Scalus Introduction
Scalus is a development platform for building smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) on the Cardano blockchain. It provides a unified environment where developers can write both on-chain smart contracts and off-chain logic using Scala 3 - a modern, expressive, and type-safe functional programming language.
Get Started with Scalus
🚀Quick Start Guide
Install Scalus and create your first validator in 5 minutes
⚙️Build a Smart Contract
Learn to write, compile, and test Cardano validators
🏗️Build Transactions
Construct and submit Cardano transactions with TxBuilder
đź’ˇDApp Starter Tutorial
Build a complete native token minting service from scratch
New to Cardano or Scala? Check out our onboarding guides for developers coming from either ecosystem.
Why Choose Scalus for Cardano Development?
One Language, Full Stack
Write smart contracts and application logic in Scala 3. No context switching between Plutus/Aiken for contracts and JavaScript/Python for frontends and backends.
Type-Safe by Design
Catch errors at compile time, not on-chain. Leverage Scala’s powerful type system to prevent entire classes of bugs before deployment.
Professional Tooling
Debug validators with breakpoints in IntelliJ IDEA or VS Code. Step through execution, inspect variables, and use the tools you already know.
Battle-Tested Ecosystem
Built on the JVM with access to thousands of proven libraries. Use ScalaTest for testing, Akka for concurrency, and the entire Scala ecosystem.
Fine-Grained Control
Advanced optimizations give you control over generated UPLC code. Reduce script size and execution costs with macros, inline optimizations, and direct Script Context access.
Development Workflow
- Write - Smart contracts and off-chain logic in Scala 3
- Test - Unit, integration, and property-based tests with ScalaTest and ScalaCheck
- Debug - Step through validators with breakpoints in your IDE
- Optimize - Reduce script size and costs with advanced techniques
- Build - Construct transactions with automatic fee calculation and balancing
- Deploy - Test on local devnet, then ship to mainnet
Modern Development Experience
Built for professional developers and teams, Scalus provides:
- Industry-Standard IDEs - Full support for IntelliJ IDEA and VS Code with intelligent code completion
- Comprehensive Testing - Unit tests, integration tests, and property-based testing with ScalaTest and ScalaCheck
- Rich Ecosystem - Access to thousands of JVM libraries and the entire Scala ecosystemÂ
- One Language - Write everything in Scala 3—no juggling multiple languages, tools, or paradigms
Scalus is a development platform made for professionals and businesses who value productivity, type safety, and code quality.