Skip to main content

0.3 Developer environment setup

Beginner
Tutorial

Overview​

Before you can begin the developer ladder, you need to set up a developer environment. A developer environment consists of tools and packages that are required to develop code projects. Usually, developer environments are stored and hosted on your local computer, but there are some situations where a virtual, web-based development environment exists.

An example of this is the playground, which is a web-based, virtual developer environment that can be used by developers without having to set up a local environment. Deploying to the playground is ICP's equivalent of deploying to a testnet network.

The playground has several restrictions, however, and it isn't recommended to be used for workflows other than simple, small-scale testing.

Setting up your developer environment​

Confirm you have a connection to the internet​

To follow along with the developer ladder and develop on the Internet Computer, you will need a connection to the internet.

Why does this matter?​

You will need an internet connection to download a few different tools and packages, as described further in this document. You will also need an internet connection whenever you plan to deploy your canister to the mainnet. You do not need an internet connection to deploy your canister to your local canister execution environment.

Confirm you have access to a command line interface (CLI) on your local macOS or Linux computer​

Open a command line interface (CLI) window. This may be referred to as 'Terminal' or 'Shell' depending on your computer's operating system. In this documentation, this is often referred to as the 'terminal window'.

Why does this matter?​

You will primarily be using CLI-based tools, such as dfx and git, in this tutorial series.

Options for Windows users​

dfx is not natively supported on Windows. To download dfx on Windows, you will need to download the Windows Subsystem for Linux. Learn more about how to install dfx on Windows.

Download and install the IC SDK​

The IC SDK contains the CLI tool dfx. dfx is natively supported on Linux or macOS 12.* Monterey or later.

There is no native support for dfx on Windows. However, by installing the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL 2), you can run dfx on a Windows system.

Not all features of dfx may be supported on WSL 2.

To install the IC SDK, install dfxvm. dfxvm is a CLI tool used for installing and switching between different versions of dfx, enabling developers to pivot between different projects that are built with different dfx versions.

Download and install the latest version of dfxvm with the following command:

sh -ci "$(curl -fsSL https://internetcomputer.org/install.sh)"

If you are using a machine running Apple silicon, you will need to have Rosetta installed. You can install Rosetta by running softwareupdate --install-rosetta in your terminal.

Why does this matter?​

The IC SDK is composed of several components that are required for developing on the Internet Computer. These components are:

  • dfx: The CLI tool used to interact with and develop canisters on ICP. Motoko is included in the installation of dfx.
  • moc: The Motoko runtime compiler.
  • replica: The Internet Computer's local network binary.

Download and install a code editor​

To write and edit code, you will need a code editor. macOS and Linux systems come with some basic editors, such as vi or nano, but these have very limited functionality and can be hard to use.

It is recommended that you use Visual Studio Code, as it is a popular choice and there is a Motoko extension that provides additional tools for Motoko development.

Why does this matter?​

Code editors are a core component to writing and developing code.

Download and install git​

Download and install git.

Why does this matter?​

Many of the DFINITY public repositories are hosted on Github, such as the examples repository used throughout this tutorial series. It is important to install git to assure that you can download the sample code and follow along.

Download and install Node.js​

Download and install Node.js 16.0.0 or newer.

Why does this matter?​

Node.js is used by dfx to generate frontend code and dependencies. It is not required for dapps that do not contain a frontend interface, though it is required for you to follow along with this series, since you will explore frontend canisters in a later tutorial.

Assure all packages and tools are updated to the latest release versions​

If you have followed this guide and installed each of these tools for the first time, you will have the most recent release versions installed.

If you previously had installed any of these tools, be sure to check the most recent release version and update them if needed.

Why does this matter?​

Having the latest release version assures that you have all of the newest features and bug fixes for each tool to assure for the most seamless developer experience.

Create a working directory​

The last step in setting up our developer environment is to create a new directory for you to build in. You can create a new directory with the command:

mkdir developer_ladder

In future modules, you'll refer to this directory as the working directory. Each project that you create will be a sub-directory of this working directory.

Why does this matter?​

You'll use this working directory to contain the projects that you build throughout this series. This will help keep things organized in your local file structure.

Need help?​

Did you get stuck somewhere in this tutorial, or feel like you need additional help understanding some of the concepts? The ICP community has several resources available for developers, like working groups and bootcamps, along with our Discord community, forum, and events such as hackathons. Here are a few to check out:

Next steps​