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Installation Guide

This installation guide provides a step-by-step setup of all essential tools needed for completing every tutorial across the documentation.

CKB Basic Development​

This section covers the essential tools you need to develop CKB applications, including setting up the local development environment and JavaScript SDK.

1. OffCKB (≥v0.3.0)​

OffCKB sets up a local CKB Devnet, allowing you to test dApps without connecting to the main network. We recommend using ≥v0.3.0.

npm install -g @offckb/cli

2. CCC (≥v0.0.14-alpha.0)​

CCC is the JavaScript SDK used for interacting with CKB, helping you build transactions and interact with the blockchain. This website's documentation assumes a minimum version of ≥v0.0.14-alpha.0.

npm install @ckb-ccc/core

Script Development-Specific Tools​

This section covers additional tools needed for Script development on CKB, focusing on compiling and cross-compiling setups.

1. Make, Sed, Bash, sha256sum​

These tools are often pre-installed on Unix-based systems but can be installed manually if needed. We recommend using Make (≥v4.3), Sed (≥v4.7), Bash (≥v5.0), and sha256sum (≥v9.0)

First, install Homebrew if you haven't already:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Then, install:

brew install make gnu-sed bash coreutils

2. Rust (≥v1.71.1) and riscv64 Target​

Ensure Rust is set up with the riscv64imac-unknown-none-elf target:

First, install Homebrew if you haven't already:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Then, install Rust:

brew install rustup

We recommend using ≥v1.71.1. You will need to add the riscv64 target:

rustup target add riscv64imac-unknown-none-elf

3. Clang (≥v18)​

Clang is a compiler essential for building and running CKB Scripts. You must install ≥v18 to ensure compatibility with the latest tools and libraries.

First, install Homebrew if you haven't already:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Then, install Clang (≥v18):

brew install llvm@18

4. Cargo-generate (≥0.17.0)​

Cargo-generate creates new Rust projects from pre-defined templates, helping set up project structure quickly and consistently. We recommend using ≥0.17.0.

cargo install cargo-generate

5. CKB-Debugger (≥0.113.0)​

CKB-Debugger is a CLI tool that enables off-chain Script development and testing. We recommend using ≥0.113.0.

cargo install --git https://github.com/nervosnetwork/ckb-standalone-debugger ckb-debugger

6. ckb-js-vm​

Built from the lightweight QuickJS engine, ckb-js-vm enables you to write and execute Scripts within the CKB-VM environment.

git clone https://github.com/nervosnetwork/ckb-js-vm
cd ckb-js-vm
git submodule update --init
make all

Other Tools​

This section lists additional tools commonly used in development environments. You may already have these installed, but just in case you still need them, here are installation instructions for each operating system.

1. npm (Node.js v20.18.0 LTS)​

npm is a package manager included with Node.js, which helps to manage dependencies. We recommend using the v20.18.0 LTS version.

First, install Homebrew if you haven't already:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Then, install Node.js

brew install node@20.18.0

2. Yarn (≥1.22.0)​

Yarn is a package manager for JavaScript projects. We recommend using ≥v1.22.0. After installing npm, you can run the following command on any operating system to install Yarn:

npm install --global yarn

3. Git (≥2.40.0)​

Git is a version control system for managing and tracking code changes. We recommend using ≥v2.40.0.

First, install Homebrew if you haven't already:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Then, install Git:

brew install git