Local Blockchain

Version: 0.2.0

Overview

The Local Blockchain workspace provides a complete Ethereum Proof of Authority (PoA) blockchain environment for local development. This includes:

Geth Archive Node: A single validator PoA Ethereum node (v1.12.2)
Blockscout Explorer: Full-featured blockchain explorer for inspecting transactions, blocks, and contracts
Automated Setup: Scripts to initialize, manage, and clean your local blockchain

This workspace is designed for testing smart contracts and dApps in a controlled environment with fast block times and predictable behavior.

Note: If you see references to “ritonet” in the codebase, that’s just a branded / internal name for this local blockchain setup.

Prerequisites

Docker and Docker Compose installed
Node.js and pnpm
Available ports: 8545 (RPC), 8546 (WebSocket), 4000 (Blockscout)

Installation and Setup

Install dependencies: bash pnpm install
Run the setup script:
```
pnpm setup-all
```
This will:
- Create necessary directories
- Generate a validator keystore (if not exists)
- Create genesis.json with your validator
- Initialize the genesis block
- Clone Blockscout (if needed)
Start the network:
```
pnpm start
```

Configuration

The network is configured via .env file with these key settings:

Variable	Default	Description
`LOCAL_CHAIN_ID`	90999999	Chain ID for your network
`BLOCK_TIME`	27	Seconds between blocks
`RPC_PORT`	8545	HTTP-RPC port
`RPC_WS_PORT`	8546	WebSocket port
`BLOCKSCOUT_PORT`	4000	Explorer web interface
`KEYSTORE_PASSWORD`	testtesttest	Validator key password
`TEST_ACCOUNT`	0xee15…	Pre-funded test account

Password Configuration

The default password is testtesttest. To use a custom password:

Update KEYSTORE_PASSWORD in .env before running setup.
Or manually edit config/password.txt before running setup.

Pre-funded Accounts

By default, two accounts receive ETH in the genesis block:

Validator Address: Auto-generated during setup, receives 10,000 ETH
Test Account: Configure via TEST_ACCOUNT in .env, receives 10,000 ETH

You can add your own address to .env as TEST_ACCOUNT before running setup.

Geth Version

We use Geth v1.12.2 specifically. While newer versions exist, Proof of Authority is deprecated and v1.12.2 provides excellent stability and all features needed for local development.

Manual Genesis Generation

If you need to generate the genesis block without redoing the complete setup:


pnpm run generate:genesis

This reads your .env configuration and creates a new config/genesis.json.

Docker Container Conflicts

If you have existing containers with the same names, clean them up:


docker-compose down -v
# or
pnpm run clean