Interfaces¶

An interface is a set of function definitions used to enable communication between smart contracts. A contract interface defines all of that contract’s externally available functions. By importing the interface, your contract now knows how to call these functions in other contracts.

Declaring and using Interfaces¶

Interfaces can be added to contracts either through inline definition, or by importing them from a separate file.

The interface keyword is used to define an inline external interface:

interface FooBar:
    def calculate() -> uint256: view
    def test1(): nonpayable

The defined interface can then be use to make external calls, given a contract address:

@external
def test(some_address: address):
    FooBar(some_address).calculate()

The interface name can also be used as a type annotation for storage variables. You then assign an address value to the variable to access that interface. Note that assignment of an address requires the value to be cast using the interface type e.g. FooBar(<address_var>):

foobar_contract: FooBar

@external
def __init__(foobar_address: address):
    self.foobar_contract = FooBar(foobar_address)

@external
def test():
    self.foobar_contract.calculate()

Specifying payable or nonpayable annotation indicates that the call made to the external contract will be able to alter storage, whereas the view pure call will use a STATICCALL ensuring no storage can be altered during execution. Additionally, payable allows non-zero value to be sent along with the call.

interface FooBar:
    def calculate() -> uint256: pure
    def query() -> uint256: view
    def update(): nonpayable
    def pay(): payable

@external
def test(some_address: address):
    FooBar(some_address).calculate()  # cannot change storage
    FooBar(some_address).query()  # cannot change storage, but reads itself
    FooBar(some_address).update()  # storage can be altered
    FooBar(some_address).pay(value=1)  # storage can be altered, and value can be sent

Importing Interfaces¶

Interfaces are imported with import or from ... import statements.

Imported interfaces are written using standard Vyper syntax. The body of each function is ignored when the interface is imported. If you are defining a standalone interface, it is normally specified by using a pass statement:

@external
def test1():
    pass

@external
def calculate() -> uint256:
    pass

You can also import a fully implemented contract and Vyper will automatically convert it to an interface. It is even possible for a contract to import itself to gain access to it’s own interface.

import greeter as Greeter

name: public(String[10])

@external
def __init__(_name: String[10]):
    self.name = _name

@view
@external
def greet() -> String[16]:
    return concat("Hello ", Greeter(msg.sender).name())

Imports via `import`¶

With absolute import statements, you must include an alias as a name for the imported package. In the following example, failing to include as Foo will raise a compile error:

import contract.foo as Foo

Imports via `from ... import`¶

Using from you can perform both absolute and relative imports. You may optionally include an alias - if you do not, the name of the interface will be the same as the file.

# without an alias
from contract import foo

# with an alias
from contract import foo as Foo

Relative imports are possible by prepending dots to the contract name. A single leading dot indicates a relative import starting with the current package. Two leading dots indicate a relative import from the parent of the current package:

from . import foo
from ..interfaces import baz

Searching For Interface Files¶

When looking for a file to import Vyper will first search relative to the same folder as the contract being compiled. For absolute imports, it also searches relative to the root path for the project. Vyper checks for the file name with a .vy suffix first, then .json.

When using the command line compiler, the root path defaults to to the current working directory. You can change it with the -p flag:

$ vyper my_project/contracts/my_contract.vy -p my_project

In the above example, the my_project folder is set as the root path. A contract cannot perform a relative import that goes beyond the top-level folder.

Built-in Interfaces¶

Vyper includes common built-in interfaces such as ERC20 and ERC721. These are imported from vyper.interfaces:

from vyper.interfaces import ERC20

implements: ERC20

You can see all the available built-in interfaces in the Vyper GitHub repo.

Implementing an Interface¶

You can define an interface for your contract with the implements statement:

import an_interface as FooBarInterface

implements: FooBarInterface

This imports the defined interface from the vyper file at an_interface.vy (or an_interface.json if using ABI json interface type) and ensures your current contract implements all the necessary external functions. If any interface functions are not included in the contract, it will fail to compile. This is especially useful when developing contracts around well-defined standards such as ERC20.

Extracting Interfaces¶

Vyper has a built-in format option to allow you to make your own vyper interfaces easily.

$ vyper -f interface examples/voting/ballot.vy

# Functions

@view
@external
def delegated(addr: address) -> bool:
    pass

# ...

If you want to do an external call to another contract, vyper provides an external interface extract utility as well.

$ vyper -f external_interface examples/voting/ballot.vy

# External Contracts
interface Ballot:
    def delegated(addr: address) -> bool: view
    def directlyVoted(addr: address) -> bool: view
    def giveRightToVote(voter: address): nonpayable
    def forwardWeight(delegate_with_weight_to_forward: address): nonpayable
    # ...

The output can then easily be copy-pasted to be consumed.