# Flatten a Smart Contract

Flattening a smart contract is the process of combining the main contract with all its dependencies (interfaces, libraries, inherited contracts) into a single, standalone `.sol` file. This makes it much easier to validate the deployed contract.

{% hint style="info" %}
You do not need to flatten your contract to deploy it.

Flattening is primarily a post-deployment step used to verify your source code on an explorer.
{% endhint %}

Because Chiliz Chain is an EVM-compatible blockchain, there are several tools available to flatten a contract.

{% hint style="info" %}
If you deploy from your original files, then flatten them to verify the whole contract, you must ensure that nothing changes in the compilation settings.

Otherwise, you risk to get a "Bytecode mismatch" sort of error, and verification will fail.
{% endhint %}

## Flatten using Remix IDE

In the File Explorer, right-click your main contract, and choose "Flatten" in the menu.

<figure><img src="/files/8bIOqYPJyDMgunB3bAVv" alt="" width="375"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Remix will generate a `CONTRACT_flattened.sol` contract in your folder.

## Flatten using Hardhat

Adapt the following line to your workflow:

```bash
npx hardhat flatten contracts/MyContract.sol > Flattened.sol
```

{% hint style="warning" %}
Because a flattened contract can be thousands of lines long, they are terrible for actual development and maintenance.

They should only be generated when you need them, for instance when verifying the deployed contract.
{% endhint %}


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