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Local Subnet Creation

The Ash CLI allows to create Subnets and blockchains, and to add validators to Subnets (including the Primary Network).

caution

The Ash CLI uses plain-text private keys to interact with wallets. It should never be used on the mainnet. If you try do so, the command will fail with: AvalancheNetwork error: wallet creation is not allowed on network 'mainnet'.

To interact with wallets on the mainnet (e.g. to create Subnets and blockchains), you should use the Avalanche CLI which is compatible with Ledger devices.


In this tutorial, we will see how to create a new Subnet with a Subnet EVM blockchain on a local test network (see Local Test Network Creation for more information on how to deploy such an environment).

Prerequisites​

Create the Subnet​

We use the subnet create command to create a new Subnet:

Command
ash avalanche subnet create -w
Output
Waiting for transaction to be accepted...
Subnet created! (Tx ID: 'GQE4XUWgCR8ZryvhNdaCoyqVi25YNyh2nxyAjyCB3jXFL6gbk')
Subnet 'GQE4XUWgCR8ZryvhNdaCoyqVi25YNyh2nxyAjyCB3jXFL6gbk':
  Type: Permissioned
  Control keys: ["P-local18jma8ppw3nhx5r4ap8clazz0dps7rv5u00z96u"]
  Threshold:    1
  Blockchains list (0): []
  Validators list (0): []
note

We used the -w flag to wait for the transaction to be accepted.

Create the Subnet EVM blockchain configuration​

Avalanche CLI provides an awesome wizard to create the Subnet EVM blockchain genesis configuration. Follow the official tutorial: Create Your Subnet Configuration.

This will create a genesis.json file at ~/.avalanche-cli/subnets/$YOUR_SUBNET where $YOUR_SUBNET is the name you chose for your Subnet (e.g. testSubnetEVM):

Command
cat ~/.avalanche-cli/subnets/testSubnetEVM/genesis.json
Output
{
  "config": {
    "chainId": 11111,
    "feeConfig": {
      [...]
    }
  }
}

Create the Subnet EVM blockchain​

Encode the genesis data​

At blockchain creation, we need to provide the byte-encoded genesis data. We use the vm encode-genesis command and store the output to a temporary JSON file:

Commands
# Encode the genesis data
ash avalanche vm encode-genesis \
  ~/.avalanche-cli/subnets/testSubnetEVM/genesis.json --json > /tmp/encoded-genesis.json

# Display the encoded genesis data
cat /tmp/encoded-genesis.json
Output
{ "genesisBytes": "0x7b22636f6e666967223a..." }

Submit the blockchain creation transaction​

Use the blockchain create command to create the Subnet EVM blockchain in the Subnet we created earlier:

Command
ash avalanche blockchain create testSubnetEVM \
  --subnet-id GQE4XUWgCR8ZryvhNdaCoyqVi25YNyh2nxyAjyCB3jXFL6gbk \
  --vm-type SubnetEVM \
  --vm-id srEXiWaHuhNyGwPUi444Tu47ZEDwxTWrbQiuD7FmgSAQ6X7Dy \
  --genesis-file /tmp/encoded-genesis.json -w
Output
Waiting for transaction to be accepted...
Blockchain created! (Tx ID: 'i2ZXw8NbVFxUK3kMjpwPtF2T3mtyoc6VWuH41rMfbc1NWE1Pb')
Blockchain 'testSubnetEVM':
  ID:      i2ZXw8NbVFxUK3kMjpwPtF2T3mtyoc6VWuH41rMfbc1NWE1Pb
  VM ID:   srEXiWaHuhNyGwPUi444Tu47ZEDwxTWrbQiuD7FmgSAQ6X7Dy
  VM type: SubnetEVM

Add validators to the Subnet​

Our Subnet has been created but we still need to add some validators to it.

Get validator IDs​

First, we need to get the validator IDs of the validators we want to add to the Subnet. We can use the subnet info command to get the list of validators on the Primary Network:

Command
ash avalanche subnet info 11111111111111111111111111111111LpoYY
Output
Subnet '11111111111111111111111111111111LpoYY':
  Type: PrimaryNetwork
  Blockchains list (3): [...]
  Validators list (5):
  - NodeID-P7oB2McjBGgW2NXXWVYjV8JEDFoW9xDE5
  - NodeID-GWPcbFJZFfZreETSoWjPimr846mXEKCtu
  - NodeID-NFBbbJ4qCmNaCzeW7sxErhvWqvEQMnYcN
  - NodeID-MFrZFVCXPv5iCn6M9K6XduxGTYp891xXZ
  - NodeID-7Xhw2mDxuDS44j42TCB6U5579esbSt3Lg

Submit the validator add transactions​

Let's add a first validator with a weight of 100 to the Subnet using the validator add command. It takes a lot of arguments:

Command
#                           | Node ID of the validator to add        | Validator weight
ash avalanche validator add NodeID-P7oB2McjBGgW2NXXWVYjV8JEDFoW9xDE5 100 \
  --subnet-id GQE4XUWgCR8ZryvhNdaCoyqVi25YNyh2nxyAjyCB3jXFL6gbk \
  --start-time "$(date -d '2 minutes' --rfc-3339=seconds | sed 's/ /T/')" \
  --end-time "$(date -d '2 days' --rfc-3339=seconds | sed 's/ /T/')"
Output
Initiated validator addition to Subnet! (Tx ID: 'NodeID-P7oB2McjBGgW2NXXWVYjV8JEDFoW9xDE5')
Validator 'NodeID-P7oB2McjBGgW2NXXWVYjV8JEDFoW9xDE5' on Subnet 'GQE4XUWgCR8ZryvhNdaCoyqVi25YNyh2nxyAjyCB3jXFL6gbk':
Tx ID:            UcreXaaf5nt9Chy3nXSvJEAKHW9eqCQSjWB21KLxFBiUzuQvM
Start time:       2023-05-29 16:29:12
End time:         2023-05-31 16:27:12
Weight:           100
tip

The start-time and end-time arguments should follow the RFC 3339 format: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ. You can use the date command as above to generate them.

In this example validation period will start 2 minutes after the transaction is accepted and will end 2 days after.

info

See platform.getCurrentValidators for more information about the weight parameter.

We can now repeat the process for the 4 other validators.

Check the Subnet validators​

After 2 minutes, we can check the validators list of the Subnet:

Command
ash avalanche subnet info GQE4XUWgCR8ZryvhNdaCoyqVi25YNyh2nxyAjyCB3jXFL6gbk
Output
Subnet 'GQE4XUWgCR8ZryvhNdaCoyqVi25YNyh2nxyAjyCB3jXFL6gbk':
  Type: Subnet
  Blockchains list (1):
  - testSubnetEVM:
      ID:      i2ZXw8NbVFxUK3kMjpwPtF2T3mtyoc6VWuH41rMfbc1NWE1Pb
      VM ID:   srEXiWaHuhNyGwPUi444Tu47ZEDwxTWrbQiuD7FmgSAQ6X7Dy
      VM type: SubnetEVM
  Validators list (5):
  - NodeID-P7oB2McjBGgW2NXXWVYjV8JEDFoW9xDE5
  - NodeID-GWPcbFJZFfZreETSoWjPimr846mXEKCtu
  - NodeID-NFBbbJ4qCmNaCzeW7sxErhvWqvEQMnYcN
  - NodeID-MFrZFVCXPv5iCn6M9K6XduxGTYp891xXZ
  - NodeID-7Xhw2mDxuDS44j42TCB6U5579esbSt3Lg
tip

You can use the --extended flag to get more information about the validators, notably their weight and the start/end time of their validation period.

caution

Don't forget that the validator nodes should be configured to track the Subnet, otherwise you will not be able to issue transactions. See Track the Subnet with the validators.

Connect to the Subnet and start issuing transactions​

The Subnet is now ready to be used! You can connect any EVM-compatible wallet (e.g. MetaMask, Core, Frame, etc.) to it and start issuing transactions, deploying smart contracts, etc.

Use the following settings to connect to the Subnet:

Network name: testSubnetEVM
New RPC URL: https://192.168.60.11:9650/ext/bc/${YOUR_BLOCKCHAIN_ID}/rpc
Chain ID: The one entered during avalanche subnet create. Can be found via avalanche subnet describe testSubnetEVM
Symbol: Whatever you want to name your token
Explorer URL: NA