diff --git a/halo2-verfier/Cargo.toml b/halo2-verfier/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4d8bdab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/halo2-verfier/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+[package]
+name = "halo2-verifier"
+version = "0.1.0"
+edition = "2021"
+
+[dependencies]
+rand = "=0.8"
+ark-std = { version = "=0.3.0", features = ["print-trace"] }
+serde = { version = "=1.0", default-features = false, features = ["derive"] }
+serde_json = "=1.0"
+log = "=0.4"
+env_logger = "=0.10"
+clap = { version = "=4.0", features = ["derive"] }
+clap-num = "=1.0.2"
+
+# halo2
+halo2_proofs = { git = "https://github.com/privacy-scaling-explorations/halo2.git", tag = "v2023_02_02" }
+
+# Axiom's helper API with basic functions
+halo2-base = { git = "https://github.com/axiom-crypto/halo2-lib", branch = "community-edition" }
+snark-verifier-sdk = { git = "https://github.com/axiom-crypto/snark-verifier.git", branch = "community-edition" }
+
+[dev-dependencies]
+test-log = "=0.2.11"
+ethers-core = "=2.0.6"
+
+[features]
+default = []
+
+# Dev / testing mode. We make opt-level = 3 to improve proving times (otherwise it is really slow)
+[profile.dev]
+opt-level = 3
+debug = 1 # change to 0 or 2 for more or less debug info
+overflow-checks = true # default
+incremental = true # default
+
+# Local "release" mode, more optimized than dev but faster to compile than release
+[profile.local]
+inherits = "dev"
+opt-level = 3
+# Set this to 1 or 2 to get more useful backtraces
+debug = 1
+debug-assertions = false
+panic = 'unwind'
+# better recompile times
+incremental = true
+lto = "thin"
+codegen-units = 16
+
+[profile.release]
+opt-level = 3
+debug = false
+debug-assertions = false
+lto = "fat"
+panic = "abort"
+incremental = false
diff --git a/halo2-verfier/src/cmd.rs b/halo2-verfier/src/cmd.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..337cff7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/halo2-verfier/src/cmd.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+use clap::{Parser, Subcommand};
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, Subcommand)]
+pub enum SnarkCmd {
+    /// Verify a proof
+    Verify,
+}
+
+impl std::fmt::Display for SnarkCmd {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        match self {
+            Self::Verify => write!(f, "verify"),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Parser, Debug)]
+#[command(author, version, about, long_about = None)]
+/// Command-line helper for various steps in ZK proving.
+pub struct Cli {
+    #[command(subcommand)]
+    pub command: SnarkCmd,
+    #[arg(short, long = "name")]
+    pub name: String,
+    #[arg(short = 'k', long = "degree")]
+    pub degree: u32,
+    #[arg(short, long = "input")]
+    pub input_path: Option<PathBuf>,
+    #[arg(long = "create-contract")]
+    pub create_contract: bool,
+    #[arg(short, long = "config-path")]
+    pub config_path: Option<PathBuf>,
+    #[arg(short, long = "data-path")]
+    pub data_path: Option<PathBuf>,
+}
diff --git a/halo2-verfier/src/helpers.rs b/halo2-verfier/src/helpers.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1eddd5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/halo2-verfier/src/helpers.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,218 @@
+use halo2_base::{
+    gates::{
+        circuit::{builder::BaseCircuitBuilder, BaseCircuitParams, CircuitBuilderStage},
+        flex_gate::MultiPhaseThreadBreakPoints,
+    },
+    halo2_proofs::{
+        dev::MockProver,
+        halo2curves::bn256::{Bn256, Fr, G1Affine},
+        plonk::{verify_proof, Circuit, ProvingKey, VerifyingKey},
+        poly::{
+            commitment::{Params, ParamsProver},
+            kzg::{
+                commitment::{KZGCommitmentScheme, ParamsKZG},
+                multiopen::VerifierSHPLONK,
+                strategy::SingleStrategy,
+            },
+        },
+        SerdeFormat,
+    },
+    utils::fs::gen_srs,
+    AssignedValue,
+};
+use serde::de::DeserializeOwned;
+use snark_verifier_sdk::{
+    gen_pk,
+    halo2::{gen_snark_shplonk, read_snark, PoseidonTranscript},
+    read_pk, CircuitExt, NativeLoader,
+};
+use std::{
+    env::var,
+    fs::{self, File},
+    io::{BufReader, BufWriter},
+    path::{Path, PathBuf},
+    time::Instant,
+};
+
+use self::cmd::{Cli, SnarkCmd};
+
+pub mod cmd;
+
+pub struct CircuitScaffold<T, Fn> {
+    f: Fn,
+    private_inputs: T,
+}
+
+pub fn run<T: DeserializeOwned>(
+    f: impl FnOnce(&mut BaseCircuitBuilder<Fr>, T, &mut Vec<AssignedValue<Fr>>),
+    cli: Cli,
+) {
+    let name = &cli.name;
+    let input_path = PathBuf::from("data").join(
+        cli.input_path
+            .clone()
+            .unwrap_or_else(|| PathBuf::from(format!("{name}.in"))),
+    );
+    let private_inputs: T = serde_json::from_reader(
+        File::open(&input_path)
+            .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("Input file not found at {input_path:?}. {e:?}")),
+    )
+    .expect("Input file should be a valid JSON file");
+    run_on_inputs(f, cli, private_inputs)
+}
+
+pub fn run_on_inputs<T: DeserializeOwned>(
+    f: impl FnOnce(&mut BaseCircuitBuilder<Fr>, T, &mut Vec<AssignedValue<Fr>>),
+    cli: Cli,
+    private_inputs: T,
+) {
+    let precircuit = CircuitScaffold { f, private_inputs };
+
+    let name = cli.name;
+    let k = cli.degree;
+
+    let config_path = cli.config_path.unwrap_or_else(|| PathBuf::from("configs"));
+    let data_path = cli.data_path.unwrap_or_else(|| PathBuf::from("data"));
+    fs::create_dir_all(&config_path).unwrap();
+    fs::create_dir_all(&data_path).unwrap();
+
+    let params = gen_srs(k);
+    
+    println!("Universal trusted setup (unsafe!) available at: params/kzg_bn254_{k}.srs");
+    match cli.command {
+            let pinning_path = config_path.join(PathBuf::from(format!("{name}.json")));
+            let mut pinning_file = File::open(&pinning_path)
+                .unwrap_or_else(|_| panic!("Could not read file at {pinning_path:?}"));
+            let pinning: (BaseCircuitParams, MultiPhaseThreadBreakPoints) =
+                serde_json::from_reader(&mut pinning_file).expect("Could not read pinning file");
+            let circuit =
+                precircuit.create_circuit(CircuitBuilderStage::Prover, Some(pinning), &params);
+            let pk_path = data_path.join(PathBuf::from(format!("{name}.pk")));
+            let pk = custom_read_pk(pk_path, &circuit);
+            let snark_path = data_path.join(PathBuf::from(format!("{name}.snark")));
+            if snark_path.exists() {
+                fs::remove_file(&snark_path).unwrap();
+            }
+            let start = Instant::now();
+            gen_snark_shplonk(&params, &pk, circuit, Some(&snark_path));
+            let prover_time = start.elapsed();
+            println!("Proving time: {:?}", prover_time);
+            println!("Snark written to: {snark_path:?}");
+        }
+        SnarkCmd::Verify => {
+            let vk_path = data_path.join(PathBuf::from(format!("{name}.vk")));
+            let mut circuit = precircuit.create_circuit(CircuitBuilderStage::Keygen, None, &params);
+            let vk = custom_read_vk(vk_path, &circuit);
+            let snark_path = data_path.join(PathBuf::from(format!("{name}.snark")));
+            let snark = read_snark(&snark_path)
+                .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("Snark not found at {snark_path:?}. {e:?}"));
+
+            let verifier_params = params.verifier_params();
+            let strategy = SingleStrategy::new(&params);
+            let mut transcript =
+                PoseidonTranscript::<NativeLoader, &[u8]>::new::<0>(&snark.proof[..]);
+            let instance = &snark.instances[0][..];
+            let start = Instant::now();
+            verify_proof::<
+                KZGCommitmentScheme<Bn256>,
+                VerifierSHPLONK<'_, Bn256>,
+                _,
+                _,
+                SingleStrategy<'_, Bn256>,
+            >(
+                verifier_params,
+                &vk,
+                strategy,
+                &[&[instance]],
+                &mut transcript,
+            )
+            .unwrap();
+            let verification_time = start.elapsed();
+            println!("Snark verified successfully in {:?}", verification_time);
+            circuit.clear();
+        }
+}
+
+
+fn custom_read_pk<C, P>(fname: P, circuit: &C) -> ProvingKey<G1Affine>
+where
+    C: Circuit<Fr>,
+    P: AsRef<Path>,
+{
+    read_pk::<C>(fname.as_ref(), circuit.params())
+        .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("Failed to open file: {:?}: {e:?}", fname.as_ref()))
+}
+
+fn custom_read_vk<C, P>(fname: P, circuit: &C) -> VerifyingKey<G1Affine>
+where
+    C: Circuit<Fr>,
+    P: AsRef<Path>,
+{
+    let f = File::open(&fname)
+        .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("Failed to open file: {:?}: {e:?}", fname.as_ref()));
+    let mut bufreader = BufReader::new(f);
+    VerifyingKey::read::<_, C>(&mut bufreader, SerdeFormat::RawBytes, circuit.params())
+        .expect("Could not read vkey")
+}
+
+impl<T, Fn> CircuitScaffold<T, Fn>
+where
+    Fn: FnOnce(&mut BaseCircuitBuilder<Fr>, T, &mut Vec<AssignedValue<Fr>>),
+{
+    /// Creates a Halo2 circuit from the given function.
+    fn create_circuit(
+        self,
+        stage: CircuitBuilderStage,
+        pinning: Option<(BaseCircuitParams, MultiPhaseThreadBreakPoints)>,
+        params: &ParamsKZG<Bn256>,
+    ) -> BaseCircuitBuilder<Fr> {
+        let mut builder = BaseCircuitBuilder::from_stage(stage);
+        if let Some((params, break_points)) = pinning {
+            builder.set_params(params);
+            builder.set_break_points(break_points);
+        } else {
+            let k = params.k() as usize;
+            // we use env var `LOOKUP_BITS` to determine whether to use `GateThreadBuilder` or `RangeCircuitBuilder`. The difference is that the latter creates a lookup table with 2^LOOKUP_BITS rows, while the former does not.
+            let lookup_bits: Option<usize> = var("LOOKUP_BITS")
+                .map(|str| {
+                    let lookup_bits = str.parse::<usize>().unwrap();
+                    // we use a lookup table with 2^LOOKUP_BITS rows. Due to blinding factors, we need a little more than 2^LOOKUP_BITS rows total in our circuit
+                    assert!(lookup_bits < k, "LOOKUP_BITS needs to be less than DEGREE");
+                    lookup_bits
+                })
+                .ok();
+            // we initiate a "thread builder". This is what keeps track of the execution trace of our program. If not in proving mode, it also keeps track of the ZK constraints.
+            builder.set_k(k);
+            if let Some(lookup_bits) = lookup_bits {
+                builder.set_lookup_bits(lookup_bits);
+            }
+            builder.set_instance_columns(1);
+        };
+
+        // builder.main(phase) gets a default "main" thread for the given phase. For most purposes we only need to think about phase 0
+        // we need a 64-bit number as input in this case
+        // while `some_algorithm_in_zk` was written generically for any field `F`, in practice we use the scalar field of the BN254 curve because that's what the proving system backend uses
+        let mut assigned_instances = vec![];
+        (self.f)(&mut builder, self.private_inputs, &mut assigned_instances);
+        if !assigned_instances.is_empty() {
+            assert_eq!(
+                builder.assigned_instances.len(),
+                1,
+                "num_instance_columns != 1"
+            );
+            builder.assigned_instances[0] = assigned_instances;
+        }
+
+        if !stage.witness_gen_only() {
+            // now `builder` contains the execution trace, and we are ready to actually create the circuit
+            // minimum rows is the number of rows used for blinding factors. This depends on the circuit itself, but we can guess the number and change it if something breaks (default 9 usually works)
+            let minimum_rows = var("MINIMUM_ROWS")
+                .unwrap_or_else(|_| "20".to_string())
+                .parse()
+                .unwrap();
+            builder.calculate_params(Some(minimum_rows));
+        }
+
+        builder
+    }
+}
diff --git a/halo2-verfier/src/main.rs b/halo2-verfier/src/main.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..376c9e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/halo2-verfier/src/main.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+use clap::Parser;
+use halo2_base::gates::circuit::builder::BaseCircuitBuilder;
+use halo2_base::gates::{GateChip, GateInstructions};
+use halo2_base::utils::ScalarField;
+use halo2_base::AssignedValue;
+#[allow(unused_imports)]
+use halo2_base::{
+    Context,
+    QuantumCell::{Constant, Existing, Witness},
+};
+use halo2_scaffold::scaffold::cmd::Cli;
+use halo2_scaffold::scaffold::run;
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+pub struct CircuitInput {
+    pub x: String, // field element, but easier to deserialize as a string
+}
+
+// this algorithm takes a public input x, computes x^2 + 72, and outputs the result as public output
+fn some_algorithm_in_zk<F: ScalarField>(
+    builder: &mut BaseCircuitBuilder<F>,
+    input: CircuitInput,
+    make_public: &mut Vec<AssignedValue<F>>,
+) {
+    let x = F::from_str_vartime(&input.x).expect("deserialize field element should not fail");
+    // `Context` can roughly be thought of as a single-threaded execution trace of a program we want to ZK prove. We do some post-processing on `Context` to optimally divide the execution trace into multiple columns in a PLONKish arithmetization
+    let ctx = builder.main(0);
+    // More advanced usage with multi-threaded witness generation is possible, but we do not explain it here
+
+    // first we load a number `x` into as system, as a "witness"
+    let x = ctx.load_witness(x);
+    // by default, all numbers in the system are private
+    // we can make it public like so:
+    make_public.push(x);
+
+    // create a Gate chip that contains methods for basic arithmetic operations
+    let gate = GateChip::<F>::default();
+
+    // ===== way 1 =====
+    // now we can perform arithmetic operations almost like a normal program using halo2-lib API functions
+    // square x
+    let x_sq = gate.mul(ctx, x, x);
+
+    // x^2 + 72
+    let c = F::from(72);
+    // the implicit type of most variables is an "Existing" assigned value
+    // a known constant is a separate type that we specify by `Constant(c)`:
+    let out = gate.add(ctx, x_sq, Constant(c));
+    // Halo2 does not distinguish between public inputs vs outputs because the verifier seems them all at the same time
+    // However in traditional terms, `out` is our output number. It is currently still private.
+    // Let's make it public:
+    make_public.push(out);
+    // ==== way 2 =======
+    // here is a more optimal way to compute x^2 + 72 using the lower level `assign_region` API:
+    let val = *x.value() * x.value() + c;
+    let _val_assigned =
+        ctx.assign_region_last([Constant(c), Existing(x), Existing(x), Witness(val)], [0]);
+    // the `[0]` tells us to turn on a vertical `a + b * c = d` gate at row position 0.
+    // this imposes the constraint c + x * x = val
+
+    // ==== way 3 ======
+    // this does the exact same thing as way 2, but with a pre-existing function
+    let _val_assigned = gate.mul_add(ctx, x, x, Constant(c));
+
+    println!("x: {:?}", x.value());
+    println!("val_assigned: {:?}", out.value());
+    assert_eq!(*x.value() * x.value() + c, *out.value());
+}
+
+fn main() {
+    env_logger::init();
+
+    let args = Cli::parse();
+
+    // run different zk commands based on the command line arguments
+    run(some_algorithm_in_zk, args);
+}