Develop with Localnet

If you want to develop and test your applications on the Aptos blockchain, you can run a local network (localnet). This network will run on your local machine, and will not be connected to any other Aptos network. Running a localnet is the easiest way to test and develop Aptos applications, and make changes to the Aptos node software.

Most developers should use the Aptos CLI to run a local development network. This is the simplest and easiest way to get started. It provides a local deployment that works just like a production network, including the Node API, Transaction Stream, Indexer API and Faucet.

To get started, follow this guide: Localnet using the Aptos CLI

If you’re developing the core Aptos node software, or have more complex testing needs, consider the guides below. The first guide provides a way to run a localnet with a single validator node, and the second guide provides a way to run a localnet with multiple validator nodes, and validator fullnodes (VFNs).

To run a localnet with a single validator node, directly from the aptos-core source code, follow this guide:

• Localnet from source code

To run a localnet with multiple validator nodes and validator fullnodes (VFNs), follow this guide:

• Multi-node Localnet