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Install Polkadot SDK Dependencies

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for installing the dependencies you need to work with the Polkadot SDK-based chains on macOS, Linux, and Windows. Follow the appropriate section for your operating system to ensure all necessary tools are installed and configured properly.

macOS

You can install Rust and set up a Substrate development environment on Apple macOS computers with Intel or Apple M1 processors.

Before You Begin

Before you install Rust and set up your development environment on macOS, verify that your computer meets the following basic requirements:

  • Operating system version is 10.7 Lion or later
  • Processor speed of at least 2 GHz. Note that 3 GHz is recommended
  • Memory of at least 8 GB RAM. Note that 16 GB is recommended
  • Storage of at least 10 GB of available space
  • Broadband Internet connection

Install Homebrew

In most cases, you should use Homebrew to install and manage packages on macOS computers. If you don't already have Homebrew installed on your local computer, you should download and install it before continuing.

To install Homebrew:

  1. Open the Terminal application

  2. Download and install Homebrew by running the following command:

    /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install.sh)"

  3. Verify Homebrew has been successfully installed by running the following command:

    brew --version

    The command displays output similar to the following:

    brew --version Homebrew 4.3.15

Support for Apple Silicon

Protobuf must be installed before the build process can begin. To install it, run the following command:

brew install protobuf

Install Required Packages and Rust

Because the blockchain requires standard cryptography to support the generation of public/private key pairs and the validation of transaction signatures, you must also have a package that provides cryptography, such as openssl.

To install openssl and the Rust toolchain on macOS:

  1. Open the Terminal application

  2. Ensure you have an updated version of Homebrew by running the following command:

    brew update

  3. Install the openssl package by running the following command:

    brew install openssl

  4. Download the rustup installation program and use it to install Rust by running the following command:

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

  5. Follow the prompts displayed to proceed with a default installation

  6. Update your current shell to include Cargo by running the following command:

    source ~/.cargo/env

  7. Configure the Rust toolchain to default to the latest stable version by running the following commands:

    rustup default stable
rustup update
rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown

  8. Add the nightly release and the nightly Wasm targets to your development environment by running the following commands:

    rustup update nightly
rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown --toolchain nightly

  9. Verify your installation

  10. Install cmake using the following command:

    brew install cmake

Linux

Rust supports most Linux distributions. Depending on the specific distribution and version of the operating system you use, you might need to add some software dependencies to your environment. In general, your development environment should include a linker or C-compatible compiler, such as clang and an appropriate integrated development environment (IDE).

Before You Begin

Check the documentation for your operating system for information about the installed packages and how to download and install any additional packages you might need. For example, if you use Ubuntu, you can use the Ubuntu Advanced Packaging Tool (apt) to install the build-essential package:

sudo apt install build-essential

At a minimum, you need the following packages before you install Rust:

clang curl git make

Because the blockchain requires standard cryptography to support the generation of public/private key pairs and the validation of transaction signatures, you must also have a package that provides cryptography, such as libssl-dev or openssl-devel.

Install Required Packages and Rust

To install the Rust toolchain on Linux:

  1. Open a terminal shell

  2. Check the packages you have installed on the local computer by running an appropriate package management command for your Linux distribution

  3. Add any package dependencies you are missing to your local development environment by running the appropriate package management command for your Linux distribution:

    sudo apt install --assume-yes git clang curl libssl-dev protobuf-compiler

    sudo apt install --assume-yes git clang curl libssl-dev llvm libudev-dev make protobuf-compiler

    pacman -Syu --needed --noconfirm curl git clang make protobuf

    sudo dnf update
sudo dnf install clang curl git openssl-devel make protobuf-compiler

    sudo zypper install clang curl git openssl-devel llvm-devel libudev-devel make protobuf

    Remember that different distributions might use different package managers and bundle packages in different ways. For example, depending on your installation selections, Ubuntu Desktop and Ubuntu Server might have different packages and different requirements. However, the packages listed in the command-line examples are applicable for many common Linux distributions, including Debian, Linux Mint, MX Linux, and Elementary OS.

  4. Download the rustup installation program and use it to install Rust by running the following command:

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

  5. Follow the prompts displayed to proceed with a default installation

  6. Update your current shell to include Cargo by running the following command:

    source $HOME/.cargo/env

  7. Verify your installation by running the following command:

    rustc --version

  8. Configure the Rust toolchain to default to the latest stable version by running the following commands:

    rustup default stable
rustup update

  9. Add the nightly release and the nightly Wasm targets to your development environment by running the following commands:

    rustup update nightly
rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown --toolchain nightly

  10. Verify your installation

Windows (WSL)

In general, UNIX-based operating systems—like macOS or Linux—provide a better development environment for building Substrate-based blockchains.

However, suppose your local computer uses Microsoft Windows instead of a UNIX-based operating system. In that case, you can configure it with additional software to make it a suitable development environment for building Substrate-based blockchains. To prepare a development environment on a Microsoft Windows computer, you can use Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) to emulate a UNIX operating environment.

Before You Begin

Before installing on Microsoft Windows, verify the following basic requirements:

  • You have a computer running a supported Microsoft Windows operating system:
    • For Windows desktop - you must be running Microsoft Windows 10, version 2004 or later, or Microsoft Windows 11 to install WSL
    • For Windows server - you must be running Microsoft Windows Server 2019, or later, to install WSL on a server operating system
  • You have good internet connection and access to a shell terminal on your local computer

Set Up Windows Subsystem for Linux

WSL enables you to emulate a Linux environment on a computer that uses the Windows operating system. The primary advantage of this approach for Substrate development is that you can use all of the code and command-line examples as described in the Substrate documentation. For example, you can run common commands—such as ls and ps—unmodified. By using WSL, you can avoid configuring a virtual machine image or a dual-boot operating system.

To prepare a development environment using WSL:

  1. Check your Windows version and build number to see if WSL is enabled by default.

    If you have Microsoft Windows 10, version 2004 (Build 19041 and higher), or Microsoft Windows 11, WSL is available by default and you can continue to the next step.

    If you have an older version of Microsoft Windows installed, see the WSL manual installation steps for older versions. If you are installing on an older version of Microsoft Windows, you can download and install WLS 2 if your computer has Windows 10, version 1903 or higher

  2. Select Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt from the Start menu, right-click, then Run as administrator

  3. In the PowerShell or Command Prompt terminal, run the following command:

    wsl --install

    This command enables the required WSL 2 components that are part of the Windows operating system, downloads the latest Linux kernel, and installs the Ubuntu Linux distribution by default.

    If you want to review the other Linux distributions available, run the following command:

    wsl --list --online

  4. After the distribution is downloaded, close the terminal

  5. Click the Start menu, select Shut down or sign out, then click Restart to restart the computer.

    Restarting the computer is required to start the installation of the Linux distribution. It can take a few minutes for the installation to complete after you restart.

    For more information about setting up WSL as a development environment, see the Set up a WSL development environment docs

Install Required Packages and Rust

To install the Rust toolchain on WSL:

  1. Click the Start menu, then select Ubuntu

  2. Type a UNIX user name to create user account

  3. Type a password for your UNIX user, then retype the password to confirm it

  4. Download the latest updates for the Ubuntu distribution using the Ubuntu Advanced Packaging Tool (apt) by running the following command:

    sudo apt update

  5. Add the required packages for the Ubuntu distribution by running the following command:

    sudo apt install --assume-yes git clang curl libssl-dev llvm libudev-dev make protobuf-compiler

  6. Download the rustup installation program and use it to install Rust for the Ubuntu distribution by running the following command:

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

  7. Follow the prompts displayed to proceed with a default installation

  8. Update your current shell to include Cargo by running the following command:

    source ~/.cargo/env

  9. Verify your installation by running the following command:

    rustc --version

  10. Configure the Rust toolchain to use the latest stable version as the default toolchain by running the following commands:

    rustup default stable
rustup update

  11. Add the nightly version of the toolchain and the nightly Wasm target to your development environment by running the following commands:

    rustup update nightly
rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown --toolchain nightly

  12. Verify your installation

Verifying Installation

Verify the configuration of your development environment by running the following command:

rustup show
rustup +nightly show

The command displays output similar to the following:

rustup show ...
active toolchain ----------------
stable-x86_64-apple-darwin (default) rustc 1.81.0 (eeb90cda1 2024-09-04)
...
active toolchain ----------------
nightly-x86_64-apple-darwin (overridden by +toolchain on the command line) rustc 1.83.0-nightly (6c6d21008 2024-09-22)

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Last update: December 17, 2024
| Created: October 18, 2024