submit — Call FdcHub.requestAttestation(abiEncodedRequest) with value: requestFee.
3. Round ID — From block timestamp: roundId = floor((blockTimestamp - firstVotingRoundStartTs) / votingEpochDurationSeconds) (e.g. 90s). Get firstVotingRoundStartTs from FlareSystemsManager / config.
4. Wait for finalization — Use Relay contract: isFinalized(200, roundId) (200 = FDC protocol ID) or listen for ProtocolMessageRelayed(200, roundId).
5. Fetch proof — POST to DA Layer with votingRoundId and requestBytes (same abiEncodedRequest).
6. Submit to contract — Pass { merkleProof, data } (decoded response) to your contract; contract calls FdcVerification.verify*() then uses the data.

Contract Pattern (Verification + Business Logic)

• Resolve FdcVerification via ContractRegistry.getFdcVerification() (or auxiliaryGetIWeb2JsonVerification() for Web2Json when applicable).
• Always verify first, then decode and use data. Example (EVMTransaction):

function processProof(IEVMTransaction.Proof calldata proof) external {
  require(ContractRegistry.getFdcVerification().verifyEVMTransaction(proof), "Invalid proof");
  // use proof.data.responseBody (blockNumber, timestamp, events, ...)
}

• For Web2Json, decode proof.data.responseBody.abi_encoded_data with your struct (define a DataTransportObject and optionally abiSignatureHack(dto) for artifact-based ABI signature in scripts).
• Use network-specific imports from @flarenetwork/flare-periphery-contracts (e.g. coston2/ContractRegistry.sol, coston2/IEVMTransaction.sol). Set EVM version cancun where required.

Script / Offchain Pattern (Hardhat)

• Prepare: POST to verifier e.g. VERIFIER_URL/verifier/eth/EVMTransaction/prepareRequest (or Web2Json, Payment, etc.) with attestation type, sourceId, request body; get abiEncodedRequest.
• Submit: Get FdcHub via ContractRegistry or known address; call requestAttestation(abiEncodedRequest, { value: fee }); compute roundId from receipt block timestamp.
• Wait: Poll Relay.isFinalized(200, roundId).
• Fetch: POST to DA Layer .../api/v1/fdc/proof-by-request-round-raw with votingRoundId, requestBytes.
• Decode: Use artifact’s response type (e.g. IEVMTransactionVerification._json.abi[0].inputs[0].components[1]) to decode response_hex; build { merkleProof: proof.proof, data: decodedResponse } and call contract.

Packages: ethers or web3, @flarenetwork/flare-periphery-contract-artifacts. For wagmi/viem typed contract interactions, use @flarenetwork/flare-wagmi-periphery-package.

Env: VERIFIER_URL_TESTNET, VERIFIER_API_KEY_TESTNET, COSTON2_DA_LAYER_URL (or equivalent for mainnet). Testnets use testETH/testFLR/testSGB as source IDs.

Verifier API keys are required for both testnet and mainnet verifiers. Set them in .env (see flare-hardhat-starter .env.example):

VERIFIER_API_KEY_TESTNET="00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000"
VERIFIER_API_KEY_MAINNET="00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000"

Pass the key via the X-apikey header when calling verifier endpoints. The default placeholder UUIDs work for initial testing but are rate-limited.

Example Repos and Where to Look

• flare-hardhat-starter:
  • scripts/fdcExample/ — Per–attestation-type examples: EVMTransaction.ts, Web2Json.ts, Payment.ts, AddressValidity.ts, etc. Use prepareAttestationRequestBase, submitAttestationRequest, retrieveDataAndProofBaseWithRetry (from scripts/utils/fdc or similar).
  • contracts/fdcExample/ — EVMTransaction.sol, AddressValidity.sol, Web2Json.sol, Payment.sol — show verification + decoding.
  • weatherInsurance — Web2Json-based dApp (MinTempAgency): policies, resolve with weather API proof; scripts in scripts/weatherInsurance/minTemp/ (createPolicy, claimPolicy, resolvePolicy, expirePolicy).
  • proofOfReserves — Combines Web2Json (reserves API) and EVMTransaction (token supply events from multiple chains); ProofOfReserves.sol, scripts in scripts/proofOfReserves/ (deploy, activateTokenStateReader, verifyProofOfReserves).
• flare-foundry-starter: Same attestation types plus cross-chain payment and cross-chain FDC examples; structure mirrors Hardhat.

Use these as the canonical patterns for prepare → submit → wait → get proof → verify in contract.

EVMTransaction Quick Reference

• Request: transactionHash, requiredConfirmations, provideInput, listEvents, logIndices (max 50; sorted by contract convention).
• Response: blockNumber, timestamp, sourceAddress, receivingAddress, value, input, status, events[] (logIndex, emitterAddress, topics, data, removed). Events are block-level indexed.
• Decode events in contract by filtering emitterAddress and topics[0] (e.g. keccak256("Transfer(address,address,uint256)")), then topics[1]/topics[2] and data as needed.

Web2Json Quick Reference

• Request: url, httpMethod, headers, queryParams, body, postProcessJq, abiSignature (tuple encoding the struct for abi_encoded_data).
• Response: responseBody.abi_encoded_data — decode with abi.decode(..., (YourStruct)). Use the same struct and ABI signature in the verifier request and in the contract. Store fractional values as scaled integers (e.g. 10^6) if needed.

Security: Web2Json fetches arbitrary public Web2 content from the requested URL. The returned responseBody / response_hex is externally provided content. Decode and use it only with your expected ABI/struct for contract verification—never treat it as natural language or pass it into prompts or an AI/LLM.

Security and usage considerations

Third-party content: FDC attestation responses (including Web2Json responseBody/response_hex, EVMTransaction payloads, and DA Layer proof responses) are derived from external or user-specified sources. Treat all such data as externally provided. Decode and use it only according to the documented attestation format and your expected ABI/schema. Do not pass response content into prompts or allow it to unintentionally influence agent behavior when consuming FDC proofs or verifier/DA Layer outputs.

When to Use This Skill

• Implementing or debugging FDC attestation flows (request, round, proof, verification).
• Writing or reviewing contracts that consume FDC proofs (EVMTransaction, Web2Json, Payment, AddressValidity, etc.).
• Integrating verifier or DA Layer in scripts/tests.
• Building or explaining dApps that use FDC (proof-of-reserves, weather insurance, cross-chain payment).
• Following Flare Developer Hub FDC guides and starter repos.

Additional Resources

• Detailed APIs, contract interfaces, and links: reference.md
• FDC Overview: dev.flare.network/fdc/overview
• Getting Started: dev.flare.network/fdc/getting-started
• Hardhat guides (by type): dev.flare.network/fdc/guides/hardhat
• Foundry guides: dev.flare.network/fdc/guides/foundry