# 7.1 Running a Devnet Locally

For testing your programs, you'll want to deploy them on a local devnet and execute test transitions there, instead of doing everything on the testnet. Here's how to run a local devnet.

## **Install `tmux`**

To run a local devnet with the script, start by installing `tmux`.

<details>

<summary>macOS</summary>

To install `tmux` on macOS, you can use the `Homebrew` package manager. If you haven't installed `Homebrew` yet, you can find instructions at [their website](https://brew.sh/).

```
# Once Homebrew is installed, run:
brew install tmux
```

</details>

<details>

<summary>Ubuntu</summary>

On Ubuntu and other Debian-based systems, you can use the `apt` package manager:

```
sudo apt update
sudo apt install tmux
```

</details>

<details>

<summary>Windows</summary>

There are a couple of ways to use `tmux` on Windows:

#### Using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

1. First, install [Windows Subsystem for Linux](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install).
2. Once WSL is set up and you have a Linux distribution installed (e.g., Ubuntu), open your WSL terminal and install `tmux` as you would on a native Linux system:

```
sudo apt update
sudo apt install tmux
```

</details>

## **Start the Local Devnet**

To start a local devnet, run:

```
./devnet.sh
```

Follow the instructions in the terminal to start the devnet, press enter to use the default parameters.

Development private keys and addresses are then printed to the terminal. You can scroll up using `ctrl+b+[`. Be quick because history is limited by default.

## Interface

**Switch Nodes (forward)**

To toggle to the next node in a local devnet, run:

```
Ctrl+b n
```

**Switch Nodes (backwards)**

To toggle to the previous node in a local devnet, run:

```
Ctrl+b p
```

**Select a Node (choose-tree)**

To select a node in a local devnet, run:

```
Ctrl+b w
```

**Select a Node (manually)**

To select a node manually in a local devnet, run:

```
Ctrl+b :select-window -t {NODE_ID}
```

## **Stop the Local Devnet**

To stop a local devnet, run:

```
Ctrl+b :kill-session
```

Then, press `Enter`.

## Lightweight Alternative

Amaraleo is a lightweight version for running snarkOS with devnet.sh:

{% embed url="<http://developer.aleo.org/guides/amareleo/overview/>" %}