Monad is Fast. Your Code Should Be Reliable. (A New Foundry Starter Kit)

A thoughtful, hardened Foundry starter kit for building secure applications on Monad's 10,000 TPS network.

Speed Requires Stability

Monad is changing the conversation. With 10,000 TPS, 1-second finality, and parallel execution, it isn't just "another EVM chain", it is a high-performance engine for the next generation of onchain applications.

But in high-performance environments, reliability is everything.

When we build at speed, the cracks in our foundation show up faster. A default configuration might work for a hackathon, but does it communicate trust? Is it thoughtful enough to handle the nuances of via_ir optimization or the rigor of property-based fuzz testing?

I built the Monad Foundry Starter Kit to answer that question.

It is not just a template. It is a standard for Reliable, Thoughtful, and Excellent engineering on Monad.

Why Another Starter Kit?
The Monad team has done an incredible job with their official resources, providing a great entry point for developers. My goal isn't to replace that, but to harden it.

I wanted to build an environment that feels like a professional workshop where the tools are sharp, the safety protocols are in place, and the workflow is designed for craftsmanship, not just speed.

Here is how this kit brings Reliability and Thoughtfulness to your workflow.

1. Optimized for Monad's Engine (via_ir)
Monad's execution environment is highly optimized. To match that, your Solidity code should be too.

In this kit, the foundry.toml comes pre-configured with via_ir = true and the cancun EVM version. This ensures your contracts take full advantage of the Intermediate Representation (IR) optimization pipeline, which is crucial for gas efficiency and complex logic on a high-throughput chain.

[profile.default]
src = "src"
out = "out"
test = "test"
script = "script"
libs = ["lib"]

# Compiler Settings
solc_version = "0.8.24"
evm_version = "cancun"
optimizer = true
optimizer_runs = 200
via_ir = true 

The Thoughtful Detail: Many devs forget to enable this until deployment day. We make it the default.

2. A Makefile That Speaks "Developer"
Complex Foundry commands are powerful, but they are also prone to typos. I've abstracted the complexity into a robust Makefile that handles the heavy lifting reliably.

Instead of remembering long flags for verification or deployment, you execute clear, intent-based commands:

make build          # Compiles with optimization
make test           # Runs Unit + Integration tests
make test-gas       # Generates a gas report
make deploy-testnet # Deploys reliably to Monad Testnet
make verify-testnet # Verifies on Blockvision/Sourcify

The Reliable Detail: The deploy commands include safety checks and clear separation between local (Anvil) and network (Monad) environments, preventing accidental mainnet deployments.

3. Testing: Beyond "It Works"
"It works on my machine" isn't enough for decentralized finance. This kit establishes a testing culture based on Negative Testing and Fuzzing.
- Unit Tests: We don't just test that a user can update a value; we explicitly test that unauthorized users revert.
- Fuzz Tests: Included by default (MonadGreeterFuzz.t.sol), running 10,000 randomized scenarios to catch edge cases you might miss.

The Excellent Detail: The kit includes a pre-built CI workflow (ci.yml) that enforces these tests on every Pull Request. You can't merge broken code.

Getting Started
Onboarding to Monad should be seamless. Here is how you can start building with clarity today.

Step 1: Clone the Standard

git clone https://github.com/obinnafranklinduru/monad-foundry-starter
cd /monad-foundry-starter
make install

Step 2: Secure Configuration
We use a thoughtful .gitignore strategy to keep your secrets safe.

cp .env.example .env
# Add your MONAD_TESTNET_RPC and PRIVATE_KEY

Step 3: Build & Deploy
Experience the flow.

make build
make test

When you are ready to go onchain:

make deploy-testnet

The Vision
We are part of a movement. Monad provides the speed; we provide the stability.

I believe that every line of code we write is a promise to the user. By starting with a foundation that values Reliability, Thoughtfulness, and Excellence, we aren't just deploying contracts-we are building an ecosystem that people can trust.

If you are a developer looking to build on Monad with precision, this kit is for you.

Repository: https://github.com/obinnafranklinduru/monad-foundry-starter
Connect: Twitter/X

Let's build something excellent.

Obinna Duru (BinnaDev) is a Smart Contract Engineer dedicated to building reliable, secure, and efficient onchain systems.