Building EVM Event Listeners for Eigenlayer Support

Introduction

This will guide you through setting up and using EVM event listeners for Eigenlayer support, using examples from the incredible squaring implementation.

EVM event listeners are crucial for interacting with smart contracts on Ethereum-compatible networks. In the context of Eigenlayer and the blueprint macro system, these listeners allow your Gadget to respond to specific events emitted by Eigenlayer contracts.

Setting Up EVM Event Listeners

1. Contract Definition

First, define the contract interface using the sol! macro. This generates Rust bindings for your smart contract.

sol!(
    #[allow(missing_docs)]
    #[sol(rpc)]
    IncredibleSquaringTaskManager,
    "contracts/out/IncredibleSquaringTaskManager.sol/IncredibleSquaringTaskManager.json"
);

2. Job Definition with Event Handler

Use the #[job] macro to define a function that will handle specific events. Include the event_listener attribute to specify the event details:

#[job(
    id = 1,
    params(number_to_be_squared, task_created_block, quorum_numbers, quorum_threshold_percentage),
    result(_),
    event_listener(
        instance = IncredibleSquaringTaskManager,
        event = IncredibleSquaringTaskManager::NewTaskCreated,
        event_converter = convert_event_to_inputs,
        callback = IncredibleSquaringTaskManager::IncredibleSquaringTaskManagerCalls::respondToTask
    ),
)]
pub async fn xsquare(
    number_to_be_squared: U256,
    task_created_block: u32,
    quorum_numbers: Bytes,
    quorum_threshold_percentage: u32,
) -> Result<respondToTaskCall, Infallible> {
    // Implementation details...
}

3. Event Converter Function

Implement a function to convert the event data into the format expected by your job function:

pub fn convert_event_to_inputs(
    event: IncredibleSquaringTaskManager::NewTaskCreated,
) -> (U256, u32, Bytes, u32) {
    let number_to_be_squared = event.task.numberToBeSquared;
    let task_created_block = event.task.taskCreatedBlock;
    let quorum_numbers = event.task.quorumNumbers;
    let quorum_threshold_percentage = event.task.quorumThresholdPercentage;
    (
        number_to_be_squared,
        task_created_block,
        quorum_numbers,
        quorum_threshold_percentage,
    )
}

Implementing the Event Listener

1. Set Up the Provider

Create an HTTP provider to connect to the Ethereum network:

let http_provider = ProviderBuilder::new()
    .with_recommended_fillers()
    .wallet(wallet.clone())
    .on_http(self.env.rpc_endpoint.parse()?)
    .root()
    .clone()
    .boxed();

2. Create the Contract Instance

Instantiate the contract using the generated bindings:

let contract: IncredibleSquaringTaskManager::IncredibleSquaringTaskManagerInstance =
    IncredibleSquaringTaskManager::IncredibleSquaringTaskManagerInstance::new(contract_address, provider);

3. Set Up the Event Watcher

Use the EventWatcher to listen for and handle events:

EventWatcher::run(
    &EigenlayerEventWatcher,
    contract,
    vec![Box::new(x_square_eigen)],
)
.await?;

Best Practices and Considerations

1. Error Handling: Implement robust error handling in your event listener functions to manage potential failures gracefully.
2. Asynchronous Operations: Use async/await for operations that may take time, such as network requests or complex computations.
3. Event Filtering: Consider implementing additional filtering logic in your event converter function if you need to process only specific events based on certain criteria.
4. State Management: If your Gadget needs to maintain state between events, consider implementing a state management system.
5. Testing: Implement unit tests for your event handling logic, including the event converter function.
6. Logging: Use appropriate logging to track the event handling process and aid in debugging.
7. Gas Considerations: Be aware of the gas costs associated with your on-chain interactions, especially when responding to events with transactions.
8. Scalability: Design your event handling system to scale with the number of events you expect to process.