LibraryScaling2024Design paperCorpus record
GETCONTRACT opcode
EIP 7784. Tim Pechersky.
EIP 7784, GETCONTRACT opcode. This is a proposal to add a new opcode, GETCONTRACT.
Status in the source: Review. A reading of the public specification, not a copy of it and not a certification.
GETCONTRACT opcode is worth reading for the rule it actually adds: This is a proposal to add a new opcode, GETCONTRACT.
The five-minute read
The rule
This is a proposal to add a new opcode, GETCONTRACT.
What was already failing
An underpriced or ambiguous EVM rule is not a feature. It is a block that takes longer than the gas limit claimed, or a client that disagrees about the result.
What the number does not mean
The source marks this review. It is not a live consensus rule just because it has a number.
What a builder should be able to point at
An implementation either constrains GETCONTRACT or it is a different design.
One action, walked through
- Open EIP 7784 and read the status line before the examples.
- Write down the rule in one sentence. A fair version of that sentence is: This is a proposal to add a new opcode, GETCONTRACT.
- Name the object that changes: GETCONTRACT.
- Ask what an old client, an old contract, or an offline counterparty does. If the document is silent, the silence is part of the design.
The argument, unpacked
What the text is allowed to settle
Ethereum Improvement Proposal 7784 can settle the shape of GETCONTRACT opcode. It cannot settle whether a later client, a later fork, or a later wallet still does this.
What this page will not pretend
There is no benchmark, no adoption number, and no claim that the mechanism is safe outside the assumptions written in the source.
What has to be true
- You are implementing EIP 7784 at the status the text itself states: Review.
- The object that has to change is GETCONTRACT. A neighbouring document with a similar name is not this one.
- Constants in the text can be superseded by a later fork. Cite the EIP number and the fork you mean.
What happened after the paper
The source marks this review. It is not a live consensus rule just because it has a number. Later documents can narrow, replace, or ignore this one. Cite the number you mean.
What to check before you use the idea
- What does GETCONTRACT opcode charge, reject, or redefine on the first touch versus a later one?
- Does a reverted subcall roll the change back?
- Can you point at the object in a client: GETCONTRACT?
Terms
- EIP 7784
- The public text titled GETCONTRACT opcode.
- Review
- The document's own label for how finished the text is. It is not a market fact.
The problem the paper names
An underpriced or ambiguous EVM rule is not a feature. It is a block that takes longer than the gas limit claimed, or a client that disagrees about the result.
What the design proposes
- This is a proposal to add a new opcode, GETCONTRACT.
- The GETCONTRACT opcode would return the address containing the bytecode by its hash.
- Content addressing by hash is a common pattern in database design.
How the mechanism is specified
- Taken from the specification, the next constraint is: The GETCONTRACT opcode would return the address containing the bytecode by its hash.
- Locate GETCONTRACT in EIP 7784 and apply it to one transaction or call.
- Then check the failure the class of rule always has: a node that did not upgrade, a reverted call, a replayed signature, or a peer that does not speak the message.
What this page does not treat as proven
- A gas or opcode change is not a throughput benchmark. It is a relative price and a validity rule.
- Constants in the text can be superseded by a later fork. Cite the EIP number and the fork you mean.
- The source marks this review. It is not a live consensus rule just because it has a number.
Why a venture studio still reads it
Use EIP 7784 when a pitch says 'GETCONTRACT opcode' without saying whether the rule is consensus, policy, or an interface. The number is the citation. The pitch is not.
This is Blockchain Lab's reading of a public design paper. It is not the paper, not a copy of it, and not an offer of tokens, equity, custody or a partnership. Later network behaviour can diverge from the text. Nothing here is investment, legal or technical advice.
Research status: Design paper. Last reviewed: 1 October 2026. This is a reading of a public paper, not investment, legal or security advice.
