Build and Test Locally

Building with DevKit enables:

• A rapid local iteration loop removing the need for lengthy testnet deployments.
• Built-in observability and error handling removing the need for protocol-level debugging to understand what's going wrong.

Prerequisites:

Get Started Building a Task-based AVS

To build and test locally:

1. Set the RPC endpoint URL
2. Build your AVS
3. Run AVS tests
4. Test AVS with local devnet or by simulating tasks

1. Set the RPC Endpoint URL

In the .env file, set the *_FORK_URL values to Ethereum Sepolia (L1_FORK_URL) and Base Sepolia (L2_FORK_URL) RPC archive node endpoint URLs. Use any reliable RPC provider (for example, QuickNode, Alchemy).

cp .env.example .env
# edit `.env` and set your L1_FORK_URL and L2_FORK_URL to point to your RPC endpoints

note

Currently, only the Sepolia testnet is supported. The RPC endpoint must be an archive node, not a full node.

2. Build Your AVS

Compile AVS contracts and offchain binaries before running a devnet or simulating tasks.

In the project directory, run:

devkit avs build

3. Run AVS Tests

Run offchain unit tests and onchain contract tests to ensure your business logic and smart contracts are functioning correctly before deploying.

In the project directory, run:

devkit avs test

4. Test AVS

DevKit provides two options for testing AVS functionality:

• Running a local Devnet to simulate the full AVS environment.
• Triggering task execution to simulate how a task is submitted, processed, and validated.

Local Devnet

Test and iterate without needing to interact with testnet or mainnet. Devkit:

• Spins up a local Devnet and deploys contracts, registers operators, and runs offchain infrastructure.
• Automatically funds wallets (operator_keys and submit_wallet) if balances are below 10 ETH.

important

Ensure your Docker daemon is running before launching local Devnet.

Devkit forks Ethereum Sepolia using the fork URL (provided by you) and a block number. We recommend specifying the fork URL in a .env file. The .env file takes precedence over config/context/devnet.yaml.

In your project directory, run:

devkit avs devnet start

Devnet management commands listed below.

Command	Description
start	Start local Docker containers and contracts
stop	Stop and remove containers from the AVS project
list	List active containers and their ports
stop --all	Stops all devkit devnet containers that are currently running
stop --project.name	Stops the specified project devnet
stop --port	Stops the specified port (for example, stop --port 8545)

Simulate Task Execution

Trigger task execution through your AVS to simulate how a task would be submitted, processed, and validated. Useful for testing end-to-end behavior of your AVS logic in a local environment. Devkit enables:

• Simulating the full lifecycle of task submission and execution.
• Validating both off-chain and on-chain logic.
• Reviewing detailed execution results.

From your project directory, run:

devkit avs call signature="(uint256,string)" args='(5,"hello")'

Optionally, submit tasks directly to the on-chain TaskMailbox contract via a frontend or another method for more realistic testing scenarios.

Next:

Publish Task-based AVS

tip

Optional DevKit commands are described in the DevKit repo.