What is thirdweb?
Content
thirdweb
Mar 5, 2025
General
Building onchain apps, games, and projects has never been more accessible—thanks to thirdweb. As an all-in-one development toolkit, thirdweb provides everything developers need to create powerful decentralized applications, from AI-powered tools to robust infrastructure and seamless authentication solutions. Whether you’re a seasoned blockchain developer or just starting your Web3 journey, thirdweb simplifies the entire process, allowing you to focus on innovation rather than infrastructure.
In this guide, we’ll break down the key components of thirdweb’s toolkit, explore why it's the go-to solution for Web3 developers, and highlight how you can leverage its features to bring your ideas to life.
Let’s get building!
What is thirdweb?
thirdweb is a complete web3 development toolkit, offering best-in class developer tools for building and deploying powerful apps, games and onchain projects. The features of thirdweb’s all-in-one development toolkit cover 3 main web3 development areas: AI, Dev Tools & Infrastructure.
Firstly, thirdweb provides a powerful AI model capable of understanding and interacting with the blockchain, directed only by natural language. This lets web3 developers build powerful AI apps—unlocking autonomous agents that can reason and control their own wallets and enabling the use complex blockchain data for building AI and blockchain powered apps and games.
Next, thirdweb’s Dev Toolkit contains everything you need to build apps and operate at scale: wallet infrastructure, smart contract building + deploying tools, and easy to implement methods of authenticating, monetizing and optimizing your project’s performance.
Finally, thirdweb also provides the necessary infrastructure for handling and understanding blockchain data, such as a robust storage service, a performant RPC service, thirdweb Insight, a lightning-fast indexer; and thirdweb Storage, a simple decentralized storage solution for web3 apps. These features empower apps, ecosystems and chains to access the data they need.
Get started with thirdweb's complete web3 development toolkit →
Why thirdweb?
thirdweb is a complete web3 development toolkit, built by developers for web3 developers. With powerful built-in tools, such as wallet infrastructure, web3 payment solutions & authentication methods, thirdweb has everything you need to build powerful web3 apps in no time.
But that’s thirdweb on a high level, so lets dive into what we do best:
Every tool you need, all in one place
Why use multiple providers for wallet infrastructure, deployment tools, and scalability when you only need one. thirdweb can handle all the complexity of building an app, customized to fit your needs. And it can help you scale to the next level. With our all in one platform, you don’t need to grapple with multiple billing structures, complicated permissions and multiple codebases. Whatever tool a web3 developer needs, we’ve almost definitely got one around here somewhere!
By developers for developers
At thirdweb, we’re all about developers. We understand that every developer has unique needs, which is why our tools are designed to be highly compatible, flexible, and customizable. Whether you're a beginner exploring Web3 for the first time or an experienced developer looking for advanced features, thirdweb makes building onchain apps accessible to everyone. Our platform streamlines the development workflow , allowing you to seamlessly build, deploy, and scale your Web3 projects with ease.
Highly Compatible and Interoperable
thirdweb’s toolkit was built with high compatibility and interoperability in mind, adhering to Ethereum standards to ensure seamless integration, migration, and cross-platform functionality. Developers have the flexibility to choose and customize functionalities across thirdweb’s suite of products, tailoring each tool to meet the specific needs of their application—and with no vendor lock-in. This level of adaptability makes it easier than ever to integrate thirdweb into existing projects or build scalable Web3 applications from the ground up.
Get started with thirdweb's complete web3 development toolkit →
What does thirdweb do?
So now you know about thirdweb’s toolkit, let’s dive into the specifics of what it can do:
Connect or Create any Account with thirdweb’s Wallet Infrastructure
Via thirdweb Connect, you can access wallet infrastructure with the power to onboard and authenticate any user, create a unified identity when needed and implement next-generation functionalities.
All of our wallet solutions are:
Available on 2000+ EVM chains and are compatible with thousands of Ethereum tokens
Easy to implement through the Connect SDK, whether you’re a seasoned developer or just starting out.
Compatible with next-generation solutions to level up your app, like thirdweb auth, pay, blockchain API + engine
Get started with thirdweb Connect →
But there’s a bit more to it than that, so let’s dive into the kinds wallet infrastructure thirdweb offers and how they differ:
External wallet Connection
If you’re building an app for crypto natives, you’ll want to implement familiar crypto login methods and accept all popular EVM wallets—otherwise known as External wallets. In that case, thirdweb offers external wallet connectors, so your app access the crypto-native ecosystem with ease.
The simplest method is implementing thirdweb’s Connect Wallet Button, a developer-focused UI component that simplifies web3 onboarding by enabling seamless integration with 500+ EVM-compatible wallets (like MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, and Phantom) through a single code snippet. It supports customizable login flows—including social media and email options—while offering features like multi-chain connectivity, in-app asset swaps via thirdweb’s Universal bridge, gasless transactions via account abstraction, and tailored user experiences (e.g., displaying owned NFTs or tokens).
Designed for versatility, it empowers DeFi platforms, NFT marketplaces, and prediction markets to onboard users effortlessly, prioritize security with SIWE authentication, and scale across ecosystems with minimal coding.
Implement the connect wallet button →
Wallets for your app or ecosystem
In-app and ecosystem wallets are specific to apps or ecosystems, letting their creators customize the wallet experience. This is perfect for apps that want to create in-app experiences, control branding and add next-gen wallet functionalities—providing flexible onboarding experiences for both web2 and web3 native apps.
Let’s explore each type thirdweb offers:
In-app wallets : For single apps or games
thirdweb’s in-app wallets are self-contained digital wallets embedded directly into your application. Put simply, they are embedded wallets for single web3 apps, games and experiences, allowing users to create accounts and interact with blockchain features without leaving the platform. Specifically, In-App wallets are for apps or experiences that only want to customize login flows on a single platform.
Get In-App wallets for your app or game →
Ecosystem Wallets: For creating one identity for multiple apps & games
thirdweb ecosystem wallets are embedded wallets have all of the same functionalities of in-app wallets, but also offer users a single shared identity across the app’s ecosystem of platforms. If you have an ecosystem of multiple apps and platforms, this can help create a unified brand experience. For example, you might have a web3 gaming ecosystem comprising multiple games, a marketplace and more. Using an ecosystem wallet can help build a more seamless user experience, syncing token balances across apps and providing aligned branding.
Get web3 wallets for your ecosystem →
Smart Wallets : For unlocking complex functionalities via account abstraction
thirdweb smart wallets are powered by account abstraction, unlocking a whole host of next-generation features using programmable logic. Smart wallets unlock features such as gas sponsorship to implement gasless transactions for your users, batched transactions and custom token spending. These features allow smart wallets to carry out specific functions, like paying for a monthly subscription, or registering specific permissions. Further, they don’t require private key management, lowering the barrier to entry for non-crypto-natives.
Further, they don’t require private key management, lowering the barrier to entry for non-crypto-natives. Instead of requiring signatures like EOAs, smart wallets issue session keys with set permissions. By doing so, the session key removes the need to sign a new transaction for each interaction. This gives your users the power to interact with the blockchain seamlessly, and in some cases, without even realising it.
Unlock account abstraction with smart wallets →
Build & Deploy Web3 Projects with our Smart Contract Toolkit
thirdweb offers a complete smart Contract toolkit: a powerful platform designed to simplify the creation, deployment, and publishing of smart contracts.
Let’s dive into what it can do:
Building smart contracts
No need to stress about building or creating smart contracts. thirdweb’s Contracts toolkit offers three main options—one to suit every kind of developer and every kind of blockchain app. Let's dive into your smart contract creation options:
Choose a pre-built smart contract from our library of templates
All of thirdweb’s pre-built smart contract templates are gas optimised, audited. Plus, they also offer customizable parameters for royalty splits, access controls and fee structures. What's more, they are ready-to-ship immediately—for builders of any experience level.
Explore thirdweb pre-built smart contract template technical docs →
Build a modular smart contract
thirdweb's modular contracts, comprising core contracts and modules, let you pick and choose specific features to implement and can also enable post-deployment upgrades.
Leveraging frameworks like Hardhat and Foundry, thirdweb modular contracts are also highly interoperable, allowing builders to implement functionalities as they like, when they like, and without impacting their existing tech stack.
Explore thirdweb modular smart contracts technical docs →
Create your own custom contract with the Solidity SDK
Whether opting for ready-made solutions or building bespoke contracts using core and module components, thirdweb provides the flexibility and resources needed for efficient smart contract development.
Explore Solidity SDK technical docs →
Deploy your smart contract
thirdweb's contract toolkit also offers an intuitive deployment tool for testing and deploying any EVM smart contract—whether it was built with or without thirdweb’s toolkit. Activate it to launch projects such as NFT collections, NFT marketplaces, DeFi apps, DAOs or memecoins.
Dive into technical docs on our smart contract deployment tool→
Publish your smart contract
In the spirit of open sourcing, the thirdweb Contracts toolkit also includes explore; a library of smart contracts which let’s you publish your own creations.
Working on a revolutionary smart contract you think everyone should know about? Publish it in explore to help our community of builders and take web3 development to the next level.
Enable Complex App Functionality with ease
With thirdweb, you can also take your app to the next level by implementing powerful functionalities . But don’t think that means complexity: with these tools you can implement complex functionalities with ease—and without compromising your app’s user experience.
Web3 Authentication
Our web3 authentication solution lets you authenticate any user. Simply integrate passwordless, web3-native authentication into your application to level up its user experience. Let users to log in via various methods and enjoy a seamless and secure authentication flow; bridging traditional backends with web3 functionalities. And it’s also compatible with every part of thirdweb’s wallet infrastructure, such as the connect wallet button, to in-app wallets, to smart wallets, and beyond, since it's enabled by the Sign In With Ethereum standard.
View web3 authentication technical docs →
Monetize Your App with our Universal Bridge
Universal Bridge is a versatile web3 payment solution that enables the seamless transfer of tokens—no matter which EVM chain you’re on. This includes fiat-to-crypto purchases (via Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, or ACH in 130+ countries), and crypto-to-crypto transactions, including token swaps and bridging across 200+ EVM chains.
Let Universal Bridge monetize your app from day one through its 1% transaction fee (70% of which goes to straight to developers); and build customizable payment flows—like automated top-ups or webhook-triggered transactions. Universal Bridge is the all-in-one tool for multi-asset monetization, no matter which chain you use.
Read about Universal Bridge in the technical docs→
Blockchain API: Interact
thirdweb Connect’s blockchain API allows your web3 app’s smart wallets to read write to the blockchain with ease. It uses a performant and lightweight library, giving your app access to precise and real-time onchain data such as contract and transaction data for all standards like like ERC20, ERC721 and ERC1155. It also lets users set up alerts for important onchain events and listen to any event on any EVM contract.
Finally, the Blockchain API can also write to the blockchain—without the need blockchain infra. thirdweb’s production-grade RPC and storage edges scales with your app without needing to write an extra line of code—at any latency.
Read about the technical implementation of the blockchain API
Engine: Scale
thirdweb Engine enables seamless scalability and user-friendly experiences with its reliable and seamless web3 backend infrastructure.
It automates onchain actions via smart backend wallets—eliminating gas fees, private key management, and transaction signing for end users. And it leverages webhooks to trigger cross-chain smart contract interactions such as token mints, trades and integrate offchain platforms like Stripe. Finally, Engine optimizes throughput with automated gas pricing, nonce management, and transaction retries to prevent failures, ensuring reliability at scale.
With these core features, Engine is ideal for apps requiring enterprise-grade transaction handling and scale to its first million users and beyond.
Learn about thirdweb Engine in the technical docs →
Data & Analytics
thirdweb also offers robust infrastructure for understanding, reading and storing blockchain data. Let’s dive into the key pieces of our data toolkit:
RPC Edge
thirdweb’s RPC Edge is an enterprise-grade infrastructure solution that optimizes blockchain connectivity through a global network of 150+ edge locations. It’s highly performant and reliable, leveraging smart routing and cached RPC responses to reduce latency and ensure high-speed, reliable access to EVM chains.
To guarantee uptime, it implements multi-provider fallbacks which allows it to scale seamlessly under traffic spikes, and reduce costs. This makes RPC Edge ideal for developers building performant dApps that demand low-latency interactions, cross-chain compatibility, and enterprise-level reliability. And of course, it’s easy to implement, which can save teams time and costs on development.
Insight
thirdweb Insight is a lightning-fast blockchain indexing solution that lets developers instantly access, transform, and query onchain data across any EVM chain via REST APIs. Put simply, it eliminates the need for subgraphs or custom infrastructure, giving you instantaneous access to thousands of transactions, events, or token data and automatically handling decoding —with no ABIs required.
Plus, thirdweb Insight also allows custom logic via reusable API schemas ("blueprints") to tailor data outputs. Developers can publish their own transformation templates or use shared blueprints, making it ideal for apps requiring real-time analytics, enriched metadata, or bespoke onchain insights.
Learn about thirdweb Insight in the technical docs→
Storage
thirdweb Storage is a decentralized IPFS-based solution that abstracts file management complexities—automating uploads, splitting, pinning, and metadata handling—to ensure permanent, tamper-proof storage for diverse file types (images, 3D models, apps, etc.). By leveraging global edge infrastructure, it delivers fast upload/retrieval speeds and censorship-resistant access via IPFS gateways, while offering intuitive integration through dashboards, CLI, or SDKs. Developers save time by offloading infrastructure management, focusing instead on building apps with secure, scalable, and decentralized storage.
Get started with the technical docs on thirdweb Storage →
Blockchain AI Model
AI is one of the most interesting innovations in recent years, topped only (maybe) by blockchain technology. With these pieces of emerging technology working together, the possibilities are endless: create intelligent crypto trading bots, AI NPCs and more! At thirdweb, we understand that innovating in these areas requires cutting edge technology, which is why we also focus on supporting web3 apps that want to incorporate AI.
Nebula
thirdweb Nebula is an advanced AI model designed for seamless blockchain interaction, offering real-time and historical onchain data analysis while autonomously executing transactions or assisting users through natural language commands.
Powered by the t1 model—a specialized LLM trained on extensive smart contract variations and transactions across 2,500+ EVM chains—Nebula provides unmatched accuracy in blockchain-related queries. Put simply, it enables users to read contract states, monitor token prices, and analyze transaction details, while also facilitating transactions such as transfers, swaps, and contract deployments. And with session key access and managed wallets, Nebula also has the power to act as an autonomous agent, simplifying blockchain operations with intelligent reasoning and superior contextual understanding.
It’s the most powerful blockchain AI yet, perfect for enabling AI-powered blockchain apps and creating complex onchain agents for crypto apps and games.
Start building with thirdweb Nebula via the tech docs→
Get started with thirdweb
With thirdweb, building and scaling Web3 apps has never been easier. From smart contract deployment to wallet authentication, monetization, and onchain AI tools, thirdweb equips developers with the most advanced resources to create cutting-edge decentralized experiences. Whether you’re launching a new app, optimizing an existing Web3 project, or scaling to millions of users, thirdweb has the tools to make it happen—fast, efficiently, and securely.
Don’t wait to start your Web3 journey—explore thirdweb today and build the future of decentralized applications! 🚀 Get Started with thirdweb