PublicContract

Sync contract wrapper with transparent read-only access

Synchronous contract wrapper for read-only transparent access to Seismic contracts.

Overview

PublicContract provides a simplified interface for reading public contract state without requiring encryption or a private key. It exposes only the .tread namespace for standard eth_call operations. Use this class when you only need to read public contract data and don't need shielded operations.

Definition

class PublicContract:
    def __init__(
        self,
        w3: Web3,
        address: ChecksumAddress,
        abi: list[dict[str, Any]],
    ) -> None:
        ...

Constructor Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
w3	Web3	Yes	Synchronous Web3 instance connected to RPC endpoint
address	ChecksumAddress	Yes	Contract address (checksummed Ethereum address)
abi	list[dict[str, Any]]	Yes	Contract ABI (list of function entries)

Namespace

.tread - Transparent Read

Executes standard eth_call with unencrypted calldata. This is the only namespace available on PublicContract.

Returns: Any (ABI-decoded Python value)

Optional Parameters: None (pass positional arguments only)

Examples

Basic Read Operations

from seismic_web3 import create_public_client, PublicContract

# Create client without private key
w3 = create_public_client(
    rpc_url="https://gcp-1.seismictest.net/rpc",
)

# Create read-only contract instance
contract = PublicContract(
    w3=w3,
    address="0x1234567890123456789012345678901234567890",
    abi=CONTRACT_ABI,
)

# Read public contract state (auto-decoded)
total_supply = contract.tread.totalSupply()  # int
print(f"Total supply: {total_supply}")

balance = contract.tread.balanceOf("0xf39Fd6e51aad88F6F4ce6aB8827279cffFb92266")  # int
print(f"Balance: {balance}")

Single and Multiple Returns

# Single return values are returned directly
number = contract.tread.getNumber()      # int
name = contract.tread.getName()          # str
is_active = contract.tread.isActive()    # bool

# Multiple outputs are returned as a tuple
user_name, user_balance, active = contract.tread.getUserInfo(
    "0xf39Fd6e51aad88F6F4ce6aB8827279cffFb92266",
)

Array Results

# Read array of addresses (auto-decoded to list)
holders = contract.tread.getHolders()
print(f"Found {len(holders)} holders")
for holder in holders:
    print(f"  - {holder}")

Error Handling

try:
    value = contract.tread.getNumber()
    print(f"Value: {value}")

except ValueError as e:
    print(f"RPC error: {e}")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Unexpected error: {e}")

Notes

• Read-only: No write operations available (no .write, .twrite, or .dwrite namespaces)

• No encryption required: Does not use EncryptionState or private keys

• No authentication: Standard unsigned eth_call operations

• Gas not consumed: eth_call is free (doesn't create transactions)

• Public data only: Cannot access shielded/encrypted contract state

See Also

• AsyncPublicContract - Async version of this class

• ShieldedContract - Full contract wrapper with write operations

• create_public_client - Create client without private key

• Contract Instance Guide - Overview of contract interaction patterns