Quickstart
Go from zero to a running validator and a deployed contract in about ten minutes. Everything below runs on the public testnet — no mainnet, no real funds, nothing to lose.
Before you start. You'll need Node.js 18+ on your machine. Everything else — the
aevumCLI, your wallet, testnet AEV — gets set up below.
1Install the CLI
The aevum CLI is a single binary. It wraps wallet management, contract deploys, and validator operation behind one command.
2Create a wallet
Every Aevum wallet is quantum-safe from the moment it's generated — there's no legacy key format to opt out of.
Save the address. It's what the faucet, the explorer, and every future aevum command will refer to.
3Get testnet AEV
The faucet drops enough AEV to deploy a contract and stake a validator, once per address per day.
4Deploy a contract
Contracts are plain JavaScript. This deploys the sample counter contract that ships with the CLI:
From here, standard JSON-RPC tooling works as-is — point ethers.js, viem, or MetaMask at https://rpc.testnet.aevumlabs.dev and treat the deployed address like any EVM-style contract.
5Run a validator
1,000 AEV is enough to enter the rotating committee on testnet. Hardware requirements top out at a 4-core laptop with 8GB of RAM — a Raspberry Pi 4 is the supported floor.
Leave it running and the validator dashboard pattern on the homepage is exactly what your own node is doing in the background — proposing blocks, earning AEV, logging it all on-chain.
6Where to go next
- Read the thesis for why the chain is built this way
- Skim Build on Aevum for the full contract execution model
- Check The AEV Token for how proposals and delegation work
- Drop into Telegram if a command above didn't do what this page said it would