GuideSystem3 min read
KEEL on Ethereum / EVM
See how the HoldKEEL's native onchain storage for the file bytes and the instructions for joining them back together.For exampleYour sketch and its shared drawing library are stored as separate objects in the Hold.Full glossary entry →, DieThe artist's token contract. It records the Slabs, their owners or balances, supply, and presentation bindings.For exampleA Die can issue a series of 100 individually identified works.Full glossary entry →, HarnessThe composition that runs the work: its selected resources, runtime context, and isolated environment.For exampleThe Harness connects your sketch to its drawing library and runs it inside the Cage.Full glossary entry →, and SleeveYour work's name, image and details in the standard format wallets and marketplaces already know how to show.For exampleThe Sleeve supplies a name and preview in the format the receiving tool expects. Full interaction still depends on that tool.Full glossary entry → use Ethereum-style contracts, and what a wallet review means.
Select an underlined word to see what it means.
In this guide
- Hold
- Small file pieces, called Slugs, live in storage containers called Ingots. Welds record how to join them.
- Die / Slab
- The collection records who owns each Slab. It can issue individually identified tokens or editions with multiple copies.
- Sleeve
- The token supplies its name, preview, and opening information. A compatible gallery can open the interactive work.
- Wallet review
- Review the network, your sending account, the receiving contract, the requested action, and the payment amount.
Each network has its own stored files, collections, and balances. Keep the network with every contract address.
Pick the exact network.
EVM is the contract machine used by Ethereum and other compatible chains. Sharing that machine does not make their accounts’ balances, deployed contracts, or stored KEEL objects the same.
Sepolia is an Ethereum test network. Base and its test network are separate networks too. A contract address must always be understood together with its network.
EVM Slugs live in Ingots.
The HoldKEEL's native onchain storage for the file bytes and the instructions for joining them back together.For exampleYour sketch and its shared drawing library are stored as separate objects in the Hold.Full glossary entry → stores a file in manageable SlugOne small piece cut from a larger file so it can be stored and recovered in manageable amounts.For exampleA large image needs several Slugs. Their order matters when rebuilding the image.Full glossary entry →. On EVM those pieces live in IngotOn Ethereum, each Slug is saved inside its own small contract, called an Ingot.For exampleThe EVM Hold reads bytes from Ingots. Tezos stores Slugs in native maps instead.Full glossary entry →, small contracts used as data carriers. WeldAn ordered join that makes Slugs or smaller objects into a larger object.For exampleA Weld records that the first, second, and third pieces must be read in that order.Full glossary entry → describe the order for joining the pieces or child objects.
A reader recovers the stored bytes, unpacks them if declared, and checks the expected size and MarkA file's computed fingerprint, also called a digest or hash. A reader recomputes it to check the bytes.For exampleChanging the sketch's background color changes its Mark. A filename alone would not reveal that change.Full glossary entry →.
Technical detail: Hold limits and reads
KeelHold caps a SlugOne small piece cut from a larger file so it can be stored and recovered in manageable amounts.For exampleA large image needs several Slugs. Their order matters when rebuilding the image.Full glossary entry → at 23,000 bytes, castSlugs at 3 payloads per call, a WeldAn ordered join that makes Slugs or smaller objects into a larger object.For exampleA Weld records that the first, second, and third pieces must be read in that order.Full glossary entry → at 128 children, and read depth at 16. Limits can vary with the contract version. haulObject reconstructs uncompressed objects. For a compressed object, read its stored SlugOne small piece cut from a larger file so it can be stored and recovered in manageable amounts.For exampleA large image needs several Slugs. Their order matters when rebuilding the image.Full glossary entry → with readSlug, concatenate them in order, decompress, and verify the declared decoded size and MarkA file's computed fingerprint, also called a digest or hash. A reader recomputes it to check the bytes.For exampleChanging the sketch's background color changes its Mark. A filename alone would not reveal that change.Full glossary entry →.
The Die and Sleeve speak familiar token interfaces.
The current creator system supports unique-token collections and editions. Shared implementations and renderers keep each creator collection small while retaining explicit ownership and presentation bindings.
Metadata is the token’s description and media references. A compatible host can use the returned interactive presentation; another may use only its image preview.
Technical detail: standards and metadata
ERC-721 describes individually identified tokens; ERC-1155 supports quantities per item. KEEL creator metadata comes through tokenURI or uri and a configured renderer. animation_url is a common interactive metadata convention, not a guarantee that every ERC-721 host will run it. A URI can carry a self-contained data document or refer to another location. Inspect the actual return.
Understand the proposed wallet action.
A read asks a chain service for information without changing the contract. A write asks the network to apply an operation. The wallet review should show the network, account, target contract, intended change, and amount.
A batch groups calls when the wallet and route support it. An interrupted response still needs reconciliation against the same job before another submission.
Technical detail: read cost and transaction cost
EVM calls carry a destination, encoded calldata, and native value; eth_call simulates a read without an onchain transaction. Reads still consume provider execution resources and may have response/gas limits. Paid publication gas, shared setup gas, and full-token read gas must be measured separately. Do not present one as the price of another.
Check what collectors will receive.
After publication, reopen the work from the chosen network. Confirm that its ShellThe opening program and interface around creator content. The canonical KEEL verification shell owns the protected checks and K controls.For exampleOpen the K control to inspect the files and checks behind the displayed work.Full glossary entry → opens, its PartsReusable components included in a work, with their own identities and permissions.For exampleSeveral artworks can share the same verified drawing library.Full glossary entry → are available, and its preview looks right. This is the version collectors will see.