Tooling overview

Boson exposes the same protocol through six developer surfaces. Pick whichever fits your stack; they all talk to the same on-chain Diamond and produce the same exchanges.

Stack comparison

Stack	Audience	Language	Maturity	Best for	Avoid if
Core SDK	Backend / full-stack devs	TypeScript	Stable	Marketplaces, custom storefronts, server-side logic	You don't want to manage a wallet
React Kit	Frontend devs	TypeScript / React	Pre-release	Drop-in React components & hooks	You're not on React, or you need v1 stability
MCP stack	AI / agent devs	Any (HTTP)	Stable	Autonomous buyer/seller agents, GOAT plugin users	You're not building an agent
Widgets	Anyone with a webpage	HTML	Stable	Adding a buy button to an existing site	You need deep UI customization
x402 escrow	Service developers	TypeScript	Pre-release	Pay-per-request APIs, agent commerce over HTTP	You need long-term API stability
Solidity / contracts	Smart-contract devs	Solidity	Stable	On-chain composition, custom orchestration	You don't want to write Solidity
The dApp	Sellers / buyers	(none — UI)	Stable	Selling without writing code	You need automation
WooCommerce plugin	WordPress merchants	(none — UI)	Stable	Adding Boson to an existing WordPress store	You're not on WooCommerce

What "stable" / "pre-release" means here

Stable — the API surface is versioned; breaking changes are announced and migrations documented.
Pre-release — the public API may change between minor versions. Pin exact dependency versions and watch the changelog.

What every stack shares

No matter which surface you pick, you'll work with the same five cross-cutting concepts. Read these once:

The Boson model — what offers, exchanges, and disputes are.
Networks & ConfigIds — how to select a chain and environment.
Signing & meta-transactions — how transactions get signed and who pays gas.
Eventing & indexing — how to watch for state changes (and why the subgraph lags).
Going to production — operational checklist.

How the stacks relate

The dApp and WooCommerce plugin are end-user interfaces that sit on top of Core SDK + widgets — they're not separate stacks technically, but operationally they're a separate path for sellers who don't write code.

Mixing stacks

Stacks compose. Common combinations:

Marketplace = Core SDK + Widgets: SDK for backend listings, widgets for the buyer's commit flow.
Agent marketplace = MCP + Core SDK: MCP for agent-driven trades, SDK for human marketplace operators monitoring exchanges.
API-as-a-service = x402 + Core SDK: x402 for the HTTP-402 payment challenge, SDK for fulfillment hooks.

Read Pick your integration for a quick decision tree.