Using the Chainlink Local simulator in Remix IDE

Integrate Chainlink Local into your project

If you use NPM, install the @chainlink/local NPM package:

npm install @chainlink/local@0.2.7-beta

If you use Yarn, install the @chainlink/local NPM package:

yarn add @chainlink/local@0.2.7-beta

If you use Foundry:

forge install smartcontractkit/chainlink-local@v0.2.7-beta

and then set remappings to: @chainlink/local/=lib/chainlink-local/ in either remappings.txt or foundry.toml file

Import the CCIPLocalSimulator contract from the @chainlink/local package:

import {CCIPLocalSimulator} from "@chainlink/local@0.2.7-beta/src/ccip/CCIPLocalSimulator.sol";

In this guide, you will test the Chainlink CCIP getting started guide locally in Remix IDE. You will:

Deploy a CCIP sender contract
Deploy a CCIP receiver contract
Use the local simulator to send data from the sender contract to the receiver contract

Prerequisites

Remix IDE is an online development environment that allows you to write, deploy, and test smart contracts. By default Remix IDE does not persist the files that you open from an external source. To save files, you will need to manually create a workspace and copy the files into the workspace.

Open the Remix IDE in your browser.
Create a new workspace.

Copy the content of the Test Chainlink Local Simulator contract into a new file in the workspace.

// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
pragma solidity 0.8.24;

// solhint-disable no-unused-import
// import {CCIPLocalSimulator} from "@chainlink/local/src/ccip/CCIPLocalSimulator.sol";

Open in Remix What is Remix?

Copy the content of the Sender contract into a new file in the workspace.

// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
pragma solidity 0.8.24;

import {IRouterClient} from "@chainlink/contracts-ccip/contracts/interfaces/IRouterClient.sol";
import {Client} from "@chainlink/contracts-ccip/contracts/libraries/Client.sol";
import {ExtraArgsCodec} from "@chainlink/contracts-ccip/contracts/libraries/ExtraArgsCodec.sol";
import {OwnerIsCreator} from "@chainlink/contracts/src/v0.8/shared/access/OwnerIsCreator.sol";
import {LinkTokenInterface} from "@chainlink/contracts/src/v0.8/shared/interfaces/LinkTokenInterface.sol";

/**
 * THIS IS AN EXAMPLE CONTRACT THAT USES HARDCODED VALUES FOR CLARITY.
 * THIS IS AN EXAMPLE CONTRACT THAT USES UN-AUDITED CODE.
 * DO NOT USE THIS CODE IN PRODUCTION.
 */

/// @title - A simple contract for sending string data across chains.
contract Sender is OwnerIsCreator {
  error NotEnoughBalance(uint256 currentBalance, uint256 calculatedFees);

  event MessageSent(
    bytes32 indexed messageId,
    uint64 indexed destinationChainSelector,
    address receiver,
    string text,
    address feeToken,
    uint256 fees
  );

  IRouterClient private s_router;
  LinkTokenInterface private s_linkToken;

  /// @notice Constructor initializes the contract with the router address.
  /// @param _router The address of the router contract.
  /// @param _link The address of the LINK token contract.
  constructor(
    address _router,
    address _link
  ) {
    s_router = IRouterClient(_router);
    s_linkToken = LinkTokenInterface(_link);
  }

  /// @notice Sends data to receiver on the destination chain.
  /// @dev Assumes your contract has sufficient LINK to cover fees.
  /// @param destinationChainSelector The identifier (aka selector) for the destination blockchain.
  /// @param receiver The address of the recipient on the destination blockchain.
  /// @param text The string text to be sent.
  /// @return messageId The ID of the message that was sent.
  function sendMessage(
    uint64 destinationChainSelector,
    address receiver,
    string calldata text
  ) external onlyOwner returns (bytes32 messageId) {
    // Create an EVM2AnyMessage struct in memory with necessary information for sending a cross-chain message
    Client.EVM2AnyMessage memory evm2AnyMessage = Client.EVM2AnyMessage({
      receiver: abi.encode(receiver), // ABI-encoded receiver address
      data: abi.encode(text), // ABI-encoded string
      tokenAmounts: new Client.EVMTokenAmount[](0), // Empty array — no tokens are being sent
      extraArgs: ExtraArgsCodec._getBasicEncodedExtraArgsV3(
        200_000, // Gas limit for the callback on the destination chain
        bytes4(0) // Default finality (wait for full finalization)
      ),
      feeToken: address(s_linkToken) // Pay CCIP fees in LINK
    });

    // Get the fee required to send the message
    uint256 fees = s_router.getFee(destinationChainSelector, evm2AnyMessage);

    if (fees > s_linkToken.balanceOf(address(this))) {
      revert NotEnoughBalance(s_linkToken.balanceOf(address(this)), fees);
    }

    // Approve the Router to transfer LINK tokens on contract's behalf. It will spend the fees in LINK
    s_linkToken.approve(address(s_router), fees);

    // Send the message through the router and store the returned message ID
    messageId = s_router.ccipSend(destinationChainSelector, evm2AnyMessage);

    // Emit an event with message details
    emit MessageSent(messageId, destinationChainSelector, receiver, text, address(s_linkToken), fees);

    // Return the message ID
    return messageId;
  }
}

Open in Remix What is Remix?

Copy the content of the Receiver contract into a new file in the workspace.

// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
pragma solidity 0.8.24;

import {CCIPReceiver} from "@chainlink/contracts-ccip/contracts/applications/CCIPReceiver.sol";
import {Client} from "@chainlink/contracts-ccip/contracts/libraries/Client.sol";
import {FinalityCodec} from "@chainlink/contracts-ccip/contracts/libraries/FinalityCodec.sol";

/**
 * THIS IS AN EXAMPLE CONTRACT THAT USES HARDCODED VALUES FOR CLARITY.
 * THIS IS AN EXAMPLE CONTRACT THAT USES UN-AUDITED CODE.
 * DO NOT USE THIS CODE IN PRODUCTION.
 */

/// @title - A simple contract for receiving string data across chains.
contract Receiver is CCIPReceiver {
  event MessageReceived(bytes32 indexed messageId, uint64 indexed sourceChainSelector, address sender, string text);

  bytes32 private s_lastReceivedMessageId;
  string private s_lastReceivedText;

  /// @notice Constructor initializes the contract with the router address.
  /// @param router The address of the router contract.
  constructor(
    address router
  ) CCIPReceiver(router) {}

  /// @notice Handle a received message.
  function _ccipReceive(
    Client.Any2EVMMessage memory any2EvmMessage
  ) internal override {
    s_lastReceivedMessageId = any2EvmMessage.messageId;
    s_lastReceivedText = abi.decode(any2EvmMessage.data, (string));

    emit MessageReceived(
      any2EvmMessage.messageId,
      any2EvmMessage.sourceChainSelector,
      abi.decode(any2EvmMessage.sender, (address)),
      abi.decode(any2EvmMessage.data, (string))
    );
  }

  /// @notice Returns the CCVs and finality config for a given source chain.
  /// @dev Override to advertise receiver finality policy to the OffRamp.
  function getCCVsAndFinalityConfig(
    uint64,
    bytes calldata
  )
    external
    view
    override
    returns (
      address[] memory requiredCCVs,
      address[] memory optionalCCVs,
      uint8 optionalThreshold,
      bytes4 allowedFinalityConfig
    )
  {
    return (new address[](0), new address[](0), 0, FinalityCodec.WAIT_FOR_FINALITY_FLAG);
  }

  /// @notice Fetches the details of the last received message.
  /// @return messageId The ID of the last received message.
  /// @return text The last received text.
  function getLastReceivedMessageDetails() external view returns (bytes32 messageId, string memory text) {
    return (s_lastReceivedMessageId, s_lastReceivedText);
  }
}

Open in Remix What is Remix?

At this point, you should have three files in your workspace:

TestCCIPLocalSimulator.sol: The file imports the Chainlink Chainlink Local simulator contract.
Sender.sol: The file contains the Sender contract that interacts with CCIP to send data to the Receiver contract.
Receiver.sol: The file contains the Receiver contract that receives data from the Sender contract.

Deploy the contracts

Compile the contracts.
Under the Deploy & Run Transactions tab, make sure Remix VM is selected in the Environment drop-down list. Remix will use a sandbox blockchain in the browser to deploy the contracts.
Deploy the Chainlink Local simulator:
1. Select the TestCCIPLocalSimulator.sol file in the file explorer.
2. In the Contract drop-down list, select CCIPLocalSimulator.
3. Click the Deploy button.
4. The CCIPLocalSimulator is shown in the Deployed Contracts section.
5. In the list of functions, click the configuration function to retrieve the configuration details for the pre-deployed contracts and services needed for local CCIP simulations:
You will interact with the LINK token contract to fund the sender contract with LINK tokens. The LINK token contract is pre-deployed in the local simulator configuration, so you can simply load the LINK token contract instance:
1. Select LinkToken in the Contract drop-down list.
2. Fill in the At Address field with the address of the LINK token contract from the CCIPLocalSimulator configuration.
3. Click the At Address button.
The LinkToken contract is shown in the Deployed Contracts section.
Deploy the Sender.sol contract:
1. Select the Sender.sol file in the file explorer.
2. In the Contract drop-down list, select Sender.
3. Under the Deploy section, fill in the constructor parameters:
  - _router: The address of the sourceRouter contract from the CCIPLocalSimulator configuration.
  - _link: The address of the LINK token contract from the CCIPLocalSimulator configuration.
4. Click the Deploy button.
The Sender contract is shown in the Deployed Contracts section.
Deploy the Receiver.sol contract:
1. Select the Receiver.sol file in the file explorer.
2. In the Contract drop-down list, select Receiver.
3. Under the Deploy section, fill in the constructor parameters:
  - _router: The address of the destinationRouter contract from the CCIPLocalSimulator configuration.
4. Click the Deploy button.
The Receiver contract is shown in the Deployed Contracts section.

Transfer data from the sender to the receiver

Fund the sender contract with LINK tokens to pay for CCIP fees:
1. Copy the address of the Sender contract from the Deployed Contracts section.
2. In the CCIPLocalSimulator contract, fill in the requestLinkFromFaucet function with the following inputs:
  - to: The address of the Sender contract.
  - amount: The amount of LINK tokens to transfer. For instance: 1000000000000000000.
3. Click the Transact button.
Send data from the sender contract to the receiver contract:
1. Copy the address of the Receiver contract from the Deployed Contracts section.
2. In the Sender contract, fill in the sendMessage function with:
  - destinationChainSelector: The destination chain selector. You can find it in the CCIPLocalSimulator configuration.
  - receiver: The address of the Receiver contract.
  - text: The text to send. For instance Hello!.
3. Remix IDE fails to estimate the gas properly for the sendMessage function. To work around this, you need to set the gas limit manually to 3000000:
4. Click the Transact button.
Check the receiver contract to verify the data transfer:
1. In the Receiver contract, click on the getLastReceivedMessageDetails function.
2. The getLastReceivedMessageDetails function returns the text sent from the Sender contract:

Next steps

You have successfully tested the CCIP getting started guide within a few minutes using Remix IDE. Testing locally is useful to debug your contracts and fix any issues before testing them on testnets, saving you time and resources. As an exercise, you can try any of the CCIP guides using the local simulator in Remix IDE.

Using the Chainlink Local simulator in Remix IDE

Prerequisites

Deploy the contracts

Transfer data from the sender to the receiver

Next steps

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