Proxy Types


Proxy Overview

In simplest form, a proxy contract is a contract which delegates calls to another contract. Users go through the proxy, and the proxy knows which contract to delegate the call to (the target). A proxy pattern introduces upgradability for contracts by allowing users to change the target address inside the proxy contract.


Nextra
  • Proxy contract is what the user interacts with and holds the data
  • Proxies are immutable but contain a fallback function
  • The fallback function catches function calls and uses delegatecall to forward to logic contract
  • delegatecall allows the proxy contract to use functions on the logic contract
  • Logic contract stores functions, defined separate from data

Transparent Proxy

Instead of interacting with your smart contract directly, users interact with a proxy that holds the state and delegates execution to a logic contract for functionality. Transparent proxies are implemented using ERC1967Proxy.

Transparent proxies include the upgrade and admin logic in the proxy itself.


Nextra
💎

Upgradeability is achieved by changing the reference to the logic contract in the proxy contract, so new functionality is used for executing all calls.

Summary

  • Upgrade is handled by proxy contract.
  • Deployment is more expensive.
  • It makes things easy to maintain.

UUPS Proxy

EIP-1822: Universal Upgradeable Proxy Standard (UUPS)

Similar to transparent proxies, UUPS proxies are implemented using an ERC1967Proxy using the same delegateCall pattern. Unlike transparent proxies, the logic for allowing upgrades can be implemented as needed for UUPS proxies. UUPS proxies help to establish a pattern for the upgrade which does not interfere with existing business rules.

UUPS proxy upgradeability is handled by the implementation, and can eventually be removed.


Nextra
💎

Note: This proxy is not by itself upgradeable. The implementation must include, alongside the contract's logic, all the code necessary to update the implementation's address that is stored at a specific slot in the proxy's storage space.

Summary

  • uses the same delegate call pattern
  • places upgrade logic in the logic contract instead of the proxy itself
  • all functions defined on the logic contract
  • the proxy is much smaller in size, making deployments cheaper

Multi-Facet Proxy

Smart contract systems that can be upgraded/extended after deployment, and have virtually no size limit.

More technically,

  • Diamonds are a contract with external functions that are supplied by contracts called facets.
  • Facets are separate, independent contracts that can share internal functions, libraries, and state vars.
💎

The multi-facet proxy pattern is the Diamond pattern.