Get from zero to a deployed covenant on a local testnet in under 30 minutes. This guide covers cloning the repositories, building from source, and deploying a minimal Silverscript contract.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, install the following:

Install Rust

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
rustup default nightly
rustup component add rust-src

Verify your installation:

rustc --version    # Should show nightly
cargo --version

Install protoc

On Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install -y protobuf-compiler

On macOS:

brew install protobuf

On Windows, download from github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/releases.

Clone the Repositories

You will need two repositories:

# vProgs framework (based computation on Kaspa)
git clone https://github.com/kaspanet/vprogs.git
cd vprogs

# In a separate directory, clone Silverscript (L1 covenant compiler)
git clone https://github.com/kaspanet/silverscript.git

Repository Structure

vProgs Monorepo

The vProgs repo is a layered Rust monorepo. Each layer has a single responsibility, and dependencies flow downward only:

vprogs/
  core/             # Fundamental types, traits, hashing, serialization
  storage/          # Persistent storage layer (database abstractions)
  state/            # State management, Merkle commitments
  scheduling/       # Transaction scheduling and ordering
  transaction-runtime/  # Transaction execution environment
  node/             # Full node binary, networking, RPC

Layer dependency chain:

core -> storage -> state -> scheduling -> transaction-runtime -> node

Silverscript

silverscript/
  src/
    compiler/       # Silverscript-to-Kaspa-Script compiler
    parser/         # Language parser and AST
    codegen/        # Script code generation
    types/          # Type system
  examples/         # Example contracts
  tests/            # Compiler test suite

Build from Source

Build vProgs

cd vprogs
cargo build --release

This compiles the full node binary and all supporting crates. The first build takes several minutes as it compiles all dependencies.

Build Silverscript

cd silverscript
cargo build --release

The compiler binary will be at target/release/silverscript.

Run a Local Testnet

[Coming Soon] The local testnet tooling is under active development. In the meantime, you can connect to TN12 (the public Covenants++ testnet). See the Testnet Guide for connection details.

To run a local simnet for development:

# Start a local vProgs node in simnet mode
cd vprogs
cargo run --release --bin vprogs-node -- --simnet

Note: Local simnet support is preliminary. For the most stable experience, use TN12.

Deploy Your First Covenant

Write a minimal Silverscript contract – a time-locked vault:

pragma silverscript ^0.1.0;

contract SimpleVault(pubkey owner, int lockDuration) {
    entrypoint function spend(sig ownerSig) {
        require(checkSig(ownerSig, owner));
        require(this.age >= lockDuration);
    }
}

Save this as vault.ss.

Compile

silverscript compile vault.ss --output vault.script

Deploy to TN12

# [Coming Soon] CLI deployment tooling
# For now, use the kaspa-cli or RPC directly
# See the Testnet Guide for manual deployment steps

Next Steps

• Dev Environment Setup – Configure IDE, toolchains, and debugging
• Your First vProg – Build a full vProg with off-chain execution and ZK proving
• Silverscript Reference – Full language specification
• Testnet Guide – Connect to TN12 and get test KAS

Troubleshooting

Build fails with protobuf errors: Ensure protoc is installed and on your PATH. Run protoc --version to verify.

Nightly Rust required: The vProgs repo uses nightly features. Run rustup default nightly or add a rust-toolchain.toml override.

Slow first build: The initial compilation of all dependencies is expected to take 5-10 minutes. Subsequent incremental builds will be much faster.