Installation

Install SnarkVM on your system using Cargo or build from source

Prerequisites

Before installing SnarkVM, ensure you have Rust installed on your system.

Install Rust

We recommend installing Rust using rustup.

macOS / Linux

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

For macOS users, install additional dependencies:

brew install pkgconf
brew install openssl

Windows

Download and run the appropriate installer:

• Windows 64-bit executable
• Windows 32-bit executable

Follow the on-screen instructions to complete installation.

SnarkVM requires Rust version 1.88.0 or higher. Verify your installation with:

rustc --version

Install SnarkVM as a Library

SnarkVM is primarily designed to be used as a library in Rust projects.

Add to Cargo.toml

Add SnarkVM to your project’s Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
snarkvm = "4.4.0"

Using Specific Crates

For more granular control, you can depend on individual crates:

Core Crates

[dependencies]
snarkvm-console = "4.4.0"
snarkvm-circuit = "4.4.0"
snarkvm-synthesizer = "4.4.0"

Available Features

SnarkVM provides several feature flags:

Feature	Description
default	Includes algorithms, circuit, console, ledger, synthesizer, and utilities
full	Enables all crates including curves and fields
wasm	WASM bindings for browser support
cuda	GPU acceleration for cryptographic operations
async	Async support for ledger and synthesizer
serial	Disable parallel execution (useful for debugging)

Example with features:

[dependencies]
snarkvm = { version = "4.4.0", features = ["full", "async"] }

Build from Source

To build SnarkVM from source for development or testing:

1. Clone the Repository

   git clone --branch staging --single-branch https://github.com/ProvableHQ/snarkVM.git
   cd snarkVM
   

   The staging branch contains the latest development code. For stable releases, use the mainnet branch.

2. Build the Library

   cargo build --release
   

   This will compile all workspace members. The release build is optimized and may take several minutes.

3. Run Tests

   Verify the installation by running tests:

   cargo test --release
   

   Synthesizer tests can be slow. To run specific tests:

   cargo test -p snarkvm-console -- test_name
   

Verify Installation

Create a simple program to verify your installation:

1. Create a New Project

   cargo new snarkvm-test
   cd snarkvm-test
   
2. Update Cargo.toml

   [package]
   name = "snarkvm-test"
   version = "0.1.0"
   edition = "2024"
   
   [dependencies]
   snarkvm = "4.4.0"
   anyhow = "1.0"
   
3. Test the Installation

   Replace src/main.rs with:

   use snarkvm::prelude::*;
   use anyhow::Result;
   
   fn main() -> Result<()> {
       // Create a new private key
       let rng = &mut snarkvm_utilities::TestRng::default();
       let private_key = PrivateKey::<MainnetV0>::new(rng)?;
       
       // Derive the address
       let address = Address::try_from(&private_key)?;
       
       println!("Private Key: {}", private_key);
       println!("Address: {}", address);
       
       Ok(())
   }
   
4. Run the Program

   cargo run --release
   

   You should see output showing a generated private key and address.

Development Tools

Code Formatting

SnarkVM requires nightly Rust for formatting:

rustup install nightly
cargo +nightly fmt --all

Linting

Run Clippy to catch common mistakes:

cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings

Clippy warnings are treated as errors in SnarkVM. All code must pass Clippy checks before being committed.

Platform-Specific Notes

macOS

If you encounter OpenSSL errors:

export OPENSSL_DIR=/opt/homebrew/opt/openssl@3
export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/opt/homebrew/opt/openssl@3/lib/pkgconfig

Linux

Install development packages:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install build-essential pkg-config libssl-dev

# Fedora
sudo dnf install gcc pkg-config openssl-devel

Windows

Ensure you have Visual Studio Build Tools installed:

• Download from Visual Studio Downloads
• Select “Desktop development with C++” workload

Next Steps

Quick Start Guide

Now that SnarkVM is installed, learn how to build your first application.