Integrating ethereum/tests into cosmos/evm

[zsystm]

Background

The ethereum/tests repository provides a canonical EVM conformance test suite, organized into categories such as:

• BasicTests
• BlockchainTests
• TransactionTests.

Each test case includes the minimal inputs (e.g. RLP-encoded transactions, block headers, account pre-state) and the expected outcome or post-state under each hard-fork. Client implementations simply feed these inputs into their EVM and assert that the results match the reference data.

Go-Ethereum demonstrates one approach: it pulls ethereum/tests in as a Git submodule under tests/, iterates over the generated JSON fixtures with evm test …, and compares the returned state or exceptions against the fixture expectations.

Proposal for cosmos/evm

1. Add ethereum/tests as a submodule

git submodule add https://github.com/ethereum/tests tests/ethereum

2. Write a test harness

• Recursively scan tests/ethereum/Tests/**//*.json for fixture files.
• For each fixture:
  1. Deserialize its txbytes, pre-state, and "result" map.
  2. Invoke cosmos/evm (in-process or via CLI) for each supported fork.
  3. Compare the returned state or exception against the fixture’s "result"[fork].

3. Explicitly skip incompatible tests

• MPT tests: skip any trie tests, since cosmos/evm uses IAVL, not Merkle-Patricia.
• Withdrawals / Beacon-chain tests: skip EL-only tests that assume an Ethereum CL↔EL withdrawal flow.
• Mark each skip in code with a clear rationale:

  t.Skip("skipping MPT test: cosmos/evm uses IAVL")

4. Integrate into CI

• Add a go test ./tests/ethereum/... target in our Makefile or CI pipeline.
• Ensure skipped tests are excluded automatically.
• Publish pass/fail metrics for all executed conformance cases.

Benefits

• Immediate coverage of every EVM hard-fork scenario as soon as ethereum/tests adds or updates a fixture.
• Automated conformance checks guard against regressions in future EVM changes.

[linear]

EVM-97 evm/tests

[vladjdk]

LGTM! Let's make it happen :)