Avalanche: How To Launch a Generative NFT Collection With Avalanche and IPFS
Learn how to launch a generative NFT collection with IPFS and Avalanche.
Avalanche is a blockchain smart contracts platform similar to Ethereum for developing and deploying smart contracts for NFT minting, dApp deployment, and other Web3-related workflows.
Read below to learn how to launch a generative NFT collection with IPFS and Avalanche.
- Have some testnet AVAX currency for transaction gas fees. Use the faucet found here to obtain testnet currency.
To do this, navigate to console.filebase.com. If you don’t have an account already, sign up, then log in.
Select ‘Create Bucket’ in the top right corner to create a new bucket for your NFTs.

Bucket names must be unique across all Filebase users, be between 3 and 63 characters long, and can contain only lowercase characters, numbers, and dashes.

mkdir avalanche-drop && cd avalanche-drop
npm init -y
npx hardhat
When prompted, select the create empty project option during the Hardhat initialization process.
These files need to be named in sequential order, such as 0.png, 1.png, 2.png, etc.



https://ipfs.filebase.io/ipfs/IPFS_CID
Replace IPFS_CID with your folder’s IPFS CID.
npm install @openzeppelin/contracts
Open this new file in your IDE of choice, and paste in the following content:
//SPDX-License-Identifier: Unlicense
pragma solidity ^0.8.0;
import "hardhat/console.sol";
import "@openzeppelin/contracts/utils/Counters.sol";
import "@openzeppelin/contracts/token/ERC721/extensions/ERC721Enumerable.sol";
import "@openzeppelin/contracts/access/Ownable.sol";
import "@openzeppelin/contracts/utils/Strings.sol";
contract AvalancheNFTDrop is ERC721Enumerable, Ownable {
using Counters for Counters.Counter;
using Strings for uint256;
string public BASE_URI;
uint256 public MAX_SUPPLY = 10000;
uint256 public PRICE = 0;
constructor(
string memory baseURI,
uint256 price,
string memory name,
string memory symbol
) ERC721(name, symbol) {
PRICE = price;
BASE_URI = baseURI;
}
function _baseURI() internal view override returns (string memory) {
return string(abi.encodePacked(BASE_URI, "/"));
}
function mint(address addr)
public
payable
returns (uint256)
{
uint256 supply = totalSupply();
require(supply <= MAX_SUPPLY, "Would exceed max supply");
require(msg.value >= PRICE, "insufficient funds");
uint256 tokenId = supply + 1;
_safeMint(addr, tokenId);
return tokenId;
}
}
mkdir metadata
Open this file in your IDE and insert the following content:
require("@nomiclabs/hardhat-waffle");
const AVALANCHE_TEST_PRIVATE_KEY = "PRIVATE_KEY_FOR_FUJI";
module.exports = {
solidity: "0.8.0",
networks: {
avalancheTest: {
url: 'https://api.avax-test.network/ext/bc/C/rpc',
gasPrice: 225000000000,
chainId: 43113,
accounts: [`0x${AVALANCHE_TEST_PRIVATE_KEY}`]
}
}
};
This code will generate metadata for each of the files in our IPFS folder. Replace the following values:
- “./Images”: The folder name and file path of your image folder that you uploaded to Filebase earlier.
- Name: Name for each NFT
- Description: Description for each NFT
- IPFS_FOLDER_CID: Your Filebase IPFS folder CID.
node metadata-generator.js
Upload these files to Filebase using the same folder upload method used at the beginning of this tutorial. Copy the CID of this folder for use in the next step.
Replace the existing content with the following:
const fs = require('fs');
const imageDir = fs.readdirSync("./Images");
imageDir.forEach(img => {
const metadata = {
name: `Filebase NFT ${img.split(".")[0]}`,
description: "A Filebase NFT Collection",
image: `ipfs://IPFS_FOLDER_CID/${img.split(".")[0]}.png`,
attributes: []
}
fs.writeFileSync(`./metadata/${img.split(".")[0]}`, JSON.stringify(metadata))
});
Replace PRIVATE_KEY_FOR_FUJI with your cryptowallet’s private key. To export your private key from MetaMask, select your Account Details, then select ‘Export Private Key’.


In your project’s root directory, create a new file called
scripts
:mkdir scripts && cd scripts
Open this file in your IDE of choice, then insert the following content:
const hre = require("hardhat");
const BASE_URI = "ipfs://METADATA_FOLDER_CID";
const TOKEN_NAME = "YOUR TOKEN NAME";
const TOKEN_SYMBOL = "YOUR TOKEN SYMBOL";
const PRICE = "500000000000000000" // 0.5 AVAX - use whatever price you want, but the denomiation is in WEI
async function main() {
try {
const Contract = await hre.ethers.getContractFactory("AvalancheNFTDrop");
const contract = await Contract.deploy(BASE_URI, PRICE, TOKEN_NAME, TOKEN_SYMBOL);
await contract.deployed();
console.log(`contract deployed at ${contract.address}`);
} catch (error) {
console.log(error);
}
}
main()
.then(() => process.exit(0))
.catch((error) => {
console.error(error);
process.exit(1);
});
Replace the METADATA_FOLDER_CID with the IPFS CID of your folder that contains the metadata files we generated earlier. Replace TOKEN_NAME and TOKEN_SYMBOL with your desired information.
npx hardhat compile
npx hardhat run --network avalancheTest scripts/deploy.js
This will return a contract address. Copy this address for use in the next step.
In your scripts folder, create a new file called
mint.js
. Enter the following content:const hre = require("hardhat");
async function main() {
try {
const Contract = await hre.ethers.getContractFactory("AvalancheNFTDrop");
const contract = await Contract.attach(
"CONTRACT_ADDRESS" // The deployed contract address
);
let overrides = {
value: ethers.utils.parseEther((0.5).toString()),
};
const tx = await contract.mint("WALLET_ADDRESS");
console.log("Minted: ", tx);
} catch (error) {
console.log(error);
}
}
main()
.then(() => process.exit(0))
.catch((error) => {
console.error(error);
process.exit(1);
});
Replace CONTRACT_ADDRESS with the contract address you took note of in the last step, then replace WALLET_ADDRESS with your crypto wallet address that is on the Fuji Avalanche network.
npx hardhat run --network avalancheTest scripts/mint.js
You’ve minted your NFTs on the Fuji Avalanche Testnet network! You can view each image and its metadata with the following IPFS URLs:
To view a metadata file:
https://ipfs.filebase.io/ipfs/METADATA_FOLDER_CID/1
To view an image file:
https://ipfs.filebase.io/ipfs/IMAGE_FOLDER_CID/1.png
You can now repeat these steps using the Avalanche mainnet network, and you can use a folder of images that include thousands of NFT collection pieces!
If you have any questions, please join our Discord server, or send us an email at hello[email protected]
Last modified 8mo ago