How to Systematically Read and Audit a Solidity Smart Contract You've Never Seen

A developer has outlined a structured method for reading unfamiliar Solidity smart contracts, arguing that starting from line one wastes attention on boilerplate before reaching critical logic. The approach prioritizes scanning for asset-movement functions first, then mapping access controls to identify who can trigger those functions and under what conditions. From there, the method involves reviewing state variables for unexpected write paths, checking whether external calls follow the checks-effects-interactions pattern to catch reentrancy risks, and finally auditing arithmetic for precision or decimal errors. The author also recommends using AI models to accelerate specific steps — such as generating access-control tables — rather than prompting them to find all bugs at once. The goal is to reduce the time needed to understand a contract's risk surface from a full day to roughly an hour.