Generating Transactions with Move Scripts

This section outlines how to create test transactions with Move scripts.

1. Clone the aptos-core repository:
   • Navigate to the aptos-core/ecosystem/indexer-grpc/indexer-transaction-generator directory.

1. Set up move_fixtures folder

   Before proceeding, ensure you have the move_fixtures folder set up in the appropriate location:

   1. Location: The move_fixtures folder should be created in the aptos-core/ecosystem/indexer-grpc/indexer-transaction-generator/imported_transactions directory. This is the folder where Move scripts and their configurations for test transactions will be stored.

   2. Steps to set up the folder:

      • if starting fresh, remove all existing files and projects in the move_fixtures folder in the aptos-core repo
      • Create your own Move projects/scripts in the move_fixtures folder (detailed in the next step)

2. Create Your Move Project and Write your Move Script

   Create your Move project and write a module to output the scenario that you would like to test in your processor. You can refer to an example here.

3. Set Up Test Accounts

   1. These accounts will be used to deploy your module.
   2. Set up as many accounts as you need. These accounts will be used to send the scripted transactions. Refer to the guide here to create accounts.
   3. Update aptos-core/ecosystem/indexer-grpc/indexer-transaction-generator/imported_transactions/testing_accounts.yaml with your accounts.

4. Create a Configuration File

   Each configuration file defines a sequences of transactions for a test scenario.

   1. Create a configuration file in the move_fixtures directory. Name the configuration file according to the test scenario it corresponds to.

   2. This configuration file should contain unique transaction names and details for each transaction. The transactions should be listed in the order they are to be executed. The configuration file should be structured like this:

      • output_name: This field specifies the name of the output file where the results of the transaction will be saved.
      • script_path: This field holds the path to the Move script file that will be executed as part of the transaction.
      • sender_address: : This field contains the address of the account that will send the transaction.

      The number of output is totally up to you, but the output name should be unique for each transaction. Add as many transactions as you need to test your processor.

      transactions:
        - output_name: simple_user_script1
          script_path: simple_user_script
          sender_address: <account_address>
        - output_name: simple_user_script2
          script_path: simple_user_script2
          sender_address: <account_address>

5. Generate JSON Files and Rust File

   Once the Move files and configuration are set up, run the same command used to import transactions but with extra flag mode:

   • testing-folder is where your Move files are stored.
   • output-folder can be set to any folder where you want to store the generated files.
   • The --mode=script flag specifies that the transaction generator should operate in script mode, meaning it will execute Move scripts and generate corresponding transaction data. By default, the mode is set to import, which fetches transactions from the network.

       cd ~/aptos-core/ecosystem/indexer-grpc/indexer-transaction-generator
       cargo run -- --testing-folder ./imported_transactions --output-folder ../indexer-test-transactions/src/ --script

   This command will:

   1. Read the configuration in the move_fixtures folder.
   2. Execute the specified Move scripts.
   3. Output the generated JSON files to the designated folder (~/aptos-core/ecosystem/indexer-grpc/indexer-test-transactions/src/json_transactions).
   4. Overwrite generated_transactions.rs with the new transaction data based on the generated JSON files. This file contains the transaction constants that can be used in tests.

6. Verification

   Verify that the json_transactions folder in the target directory contains the generated JSON files with the specified names from the configuration file, and ensure that generated_transactions.rs has been updated accordingly.

Update the mod.rs file to include the generated Rust file containing the transaction constants. If mod.rs doesn’t exist, create one in the target folder:

Reference mod.rs.

Since the generated_transactions.rs relies on the json_transactions Ensure the json_transactions folder is properly exported in the library file for your tests have direct access to the transaction data.

Reference lib.rs.

If you decided to output the rust file in a different crate, you can update you cargo.toml to import the crate containing the generated file as a dependency. Otherwise, you can simply import the generated file directly in your test file. Example.

Once the transaction constants are integrated, you can use them in processor tests to validate functionality. For detailed instructions on writing processor tests, refer to Writing Processor Tests.

Example