Inscriptions

Transient Labs has developed a protocol that allows you to add any text you want to a token you have created as another form of provenance. Sometimes, descriptions only get you so far or you want to add where the piece has been displayed. Rather than update the metadata, this information can be added as a Story to the token!

We have also built this so collectors of your tokens can add their stories to their collected tokens. This in itself adds a lot of provenance and history to the creation.

Of course, only some people want this, and we let the creator decide whether to enable or disable it.

On the technical level, The Story Inscription feature is built on a foundation of interoperability. It supports ERC-165, making it compatible with other contracts and enabling seamless integration within the NFT ecosystem. By adhering to this industry standard, we ensure the longevity and compatibility of stories for years to come.
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We understand the importance of optimizing gas costs in the blockchain world. Local testing has revealed that a 5000-word story — equivalent to a research paper — incurs a gas cost of just 694795 gas, translating to an efficient expenditure of 0.0694795 ETH at 100 gwei gas prices. Since most stories will be shorter and can be submitted at lower gas fees, Story Inscriptions ensure accessibility for artists and collectors alike!

These are just some examples of ways that Stories can be used; we can't wait to see how you end up using Story Inscriptions!
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1. Emotional Connections for Collectors:

Scenario: Imagine you're a collector who's just acquired a piece that reminds you of your childhood home or a memorable trip.

Use Case: Instead of sharing this profound connection in a fleeting tweet, embed this story through Story Inscriptions. This way, your emotional bond with the art becomes a part of its digital legacy, accessible to anyone who interacts with it.

2. Documenting Provenance:

Scenario: Your NFT artwork has just been showcased at a prestigious gallery or museum.

Use Case: Use Story Inscriptions to attach this significant milestone to your art piece. This proves its journey and significance and adds value to the artwork by highlighting its presence in notable spaces.

3. Building Narratives Over Time:

Scenario: An artwork or collection that evolves or has multiple phases/stages.

Use Case: Every time there's an update, a new story or event concerning the piece, or a continuation of its narrative, add it. Over time, this creates a rich collection of stories that chronicle the life and journey of the artwork or collection.

Launchpad is your discovery tool and an unparalleled gateway to the Transient Labs ecosystem. Whether you're searching for creative works using keywords or browsing via URLs, Launchpad opens the doors to Transient's growing catalog of innovative artwork. It provides rich tool sets that allow you to engage with groundbreaking Transient Labs Smart Contract features, starting with Story Inscriptions. Head to LaunchPad here: https://launchpad.transientlabs.xyz/

2. Navigate to the search bar at the top of the page and search for the token that you would like to add a Story Inscription to. You can search by keyword, such as the piece's title, or by contract address.
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3. Click the desired result from the Search bar to navigate to the token's page.

4. Click the purple "Inscribe" button

5. Write your Story Inscription! If you look at the top right corner of the pop-up, you'll notice a gas estimate tracking the estimated gas cost to add that Story Inscription to the token on-chain (it updates in real-time). Remember to use Markdown for paragraph breaks, bolds, italics, and more! You'll be able to learn about Markdown here.

6. Review, proofread, and triple-check that everything is spelled correctly and that you used the proper markdown syntax where necessary. Once you click Inscribe, it is immutable (you can't edit it) and forever tied to that token.
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7. Lastly, click "Inscribe" and send the Transaction!

1. When creating your contract, enable Story Inscriptions. If you've already deployed it, check your contract settings to ensure that "Story Inscriptions" are enabled.

2. Watch this tutorial: