Configuration

Skittles is configured via a skittles.config.json or skittles.config.js file in your project root.

Config File

Create skittles.config.json:

skittles.config.json

{
  "contractsDir": "contracts",
  "outputDir": "artifacts",
  "typeCheck": true
}

Or use JavaScript for dynamic configuration:

skittles.config.js

module.exports = {
  contractsDir: "contracts",
  outputDir: "artifacts",
  typeCheck: true,
};

Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
contractsDir	string	"contracts"	Directory containing your TypeScript contract files
outputDir	string	"artifacts"	Directory where compiled output is written
cacheDir	string	"cache"	Directory where the compilation cache is stored
typeCheck	boolean	true	Enable TypeScript type checking during compilation
consoleLog	boolean	false	Enable console.log() support for debugging (compiles to Hardhat's console.log)
solidity	object	See below	Solidity output settings (pragma version and SPDX license)

Solidity Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
solidity.version	string	"^0.8.20"	Solidity pragma version for generated files
solidity.license	string	"MIT"	SPDX license identifier for generated files

Example with custom Solidity settings:

skittles.config.json

{
  "solidity": {
    "version": "^0.8.24",
    "license": "GPL-3.0"
  }
}

Default Behavior

If no config file is found, Skittles uses these defaults:

{
  "contractsDir": "contracts",
  "outputDir": "artifacts",
  "typeCheck": true,
  "solidity": {
    "version": "^0.8.20",
    "license": "MIT"
  }
}

Hardhat Configuration

Skittles compiles your contracts and outputs the result to the configured outputDir. To test and deploy, use Hardhat. Configure paths.sources in hardhat.config.ts to point at your output directory:

hardhat.config.ts

export default defineConfig({
  paths: { sources: "./artifacts/solidity", tests: "./test" },
  solidity: {
    version: "0.8.20",
    settings: { optimizer: { enabled: true, runs: 200 } },
  },
});

Incremental Compilation

Skittles uses SHA256 based incremental compilation. A cache file (.skittles-cache.json) is stored in the cache directory (default: cache/) and tracks:

• The hash of each source file
• The hash of all shared definitions (types, functions, constants)

On subsequent compilations:

• If a file has not changed and no shared definitions have changed, the cached artifacts are reused
• If a file changed, only that file is recompiled
• If any shared definition changed (e.g., a struct in types.ts), all files that depend on shared definitions are recompiled

This keeps compilation fast even as your project grows. Use skittles clean to clear the cache and force a full recompilation.

TypeScript Configuration

Skittles reads TypeScript files directly using the TypeScript compiler API. You do not need a special tsconfig.json for Skittles, but having one gives you IDE support.

The skittles init command generates a tsconfig.json configured for contract development:

tsconfig.json

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2022",
    "module": "nodenext",
    "moduleResolution": "nodenext",
    "lib": ["ES2022"],
    "strict": true,
    "strictPropertyInitialization": false,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
    "resolveJsonModule": true,
    "outDir": "./dist",
    "rootDir": "."
  },
  "include": ["contracts/**/*"],
  "exclude": ["node_modules", "artifacts", "cache", "dist"]
}

Key settings:

• strictPropertyInitialization: false is important because state variables are initialized on the blockchain, not in a constructor
• include should cover your contracts directory
• outDir and rootDir are only relevant if you also run the TypeScript compiler directly (not required for Skittles)