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The Quickstart covers the fastest path from clone to a finished report. This page covers the options and edge cases around it.

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Requirements

Ward does not require the AlgoKit CLI or a LocalNet install — it targets Algorand TestNet by default over public algod endpoints. See D5 and D4 in the decision log for why.

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Install from source

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Development mode (no build step)

npm run ward -- <command> and npm run dev both run the CLI directly from TypeScript source via tsx — no compile step needed while iterating.

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Compiled mode

This produces dist/cli/index.js, which is exactly what package.json’s bin.ward field points at. After building, you can invoke the compiled CLI directly:

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Install the ward binary globally

npm link uses the bin entry in package.json to make ward available on your PATH, pointing at the compiled dist/cli/index.js.

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Type-checking and unit tests

Unit tests (test/registry.test.ts, test/runner.test.ts) cover the chain-agnostic core (registry, runner) without needing a live facilitator or network access — they’re safe to run in CI on every commit, independent of the full ward test invariant suite.

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Docker: self-hosting the facilitator

ward init (and docker-compose up directly) builds and runs the facilitator using docker/facilitator.Dockerfile. That image:
  1. Clones GoPlausible/x402-avm at branch-v2-algorand-publish at build time (the facilitator depends on internal workspace packages, so it isn’t independently npm install-able).
  2. Runs pnpm install && pnpm build at the examples/typescript workspace root.
  3. Starts the facilitator process, exposing port 4022.
See Self-Hosting the Facilitator for the full walkthrough, including every environment variable the container needs.

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Environment configuration

Every variable Ward reads — for the CLI, the self-hosted facilitator, and the paid verification server — is documented with inline comments in .env.example and covered in full in Environment Variables. Copy it before doing anything else:

Next: generate and fund accounts

Continue with the Quickstart from account generation onward.