Skip to main content

Work with a Local Node

This tutorial describes how to set up a local node and use it with REMIX. Running a local node allows you to observe the logs it emits.

Prerequisites​

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

  • MetaMask: Install the MetaMask browser extension. This will allow you to interact with your local node.

Install Dependencies​

Follow the instructions on Installing Dependencies from the Polkadot wiki up to the "Verifying Installation" section.

Clone the Polkadot SDK Repository​

Open your terminal and run the following commands to clone the Polkadot SDK repository:

git clone https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot-sdk
cd polkadot-sdk
git checkout d1d92ab76004ce349a97fc5d325eaf9a4a7101b7

The commit references the version that is currently deployed to Westend AssetHub. If you use a different commit the node might be incompatible with the deployed REMIX version. This is only necessary until we stablized our API. From then on master will be backwards compatible.

Build and Run the Kitchensink Node​

To build and run the Kitchensink node, use the following command inside the just-cloned repo:

RUST_LOG="error,evm=debug,sc_rpc_server=info,runtime::revive=debug" cargo run --release --bin substrate-node -- --dev

A Word On Logging​

Above, we set RUST_LOG in order to increase the log level of our contract related components. We also reduce the log level for all other components to error to reduce the amount of unrelated information. The variable is evaluated when we run the node. Not at compile time.

For more detailed logging you can increase the log level to runtime::revive=trace. This will log every host function call the contract performs. To show logs from PolkaVM add polkavm=debug or even polkavm=trace.

Build and Run Eth RPC Proxy​

This RPC proxy translates Ethereum-compatible requests into Substrate-compatible requests.

It acts as a bridge between Ethereum tools, like MetaMask and Remix, and the Substrate-based network, enabling Ethereum applications to interact seamlessly with Substrate-based chains by interpreting Ethereum RPC calls and routing them to the appropriate Substrate functions. This way, developers can work with familiar Ethereum-based tools.

Open another terminal window and run the Eth RPC proxy from the same directory:

RUST_LOG="info,eth-rpc=debug" cargo run --release -p pallet-revive-eth-rpc -- --dev

Metamask Configuration​

  1. Import the following private key into MetaMask to access your pre-funded local account: 5fb92d6e98884f76de468fa3f6278f8807c48bebc13595d45af5bdc4da702133

  2. Connect your MetaMask wallet to a local server using the following link:

Or add it manually
  • Network name: Kitchensink local
  • RPC URL URL: http://localhost:8545
  • Chain ID: 420420420
  • Currency Symbol: DEV
  1. Make sure that the Kitchensink Local Testnet network is selected

REMIX Setup​

  1. Open the REMIX IDE.
  2. Navigate to the Deploy & Run tab. In the Environment dropdown, select Customize this list....
  3. Enable INJECTED PROVIDER - METAMASK in the Deploy using a Browser Extension section.
  4. From the Environment dropdown, select the enabled Injected Provider - MetaMask.
  5. Select the pre-founded local account

To compile and deploy your smart contract, refer to the Deploying Your First Contract tutorial, keeping the environment settings configured in this section.

Note: When you restart the Kitchensink node, you will need to reset the nonce in MetaMask. To do this, go to Settings -> Advanced in MetaMask and select Clear activity tab data.