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This guide demonstrates how to fork the Hyperliquid EVM chain using Foundry’s Anvil to create a local development environment for testing smart contracts and dApps.

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Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

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Why fork Hyperliquid EVM?

Forking allows you to:
  • Test smart contracts against the actual Hyperliquid EVM state
  • Simulate transactions without spending real funds
  • Debug and develop dApps in a controlled environment
  • Test interactions with deployed contracts on Hyperliquid

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Start a forked instance

Use Anvil to fork the Hyperliquid EVM mainnet:
Replace YOUR_CHAINSTACK_HYPERLIQUID_ENDPOINT with your actual Chainstack Hyperliquid EVM endpoint.
The Hyperliquid HyperEVM mainnet uses chain ID 999. Anvil will automatically inherit this when forking.

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Configure fork options

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Fork from a specific block

To fork from a specific block height:

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Set custom chain ID

Override the chain ID if needed:

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Adjust block time

Set custom block time (default is instant mining):

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Test the fork

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Connect with cast

Verify your fork is running:
Or use curl to retrieve the HYPE token total supply off the local fork:

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Check account balances

View the balance of any Hyperliquid address:

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Impersonate accounts

Impersonate any account for testing:
Remember that forked state is ephemeral. Any transactions or state changes exist only in your local fork and don’t affect the actual Hyperliquid network.

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Best practices

1
Always fork from a recent block to ensure state relevance
2
Use deterministic testing by forking from specific blocks
3
Save fork state when testing complex scenarios
4
Monitor your Chainstack endpoint usage to avoid rate limits

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Conclusion

Forking Hyperliquid EVM with Foundry provides a powerful development environment for testing smart contracts and dApps. This approach allows you to interact with actual on-chain state without risking real funds or affecting the live network.

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Next steps

Last modified on April 13, 2026