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OP Stack
Interoperability
Interop message passing

Interop message passing overview

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This guide provides an overview of cross-chain message passing in the Superchain.

Overview

The Superchain uses a pull-based event system for cross-chain communication. Messages are sent through the L2ToL2CrossDomainMessenger contract, which provides a secure and standardized way to pass information between chains.

How it works

The following diagram illustrates how messages flow between chains through the L2ToL2CrossDomainMessenger contract, which acts as a bridge for cross-chain communication. When a contract on the source chain initiates a message, it's processed through several stages before reaching its destination, ensuring secure and reliable message delivery.

Cross-chain messaging involves four main phases:

  1. Message Creation: The source chain contract emits an event containing the message data and destination information. This event serves as the initiating message that will be relayed across chains.

  2. Message Serialization: The messenger contract converts the event data into a standardized format that can be consistently processed across different chains in the Superchain.

  3. Identifier Creation: A unique identifier is generated for the message, containing information about its origin, timestamp, and other metadata. This identifier helps track and verify the message.

  4. Message Execution: The destination chain receives and processes the message, executing any associated actions or state changes specified in the original message.

For detailed implementation steps and code examples, see our message passing implementation guide (opens in a new tab).

Common Use Cases

  • Simple messages between identical contracts
  • Complex multi-contract interactions
  • Cross-chain state synchronization
  • Token transfers and bridging

For a practical example, see our cross-chain ping pong tutorial (opens in a new tab).

Next steps

Anatomy of cross-chain messageOP Supervisor