nctl

CLI application to setup & control multiple local Casper networks

nctl stands for n[etwork|ode] control. It simplifies the setup and management of local Casper test networks, enabling developers, validators, and evaluators to spin up and control multiple nodes for testing and development purposes.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Requirements
• Quick Start
• Documentation
• Contributing
• License

Features

• Multi-node Network Setup - Quickly spin up local networks with multiple validator nodes
• Network Control - Start, stop, and manage network nodes with simple commands
• Test Automation - Deploy contracts, submit transactions, and test scenarios locally
• Asset Management - Manage accounts, keys, and network assets
• Chain Inspection - View blocks, transactions, and network state

Requirements

• python3 + pip
• make
• cargo (Rust toolchain)
• bash
• jq (JSON parsing utility)

Plus the requirements to build casper-node

Quick Start

1. Clone Required Repositories

# Clone nctl
git clone https://github.com/casper-network/casper-nctl.git
cd casper-nctl

# Clone dependencies (in the same parent directory)
cd ..
git clone https://github.com/casper-network/casper-node.git
git clone https://github.com/casper-ecosystem/casper-client-rs.git
git clone https://github.com/casper-network/casper-node-launcher.git
git clone https://github.com/casper-network/casper-sidecar.git

2. Activate nctl

cd casper-nctl
source activate

3. Compile and Setup Network

# Compile network binaries
nctl-compile

# Setup network assets (creates a 5-node network)
nctl-assets-setup

# Start the network
nctl-start

4. Verify Network Status

# View network status
nctl-view-chain-state-root-hash

# View node status
nctl-view-node-status node=1

Documentation

For detailed information, please refer to the following documentation:

• Setup Guide - Complete installation and configuration instructions
• Commands Reference - Full list of available nctl commands
• Usage Guide - Detailed usage examples and workflows

Who Uses nctl?

nctl is used by the CSPR network community, including:

• Developers - Testing smart contracts and dApps locally
• Validators - Testing node operations and network scenarios
• Evaluators - Assessing network behavior and performance
• Contributors - Developing and testing casper-node changes

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see our Contributing Guidelines and Code of Conduct.

If you discover a security vulnerability, please review our Security Policy.

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.