Getting Started: The 5-Minute Simulator

The fastest way to understand HardKAS is to build a transaction in the Simulator.

You do not need a Kaspa node, Docker, or a network connection. The Simulator runs entirely in-memory and provides instant, deterministic feedback.

1. Initialize a Workspace

Create a new directory and initialize HardKAS:

mkdir hello-hardkas
cd hello-hardkas
hardkas init .

This creates a hardkas.config.ts configured for the Simulator by default, and populates .hardkas/localnet.json with synthetic developer accounts (alice, bob) that are pre-funded with 1000 synthetic KAS.

2. Plan a Transaction

We will send 1 KAS from Alice to Bob.

hardkas tx plan --from alice --to bob --amount 1 --out plan.json

HardKAS instantly evaluates the virtual state, selects the synthetic UTXOs, and generates a deterministic plan.json.

3. Authorize (Sign)

hardkas tx sign plan.json --account alice --out signed.json

Because this is the Simulator, the keys are synthetic and HardKAS handles the cryptography instantly.

4. Execute

hardkas tx send signed.json

The transaction is instantly applied to the virtual DAG. The resulting receipt.json contains the cryptographic proof of execution.

5. Verify Evidence (The Simulator Superpower)

Because the Simulator owns the entire state universe, you can mathematically prove that the execution was deterministic:

hardkas verify receipt.json

HardKAS will hash the artifact, trace the lineage back to plan.json, and guarantee that no rules were broken during execution.

Next Steps

You've successfully executed a transaction in zero seconds with zero infrastructure.

Next, read about Execution Environments to learn how to graduate this exact same workflow to a Real Node (Localnet).