WakeUp Labs - Update Thread: AssemblyScript Integration for the Arbitrum Stylus SDK

DAO Programs & Initiatives
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TL;DR

This thread will keep you updated on our work integrating AssemblyScript (a TypeScript-like language) into the Arbitrum Stylus SDK.

Why does it matter? Because it lets developers write fast, efficient smart contracts using a language they already know.

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Why AssemblyScript and the Stylus SDK?

The Stylus SDK already lets you build super fast smart contracts using Rust. But not every developer knows Rust. That’s where AssemblyScript comes in—it’s based on TypeScript, which many developers are already familiar with.

By adding AssemblyScript to the mix, we’re making it much easier for JavaScript and TypeScript developers to jump into blockchain development—without losing the speed and power Stylus is known for.

How This Helps the Arbitrum Ecosystem

This upgrade opens the door for thousands of TypeScript and script-based developers to build on Arbitrum. It brings more flexibility and lowers the learning curve for Web3 devs.

We’re aiming to support 90%+ of what the current Stylus SDK can do—so developers still get all the performance benefits, but with a more familiar language.

In short: more devs, building better apps, faster.

What’s Next

We’re kicking things off with technical research and SDK design. After that, we’ll move into development, sharing everything with the community along the way in the Arbitrum DAO forum.

We’ll also track important stuff like how fast the SDK is, how many people use it, and how secure it is—so the whole project stays aligned with the Arbitrum community’s goals.

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Stylus Sprint Program Updates
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As a person who uses TypeScript a lot, I appreciate this.

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Project Kickoff: Bringing AssemblyScript to Stylus

Over the next few months, the WakeUp Labs team is focused on bringing high-performance smart contracts to developers who already know a Script-based language. This means you won’t need to learn a whole new language from scratch to start building on Arbitrum.

We’re starting with deep research and SDK architecture planning, followed by hands-on development. Everything will be open and documented so the community can follow along.

We’re excited to help more developers join the Web3 movement by making powerful tools easier to use.

Stay tuned for progress updates and key milestones!

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WakeUp Labs Completes Key Milestone with Arbitrum: Making Smart Contracts More Accessible with AssemblyScript

TL;DR:

We have successfully completed Milestone #2 in our collaboration with Arbitrum. This milestone focused on feasibility: could AssemblyScript really work within the Stylus framework? Our team dove deep into the Stylus SDK, WebAssembly behavior, and developer tooling. The outcome: a working proof-of-concept, a detailed technical architecture, and a clear path forward.

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Why This Matters

Our mission in Milestone #2 was to rigorously analyze whether AssemblyScript — a TypeScript-to-WebAssembly compiler — could be integrated with the Arbitrum Stylus SDK. The goal: enable developers to write Stylus-compatible smart contracts using a familiar, script-like syntax. With so many developers already proficient in JavaScript and TypeScript, AssemblyScript has the potential to broaden participation in smart contract development.

But first, we had to answer a critical question:
Can AssemblyScript work smoothly with Stylus?

To achieve this, we began by researching how AssemblyScript interacts with WebAssembly, focusing on its unique patterns and constraints. We then performed an in-depth analysis of the Stylus SDK to pinpoint the most viable integration points. Based on these insights, we defined the technical requirements needed to create robust AssemblyScript bindings. With those foundations in place, we designed a high-level architecture for the toolchain that outlines how the components would work together. Finally, we built an initial proof of concept to validate the core integration and demonstrate its potential.

What We Deliver

This phase was all about exploring that integration. Here’s what we delivered:

  • Feasibility Report. A detailed study of AssemblyScript ↔ WebAssembly interaction challenges and Stylus SDK architecture.
  • High-Level Architecture. We mapped out how AssemblyScript bindings would bridge into Stylus, including a modular view of necessary components.
  • Roadmap. A technical trajectory covering how we’ll move from research to production-grade tools, with priorities for binding design and dev tooling.
  • Initial Proof of Concept. A minimal implementation showing key components of AssemblyScript interacting with Stylus VM — early, but effective.
  • A demo — as an example of a successful implementation integrated with Stylus VM.

What’s Next?

With Milestone #2 complete, we’re moving into Milestone #3: Core Development – Setting the Foundation, where we’ll:

  • Build the actual AssemblyScript bindings and SDK-compatible APIs.

  • Set up a dedicated WebAssembly compilation pipeline tailored for AssemblyScript.

  • Begin developing developer-facing utilities for contract compilation and testing.

AssemblyScript offers a TypeScript-like syntax that lowers the learning curve for Web2 developers entering Web3. By bringing this to Stylus, we’re expanding the smart contract developer base — without compromising on performance or safety. It’s a step toward greater inclusivity and innovation in the Arbitrum ecosystem.

Thanks for following along! Don’t forget to connect with us on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn for the latest updates.

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Demo Now Live: AssemblyScript + Stylus

We’ve just released a demo showcasing our AssemblyScript integration with the Stylus SDK, part of our ongoing collaboration with Arbitrum. The demo features an ERC-20 smart contract written in AssemblyScript, demonstrating how TypeScript developers can now get closer to onchain deployment using familiar syntax.

Let’s build Arbitrum together! :raising_hands:

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Milestone #3 & #4 Completed: Core Development and Feature Implementation

TL;DR:

We’ve completed our third and fourth milestones, pushing AssemblyScript support for Stylus into real development workflows. From APIs and compilation to ERC standards and CLI tooling developers can now start experimenting with AssemblyScript smart contracts on Arbitrum.

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What We Achieved

Milestone #3 – Core Development

This phase was focused on laying the technical foundation for AssemblyScript on Stylus:

  • :white_check_mark: Built a WebAssembly compilation workflow tailored for AssemblyScript and compatible with Stylus constraints.
  • :white_check_mark: Defined early-stage AssemblyScript APIs to expose essential types and contract patterns.
  • :white_check_mark: Delivered a minimal example contract in AssemblyScript to illustrate the development flow.
  • :white_check_mark: Introduced an initial ABI generation process to support tooling compatibility.

Deliverables

As part of this milestone, we focused both on proving the technical workflow and on making the developer experience more tangible. Here’s what we shipped:

Demo

  • Example Contract: a minimal smart contract written in AssemblyScript, showing the basic development flow on Stylus.
  • ABI Output Tooling: a prototype tool that automatically generates ABI specs from AssemblyScript source.
  • Developer Experience: early insights into how the SDK feels to use, including workflow steps and usability notes.

Report

  • Compilation Workflow: a detailed overview of the AssemblyScript → WebAssembly → Stylus compilation pipeline.
  • Interfaces Definition: documentation of the key design decisions around which types are supported by the AssemblyScript SDK.

Milestone #4 – Feature Implementation

With the core in place, we extended the SDK to cover more advanced use cases and developer experience:

  • Added support for essential Stylus SDK features enabling low-level system interactions.
  • Expanded the toolchain for WebAssembly-specific requirements.
  • ERC-20 compatibility: full implementation for token contracts.
  • ERC-721 compatibility: progress toward NFT development workflows.
  • Released our first CLI (available on npm) to create, compile, and deploy AssemblyScript contracts.

Deliverables:

  • CLI Demo: How to create, compile, and deploy AssemblyScript contracts using the CLI.
  • Playground Demo: Interactive environment to experiment with deployed AssemblyScript contracts.
  • Developer Documentation: Usage guides, API references, and workflow instructions.
  • Developer Playground: A web-based playground where developers can experiment with and interact directly with their AssemblyScript smart contracts.

Useful Links

Why This Matters

AssemblyScript and TypeScript share a familiar syntax, lowering the barrier for thousands of developers to build on Stylus. Bringing this to Stylus makes Arbitrum more accessible while preserving the performance and safety of WebAssembly.

We’ll continue sharing progress as we move into the next milestones. Stay up to date by following us on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn, where we post regular updates, demos, and opportunities to get involved.

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Milestones #5 & #6 Completed: Testing, Optimization, and Real Use Cases for AssemblyScript on Stylus

TL;DR:

We’ve completed Milestones #5 and #6 for the AssemblyScript SDK on Arbitrum Stylus, advancing from performance optimization and testing to functional validation with real use cases. Developers can now test, deploy, and interact with AssemblyScript contracts through an optimized SDK, CLI, and Playground.

Milestone #5: Testing & Developer Experience

This phase focused on improving performance, maintainability, and developer experience.
We prepared testing environments, refined syntax and type definitions, and updated the developer playground and documentation for a pre-production release.

  • Refactored and optimized the codebase for performance and maintainability.
  • Prepared testing environments for advanced use cases and edge cases.
  • Updated syntax, type definitions, and developer tooling.
  • Released updated documentation and playground reflecting the new syntax.

Deliverables

  • Demo: New syntax and testing flow in action.
  • Documentation & Playground: Updated resources now available for developers.
  • Integration Tests: Full video demo showing contracts running end-to-end.

Useful links:

Milestone #6: Functional Testing & Real Use Cases

We then moved into functional testing and validation across modules, introducing a fully integrated example app.

  • Expanded end-to-end test coverage.
  • Executed functional tests for both SDK and CLI.
  • Benchmarked performance (AssemblyScript vs Solidity ERC-20).
  • Added a real-world Raffle Application demonstrating complete front-end integration.
  • Delivered detailed QA and performance reports.

Raffle Application
A real example demonstrating how developers can deploy and automate AssemblyScript contracts using the SDK and CLI, working as an escrow that sends ETH to the winner.
:backhand_index_pointing_right: View Contract on Arbitrum Mainnet

Deliverables

:link: Useful links:

What’s next

These milestones mark a crucial step toward a stable beta version of the SDK and CLI, laying the groundwork for developers to build and test smart contracts on Stylus using AssemblyScript.
Next, we’ll continue refining the toolchain, addressing edge cases, and strengthening robustness for a seamless developer experience.

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Milestone #7 Completed: NPM Deployment, Extended Features & Community Engagement

TL;DR

We’ve successfully completed Milestone #7 for the AssemblyScript SDK on Arbitrum Stylus, deploying our tooling to production (NPM), updating all documentation, and extending functionality based on developer feedback. Developers can now install the SDK and CLI directly from NPM, explore the new documentation, and start building richer ccontracts in the language they already know.

Overview

This milestone focused on bringing our AssemblyScript SDK and CLI to production readiness and making them widely accessible through NPM and developer documentation.
We also deepened our engagement with the community through talks and events to promote adoption across the Arbitrum ecosystem.

Key Achievements

NPM Deployment: All tooling components deployed and validated in live environments.
Documentation Update: Fully synchronized developer documentation, guides, and API references.
Community Engagement: Product showcased at Devconnect Buenos Aires (Stylus Awakening and Arbiverse panels), along with outreach to the Spanish-speaking developer community.
Enhancements Beyond Scope: Integrated developer feedback into multiple improvements that strengthen performance and usability.

New Features and Improvements

As part of this milestone, we introduced several upgrades that go beyond the original scope:

Integrated Testing Configuration: Added directly to the generate command, enabling full project bootstrapping for faster onboarding.
Expanded VM Affordances: Exposed msg, block, and contract objects for richer and more ergonomic smart-contract development.
Numeric Constants Support: Allowing values defined outside the contract, providing a flexible alternative to enums.
Extended Test Suite: Added well-known patterns like AccessControl, Pausable, and Ownable to strengthen real-world applicability.

These features were driven by developer feedback and internal testing, aligning the SDK and CLI with real development workflows and practical expectations.

Deliverables

  • Production Deployment: SDK, CLI, and related packages published and verified.
  • Documentation Update: Updated references, guides, and API documentation.
  • NPM Release: Stable versions available for the community.
  • Extended Test Suite: Additional patterns included.
  • Demo Video: Showcasing the new features and testing flow.
  • Community Engagement: Talks and presentations at Devconnect and with Spanish-speaking developers.

Useful Links

Demo:

Developer Community Talk:

Arbitrum Stylus Event (Devconnect week):

Next

While this milestone establishes a solid foundation for building smart contracts in AssemblyScript on Stylus, we’re already planning the next phase. Our upcoming work will focus on introducing advanced data structures, improving workflow automation, and enabling richer communication patterns between contracts, continuing to make Stylus development faster, safer, and more accessible for the TypeScript community.

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