This is a Rust binary crate for the aleo-devnode CLI. The entrypoint is src/main.rs; command modules live in src/accounts.rs, src/advance.rs, src/start.rs, and src/restore.rs. REST routing is under src/rest/, with shared helpers in src/rest/helpers/. Integration tests are in tests/integration.rs, and the bundled genesis block is in resources/.
Single Rust binary crate built on snarkVM TestnetV0. The defining trait: the devnode skips proof verification (snarkVM dev_skip_checks/test_* features in Cargo.toml), so clients can broadcast transactions built with placeholder proofs/verifying keys. Any code touching transaction validation must preserve this "no real proofs" assumption.
CLI dispatch (src/main.rs): a clap enum with four subcommands — start, advance, restore, accounts — each owning its module. --private-key is a global arg resolved from the flag or the PRIVATE_KEY env var (start::resolve_private_key). Keep each command's behavior inside its own module.
Ledger storage is generic over ConsensusStorage<N>. src/start.rs picks the concrete backend at runtime: ConsensusMemory (in-memory, default) or ConsensusDB (RocksDB, when --storage <DIR> is given). Everything downstream — including the whole REST layer — is written generically as <N: Network, C: ConsensusStorage<N>> so both backends share one code path.
REST layer (src/rest/): Rest<N, C> (mod.rs) holds the ledger plus a Mutex<Vec<Transaction>> buffer, shutdown channel, and in-flight verification counters. build_routes() defines the route table once and is mounted under three prefixes in spawn_server:
/<network>and/v1/<network>— wrapped inv1_error_middleware, which flattens any error into a plain-string HTTP 500 (legacy behavior)./v2/<network>— returns structured JSON errors (helpers/error.rs,RestError).
So a single handler change automatically affects all three prefixes; error shape differs only via the middleware. Route handlers live in src/rest/routes.rs; error types/helpers in src/rest/helpers/.
Block creation has two modes (routes.rs):
- Default (auto):
transaction/broadcastimmediately callsprepare_advance_to_next_beacon_block+advance_to_next_block, producing one block per transaction. --manual-block-creation: broadcasts only push into the buffer; blocks are minted on demand viaPOST /block/create({"num_blocks": N}), draining the buffer into the first block.
On startup (auto mode only), run_devnode advances the ledger to the last height in TEST_CONSENSUS_VERSION_HEIGHTS so the node boots at the latest consensus version. Blocking ledger work is wrapped in tokio::task::spawn_blocking.
Snapshots & restore (routes.rs + src/restore.rs): snapshots require --storage and are written to a sibling dir {storage}-snapshots/{name} (snapshots_sibling_dir is the shared source of that layout — reuse it, don't recompute the path). Restore is offline: the server must be stopped; restore clears the storage dir, copies the snapshot in, and with --restart re-execs the binary as start (via exec on Unix, same PID).
Genesis: a 40-validator genesis block is embedded at compile time from resources/ via include_bytes!; --genesis-path overrides it.
Native build prerequisite: clang/libclang (snarkVM's rocks/RocksDB feature links it). CI installs libclang-dev; on macOS it comes with the Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install).
cargo build --release: builds the production CLI binary.cargo test --locked: runs the same locked-dependency test command used by CI.cargo test <name>: runs a single test by substring;cargo test --test integration <name>runs one integration test.cargo fmt --all -- --check: verifies formatting againstrustfmt.toml. CI does not enforce fmt — run it yourself.cargo run -- accounts: lists built-in funded development accounts.cargo run -- start --private-key <DEV_PRIVATE_KEY>: starts a local node on127.0.0.1:3030.
Use the standard development private key from README.md only for local testing.
CI (.github/workflows/ci.yml) installs libclang-dev, verifies Cargo.lock is present, and runs cargo test --locked on stable. The release workflow refuses to build unless the git tag version matches the Cargo.toml version — bump Cargo.toml before tagging.
Follow Rust 2021 crate semantics and rustfmt.toml: 4-space indentation, 120-column width, shorthand field/try syntax, and crate-granular imports. Use snake_case for modules, functions, and tests; PascalCase for types; and SCREAMING_SNAKE_CASE for constants. Keep command behavior in its owning command module.
Tests use Rust's built-in test harness plus reqwest and tempfile. Integration tests spawn the compiled aleo-devnode binary through CARGO_BIN_EXE_aleo-devnode, allocate local ports, and clean up child processes through DevnodeGuard. Name new integration tests test_* and avoid depending on port 3030.
Use these docs as selective disclosure. Read them only when touching the related area:
docs/cli-usage.md: commands, flags, env vars, and examples.docs/rest-api.md: route prefixes, endpoint patterns, and response behavior.docs/storage-and-snapshots.md: persistent storage, snapshot layout, and restore rules.docs/testing.md: integration harness, CI checks, ports, and child process cleanup.docs/genesis-and-accounts.md: bundled genesis data and development account limits.
Recent commits use short, imperative summaries, usually lowercase, such as bump version to 0.1.1. Keep commits focused and include Cargo.lock when dependency resolution changes. Pull requests should follow .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md: motivation, test plan, and related PRs or issues.
The devnode skips proof verification by design. Treat all pre-funded keys and placeholder proof workflows as development-only. Never document or commit production keys, private ledgers, or generated snapshot data.