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Guide: Contract Investigation ​

This workflow shows how to investigate a contract end-to-end with etherscan-cli.

Prerequisites ​

bash
export ETHERSCAN_API_KEY="your-etherscan-api-key"
CHAIN=ethereum
CONTRACT=0xA0b86991c6218b36c1d19D4a2e9Eb0cE3606eB48

1) Get ABI ​

bash
etherscan-cli contract abi "$CONTRACT" --chain "$CHAIN" --format json

Use the ABI to inspect available methods/events and power decoders.

2) Get verified source ​

bash
etherscan-cli contract source "$CONTRACT" --chain "$CHAIN" --format json

Check key metadata:

  • compiler version
  • optimization settings
  • license
  • proxy/implementation fields
  • constructor arguments

3) Find creation tx and deployer ​

bash
etherscan-cli contract creation "$CONTRACT" --chain "$CHAIN" --format json

This returns:

  • creator (deployer address)
  • txHash (creation transaction)

4) Verify transaction execution ​

bash
TX_HASH=<creation-tx-hash>

etherscan-cli tx receipt "$TX_HASH" --chain "$CHAIN" --format json
etherscan-cli tx status "$TX_HASH" --chain "$CHAIN" --format json

Use receipt + status to confirm success/failure and inspect gas/log behavior.

5) (Optional) Verify token-level metadata ​

If the contract is an ERC-20, validate token details and holder distribution:

bash
etherscan-cli token info "$CONTRACT" --chain "$CHAIN" --format json
etherscan-cli token holders "$CONTRACT" --chain "$CHAIN" --offset 20 --format json

Quick checklist ​

  • ABI exists and matches expected interface
  • Source is verified
  • Creation tx exists and succeeded
  • Deployer activity looks expected
  • Token metadata/holders look sane (if token)