Setting Up a Local Casper 2.0 Network for Development

Casper 2.0 is a major upgrade to the Casper Network. This guide walks you through creating a local environment for testing and development using Dockerized NCTL and the Rust Casper Client.

Prerequisites

Docker installed and running on your machine

Part 1: The Dockerized NCTL (Network Control Tool)

NCTL is your tool for managing the Casper network. We'll use a Dockerized version for easier setup.

Clone the Repository:

git clone https://github.com/make-software/casper-nctl-docker.git
cd casper-nctl-docker

Switch to the 2.0 Branch:

git checkout feat-2.0

Modify the casper-node's branch to dev inside casper-nctl-condor.Dockerfile

...
RUN git clone -b v2.0.0 https://github.com/casper-network/casper-node.git ~/casper-node
...

Clone the casper-node Repository:
```
git clone https://github.com/casper-network/casper-node.git
cd casper-node
git checkout v2.0.0
```
Ensure you're in the casper-nctl-docker directory when running this command
Build the Docker Image:
```
docker build -f casper-nctl-condor.Dockerfile -t casper-nctl:v2.0.0 .
```
Ensure you're in the casper-nctl-docker directory when running this command

This may take a while.

Verify the Image:

docker image ls

Look for the casper-nctl:v2.0.0 image in the output

REPOSITORY    TAG       IMAGE ID       CREATED        SIZE
casper-nctl   v2.0.0    decdc9495181   3 minutes ago   442MB

Start the NCTL Docker Container:

There are two ways to start the NCTL Docker containers. Docker Compose brings up an additional NCTL Explorer container, while the manual command does not.
- Docker Compose (Recommended):
  
  If you're using the docker-compose.yml file, make sure that the image under the casper-nctl service points to the image you just built (casper-nctl:v2.0.0) from the previous step, like this:
  
  docker-compose.yml
```
...
services:
casper-nctl:
   image: casper-nctl:v2.0.0
   container_name: casper-nctl
...
```
  Start the containers. This will start an NCTL container and an NCTL Explorer container.
```
docker-compose up
```
  "Ensure you're in the casper-nctl-docker directory when running this command.
- Manual Docker Command:
  
  Below is the command to start an NCTL container named mynctl.
```
docker run -d --name mynctl -p 11101:11101 casper-nctl:v2.0.0
```
Activate nctl-* commands:

In a Linux or macOS terminal, run:
```
source nctl-activate.sh <container_name>
```
In a Powershell terminal, run:
```
. .\nctl-activate.ps1 <container_name>
```
Ensure you're in the casper-nctl-docker directory when running this command.

Confirm the nctl status

nctl-status

Once it is up and running issue the command nctl-status then you should see that there are 5 nodes and 5 sidecars running and another 5 nodes and 5 sidecars that are inactive:

Click me

   casper-nctl  | validators-1:casper-net-1-node-1       RUNNING   pid 996, uptime 0:00:03
   casper-nctl  | validators-1:casper-net-1-node-2       RUNNING   pid 998, uptime 0:00:03
   casper-nctl  | validators-1:casper-net-1-node-3       RUNNING   pid 1002, uptime 0:00:03
   casper-nctl  | validators-1:casper-net-1-sidecar-1    RUNNING   pid 997, uptime 0:00:03
   casper-nctl  | validators-1:casper-net-1-sidecar-2    RUNNING   pid 1000, uptime 0:00:03
   casper-nctl  | validators-1:casper-net-1-sidecar-3    RUNNING   pid 1011, uptime 0:00:03
   casper-nctl  | validators-2:casper-net-1-node-4       RUNNING   pid 1082, uptime 0:00:02
   casper-nctl  | validators-2:casper-net-1-node-5       RUNNING   pid 1084, uptime 0:00:02
   casper-nctl  | validators-2:casper-net-1-sidecar-4    RUNNING   pid 1083, uptime 0:00:02
   casper-nctl  | validators-2:casper-net-1-sidecar-5    RUNNING   pid 1085, uptime 0:00:02
   casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-node-10      STOPPED   Not started
   casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-node-6       STOPPED   Not started
   casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-node-7       STOPPED   Not started
   casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-node-8       STOPPED   Not started
   casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-node-9       STOPPED   Not started
   casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-sidecar-10   STOPPED   Not started
   casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-sidecar-6    STOPPED   Not started
   casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-sidecar-7    STOPPED   Not started
   casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-sidecar-8    STOPPED   Not started
   casper-nctl  | validators-3:casper-net-1-sidecar-9    STOPPED   Not started

Part 2: Casper Client (Rust)

To interact with your local Casper 2.0 network, we'll use the Casper Client. You have two options for using the Casper Client:

Option 1: Using the Casper Client from the Docker Image

The casper-nctl:v2.0.0 Docker image already includes the casper-client.
You can skip the next two steps if you want to use the pre-installed client.

Option 2: Using Your Local Casper Client

Clone the Repository (Optional):

git clone https://github.com/casper-ecosystem/casper-client-rs.git
cd casper-client-rs

Switch to the Casper 2.0-Compatible Branch (Optional):
```
git checkout v3.0.1
```

Build casper-client:

Prerequisite: Install rustup

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

Build the Casper Client:

cargo build --release

Test Your Setup:

casper-client get-block -n http://localhost:11101

This command should return the status of all the nodes running in your local network, indicating a successful setup. The output should look similar to this:

Click me

{
   "jsonrpc": "2.0",
   "id": -2049464589362040719,
   "result": {
      "api_version": "2.0.0",
      "block_with_signatures": {
            "block": {
               "Version2": {
                  "hash": "9e7c32760b6fefcd4e1a579a9dce0835e1d564e5a5aedaf06911d76f64af9e0c",
                  "header": {
                        "parent_hash": "ecd94fd34417032d4e7b77b0dce3c48164398d1946d95a57b50c73eaee59cf90",
                        "state_root_hash": "ad53786aed35ef7e5a608552329ff0ab33055c4e4bf6764124a3603fce49990a",
                        "body_hash": "18937e8cf4338b5f5fdc2581f8d7d6a47de736d2799e3f3bc9b0ff9f1e7cf106",
                        "random_bit": false,
                        "accumulated_seed": "1ce9cae18eccdea58c1a6b22474c6f98e4a4bf17d53a306390f528a18d264f59",
                        "era_end": null,
                        "timestamp": "2025-04-23T03:41:03.130Z",
                        "era_id": 94,
                        "height": 1028,
                        "protocol_version": "2.0.0",
                        "proposer": "0190664e16a17594ed2d0e3c279c4cf5894e8db0da15e3b91c938562a1caae32ab",
                        "current_gas_price": 1,
                        "last_switch_block_hash": "db222beace01c5c624cbd84a62c92feb0a23f3e0c3372dd5cba9e7ce51db63cf"
                  },
                  "body": {
                        "transactions": {},
                        "rewarded_signatures": [
                           [
                              248
                           ],
                           [
                              0
                           ],
                           [
                              0
                           ]
                        ]
                  }
               }
            },
            "proofs": [
               {
                  "public_key": "01509254f22690fbe7fb6134be574c4fbdb060dfa699964653b99753485e518ea6",
                  "signature": "01fbe5ca7584cd517b51cc2ee1c79c055eaccb523470b5f460f23c365d476dabf40d62d753b0f1c1003568dd555b64848cda2029d3f31bf9ee548ea6aefca72506"
               },
               {
                  "public_key": "0190664e16a17594ed2d0e3c279c4cf5894e8db0da15e3b91c938562a1caae32ab",
                  "signature": "014ebd115e50169c79dd469f6118df18869232839bc07c3cff079837657ba9d31d913d367da886442f1532fbef66e86985d693346037b4863ef0ec90c1476e3403"
               },
               {
                  "public_key": "01c867ff3cf1d4e4e68fc00922fdcb740304def196e223091dee62012f444b9eba",
                  "signature": "01d183f46c1a0af713c2f0629ea0436cb37c04ef300f8c25f84384607a91817e869956ccf47a4902f9d51c173cb8c3f6949391c792e343bc93968274b4c692e50c"
               },
               {
                  "public_key": "01f58b94526d280881f79744effebc555426190950d5dfdd2f8aaf10ceaec010c6",
                  "signature": "01308ad12b69bc92497ad3b9d169d685a436ee4194a0e291a14e022bc0e70e5ee881a2f0be5301752ad9888a790bd9c4a7cbff1481df472166f3dce29df9ec9d00"
               },
               {
                  "public_key": "01fed662dc7f1f7af43ad785ba07a8cc05b7a96f9ee69613cfde43bc56bec1140b",
                  "signature": "01bac3f6529816492daaa019a4ecf5bd3ef68757a266e4b4a0382a56268fdbc86a65ec037feb87cda554e244f25c3c9e525961a1a660b39ebd6f1aee2e64ce0006"
               }
            ]
      }
   }
}

Troubleshooting

If sidecars or nodes are not running: If you see null values under each node in the output of nctl-view-node-status, it means the version of casper-sidecar is not compatible with the casper-node.

Solution:

Go to the casper-node/ci/ci.json file.
Change the casper-sidecar branch under external_deps to the casper-node's compatible branch:
```
"branch": "xxx"
```
to:
```
"branch": "v1.0.4" 
```
Make sure that casper-node and casper-sidecar are compatible.
Rebuild the NCTL image: docker build -f casper-nctl-condor.Dockerfile -t casper-nctl:v2.0.0 .

Using the Casper Client

Command Format(Using local casper-client): cargo run --release [command] --node-address http://127.0.0.1:11101
Command Format(Using casper-client from the docker image): casper-client [command] --node-address http://127.0.0.1:11101

Accessing the NCTL Block Web Explorer

This is only available if you started the container using docker compose up.

The NCTL Docker setup using docker compose includes a web-based block explorer. You can access it in your browser at:

http://127.0.0.1:8080

This allows you to visually explore blocks, transactions, and other details of your local network.

Important Notes

Work in Progress: Casper 2.0 compatibility is still evolving. Some features may be unstable or incomplete.

Additional Tips

Community Resources: Join the Casper Telegram or Casper Discord for help and discussion.

Prerequisites​

Part 1: The Dockerized NCTL (Network Control Tool)​

Part 2: Casper Client (Rust)​

Troubleshooting​

Using the Casper Client​

Accessing the NCTL Block Web Explorer​

Important Notes​

Additional Tips​