How To Build "Buy Me a Coffee" DeFi dApp Using Solidity

Blockchain technology enables innovative applications like a decentralized "Buy Me a Coffee" service. This guide will walk you through developing and deploying a smart contract development service for this purpose using Alchemy, Hardhat, Ethers.js, and the Ethereum Sepolia testnet. By the end, you'll know how to: Build, test, and deploy smart contracts with Hardhat. Connect MetaMask to Sepolia via an Alchemy RPC endpoint. Obtain Sepolia ETH from a faucet. Interact with the contract using Ethers.js and build a frontend for the application.

Also, Read | Solidity Smart Contract Vulnerabilities and Ways To Mitigate Them

Detailed steps for building "Buy Me a Coffee" DeFi dApp Using Solidity

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

npm version 8.5.5 or higher.
node version 16.13.1 or higher.
An Alchemy account.

Step 1: Project Setup 1- Create a new directory and then navigate into it:

mkdir BuyMeACoffee-contracts cd BuyMeACoffee-contracts

2- Initialize a new npm project:

npm init -y

3- Install Hardhat:

npm install --save-dev hardhat

4- Generate a Hardhat project:

npx hardhat

Select "Create a JavaScript project" and agree to the defaults.

5- Verify the setup by running tests:

 npx hardhat test

Step 2: Writing the Smart Contract 1. Create the smart contract file: Copy BuyMeACoffee.sol and replace its content with:

// SPDX-License-Identifier: Unlicense pragma solidity ^0.8.0; contract BuyMeACoffee 
{ 
 	event NewMemo(address indexed from, uint256 timestamp, string name, string message);
  	struct Memos { address from; uint256 timestamp; string name; string message; } 
 	address payable owner; Memos[] memos; 
	constructor() { owner = payable(msg.sender); } 
	function fetchMemosDetails() public view returns (Memos[] memory) { return memos; } 
	function buyCoffees(string memory _name, string memory _message) public payable { 
		require(msg.value > 0, "can't buy coffee for free!");
		memos.push(Memos(msg.sender, block.timestamp, _name, _message)); emit NewMemo(msg.sender, block.timestamp, _name, _message); 
	} 
	function withdrawTips() public { 
		require(owner.send(address(this).balance)); 
	} 
}

Step 3: Testing the Contract 1- Create a test script: Copy buy-coffee.js and use the following code:

const hre = require("hardhat"); 
async function getBalance(address) { 
	const balanceBigInt = await hre.ethers.provider.getBalance(address); 
	return hre.ethers.utils.formatEther(balanceBigInt); 
} 
async function printBalances(addresses) { 
 	for (const [index, address] of addresses.entries()) {
   	console.log(Address ${index} balance: , 
   	await getBalance(address)); 
 	} 
} 
async function printMemos(memos) { 
	for (const memo of memos) { 
		console.log(At ${memo.timestamp}, ${memo.name} (${memo.from}) said: "${memo.message}"); 
	} 
} 
async function main() { 
	const [owner, tipper3, tipper2, tipper] = await hre.ethers.getSigners(); 
	const BuyMeACoffee = await hre.ethers.getContractFactory("BuyMeACoffee"); 
	const buyMeACoffee = await BuyMeACoffee.deploy(); await buyMeACoffee.deployed(); 
	console.log("BuyMeACoffee deployed to:", buyMeACoffee.address); 
	const addresses = [owner.address, tipper.address, buyMeACoffee.address]; 
	console.log("== start =="); await printBalances(addresses); 
	const tip = { value: hre.ethers.utils.parseEther("1") }; 
	await buyMeACoffee.connect(tipper).buyCoffees("Carolina", "You're the best!", tip); 
	await buyMeACoffee.connect(tipper2).buyCoffees("Vitto", "Amazing teacher", tip);
	await buyMeACoffee.connect(tipper3).buyCoffees("Kay", "I love my Proof of Knowledge", tip);
	console.log("== bought coffee =="); 
	await printBalances(addresses); 
	await buyMeACoffee.connect(owner).withdrawTips(); 
	console.log("== withdrawTips =="); 
	await printBalances(addresses); 
	console.log("== memos =="); 
	const memos = await buyMeACoffee.fetchMemosDetails(); 
	printMemos(memos); 
} main() .then(() => process.exit(0)) .catch((error) => { 
	console.error(error); process.exit(1); 
});

2- Run the script:

 npx hardhat run scripts/buy-coffee.js

Step 4: Deploying to Sepolia Testnet 1- Create a deployment script:

Create scripts/deploy.js with:

 const hre = require("hardhat"); 
 async function main() { 
 	const BuyMeACoffee = await hre.ethers.getContractFactory("BuyMeACoffee"); 
 	const buyMeACoffee = await BuyMeACoffee.deploy(); 
 	await buyMeACoffee.deployed(); 
 	console.log("BuyMeACoffee deployed to:", buyMeACoffee.address); 
 } main() .then(() => process.exit(0)) .catch((error) => { 
 	console.error(error); process.exit(1); 
 });

2- Configure Hardhat for Sepolia: Edit hardhat.config.js:

require("@nomiclabs/hardhat-ethers"); 
require("@nomiclabs/hardhat-waffle"); 
require("dotenv").config(); 
const SEPOLIA_URL = process.env.SEPOLIA_URL; 
const PRIVATE_KEY = process.env.PRIVATE_KEY;     
module.exports = { 
	solidity: "0.8.4", 
	networks: { 
		sepolia: { url: SEPOLIA_URL, accounts: [PRIVATE_KEY] } 
	} 
};

3- Install dotenv:

npm install dotenv

4- Create a .env file:

 touch .env

5- Add your Alchemy and MetaMask details:

SEPOLIA_URL=https://eth-sepolia.alchemyapi.io/v2/ PRIVATE_KEY=

Also, Read | Identifying Smart Contract Orchestration Patterns in Solidity

Conclusion

Developing a decentralized "Buy Me a Coffee" dApp using Solidity enables secure, transparent microtransactions. This blockchain-based approach ensures immutable and verifiable transactions, fostering trust and eliminating intermediaries to reduce fees and increase efficiency. It's a perfect solution for content creators and small businesses, promoting decentralized finance. Are you a smart contract developer ready to transform microtransactions? Join us in creating secure, transparent dApps and shaping the future of decentralized payment solutions. Start building today!