I am a Solidity developer, and I have been working on projects on the Ethereum mainnet and Polygon for the past two years. Writing contracts, deploying tests, adjusting parameters, optimizing gas, and integrating with the frontend are processes I am already very familiar with.

Until this year, I migrated an NFT project to Linea. I thought it would just be a matter of switching chains and continuing to deploy, but unexpectedly, this migration has significantly increased my development efficiency.

You can understand it as, I used to run while writing code, and now it's like riding an electric bike.

It's still EVM, but the deployment speed is noticeably faster.

Deploying a contract on the mainnet, the most painful part is waiting for confirmation. Especially for complex contracts with multiple logic, even if you've verified on the test chain, you still anxiously wait for over ten minutes for the real deployment.

But on Linea, everything changed.

The first time I deployed, I used the original code I ran on the mainnet, changed the endpoint and network parameters, and before I finished brewing a cup of tea, the page notified me that the deployment was successful.

I refreshed the block explorer, and the contract address has synchronized.

At that moment, I was truly a bit dazed: 'Can the development experience be so different? Turns out it's not me being slow, it's the chain being slow.'

Testing feels more like running scripts, rather than waiting for fate to judge.

Testing on the mainnet always gives a sense of 'uncontrollability.' Clearly, the contract logic is correct, but due to network delays and fluctuating gas prices, the test fails.

Writing test scripts on Linea, I can consistently get through each round without any 'luck' involved.

Especially with gas fees being ridiculously low, costing only a few cents per execution. Even if I try ten times more, I don't feel the pinch. I can boldly optimize logic and do more redundant checks because the testing cost is almost zero. This is crucial for developers: cheap doesn't just save money, it allows you to make mistakes, be willing to try, and continuously optimize.

No need to change the toolchain, that's the best compatibility.

More importantly, I didn't change my development habits at all.

I'm still using the Hardhat + OpenZeppelin suite, the frontend is React + wagmi, and I'm still connecting my wallet with MetaMask, the only change being that the RPC address is now Linea's node.

You say zk technology is so amazing? It's true, but what I care more about is: can I 'build' as skillfully as I do on the mainnet?

Linea gave me the most definitive answer: not only can it be done, but it's even easier.

Data calls are fast, frontend and backend interactions are stable, and the experience is complete.

Many Layer2s look quite lively on the mainnet, but when it comes to the development environment, they fall short:

  • Block explorer data has severe delays.

  • Frequent errors when calling contracts.

  • Nodes are unstable, frontend refresh fails.

  • No simulated testnet, making frontend and backend integration difficult.

But on Linea, I hardly encountered these issues. Whether it's querying data, reading states, debugging frontend UI, or writing call scripts, everything runs very smoothly.

I dare say: Linea is the only zkEVM I've used that has a consistent experience between 'live chain' and 'development chain.'

Linea is a 'productivity booster' for developers.

You don’t need to understand zero-knowledge proofs, read technical papers, or care about which zkEVM type is used. As long as you've written Solidity, run contracts, and deployed frontends, you can feel how this chain 'saves you a lot of trouble.'

Linea doesn't flaunt technology, but uses a solid development experience to tell me: 'The code you write deserves to run on a chain that doesn't complicate things for you.'

Summary:

Not every chain is suitable for developers. But Linea not only is suitable but feels like a tool tailor-made for developers.

I've used many L2s, but only this migration made me feel truly relaxed and improved efficiency.

Linea isn't magic, but feels like a booster. It's not flashy, but it's stable enough; not dazzling, but very fast; not noisy, but reassuring.

I think this is my reason for deciding to migrate the project's main chain.