Introduction

TronBox is a Truffle-based smart contract development tool for TRON, providing capabilities such as contract compilation, deployment, and testing.
This guide details how to migrate Ethereum Truffle projects to TronBox to achieve TRON network compatibility.

Environment Setup

TronBox Installation

npm install -g tronbox

TronBox Project Initialization

tronbox init

Configuration Migration

Configuration File Renaming and Modification

Rename truffle-config.js to tronbox-config.js and update the network configuration file according to TronBox specifications:

/**
* TronBox Network Configuration Example  
*/  
  module.exports = {  
   networks: {  
     development: {  
       privateKey: process.env.PRIVATE_KEY, // Recommended: Store private keys using environment variables  
       userFeePercentage: 100,  
       feeLimit: 1e8,  
       fullHost: "<http://127.0.0.1:9090">,  
       network_id: "9"  
     },  
     shasta: {  
       privateKey: process.env.PRIVATE_KEY,  
       userFeePercentage: 50,  
       feeLimit: 1e8,  
       fullHost: "<https://api.shasta.trongrid.io">,  
       network_id: "2"  
     },  
     mainnet: {  
       privateKey: process.env.PRIVATE_KEY,  
       userFeePercentage: 50,  
       feeLimit: 1e8,  
       fullHost: "<https://api.trongrid.io">,  
       network_id: "1"  
     }  
   },  
   compilers: {  
     solc: {  
       version: '0.8.6'  
     }  
   }  
  }

Boundary conditions and error handling:

• We recommended using environment variables for private keys to prevent exposure.
• Consider increasing feeLimit, since an insufficient feeLimit value may cause deployment failures.
• The fullHost address should match the target network.

Command Comparison: Truffle vs TronBox

Contract and Script Adaptation

Address and Unit Adaptation

• Ethereum addresses are prefixed with 0x, while TRON addresses are prefixed with 41 (Base58 format).
• Ethereum uses the units wei and ether, where 1 ether (ETH) = 10^18 wei; TRON uses the units sun and TRX, where 1 TRX = 1,000,000 sun.

Contract Invocation and Energy

In TronBox, the feeLimit parameter serves a function similar to the gas parameter in truffle-config.js, which defines the upper limit for Energy and Bandwidth resources that a single transaction can consume on the TRON network.

JavaScript Script Adaptation

Replace web3.js with TronWeb.

Migration Procedure

TronBox Project Initialization

Create an empty folder and execute the following script within it to create an empty TronBox project.

tronbox init

Copying Contracts and Migration Scripts

• Copy the contract files from the Truffle project’s contracts directory to the TronBox project’s contracts directory.
• Copy the deployment scripts from the Truffle project’s migrations directory to the TronBox project’s migrations directory.
• Copy the test files from the Truffle project’s test directory to the TronBox project’s test directory.

Configuration File Modification

Modify the network and solc version information within tronbox-config.js.

Dependency and Test Script Adaptation

• In TronBox projects, we recommend using TronWeb instead of web3.js as the blockchain interaction library.
• While most test scripts are reusable as-is, they will require adaptations when elements such as addresses and units are involved.

Command Substitution

Execute the migrated TronBox workflow:

tronbox compile  
tronbox migrate  
tronbox test

Common Issues and Resolutions

• Deployment Failure: Verify that the feeLimit is adequate, the TRX balance is sufficient, and the network configuration is correct before deployment.
• Event Listener Differences: TRON event listeners require the use of TronWeb's specific methods.

Best Practices

• Use .env files to manage sensitive information, such as private keys.
• Thoroughly test locally or on the Nile testnet before deploying to Mainnet.
• Periodically update TronBox and its dependency libraries, and stay updated on official news.

References

• TronBox Official Documentation: https://developers.tron.network/reference/tronbox-quickstart
• TronWeb API Documentation: https://tronweb.network/docu/docs/intro