Overview

Welcome to the Ark quick-start guide! This guide will help you set up a local Ark server and client to perform off-chain transactions with Bitcoin.

Components

• ark: A simple Ark-enabled Bitcoin wallet in the form of a command-line interface. It connects to an Ark Server to perform off-chain transactions. The ark client has both an on-chain and off-chain Bitcoin wallet, allowing you to send and receive Bitcoin on-chain and off-chain through the Ark protocol using ark send --to alice --amount 21000. If the server is unresponsive or disappears,thet can unilaterally exit by unrolling the VTXO tree.

• arkd: An always-on server daemon that multiple ark clients can connect to. The server uses an embedded bitcoin wallet to fund the next rounds and acts as a central coordinator to create the next round transactions containing the VTXO tree. It also receives forfeit transactions from users and serves as a VTXO explorer for light clients.

In this guide, you'll learn how to run a covenant-less Ark for Bitcoin regtest locally with just a few commands.

We'll walk you through setting up a local Bitcoin testing environment, running and provisioning the arkd server (an Ark implementation), and making off-chain transactions with the ark client.

Getting Started

Before you begin, refer to the Requirements section to install Docker and Nigiri Bitcoin for running a local Bitcoin testing environment. If you already have these installed, you can skip the installation steps and go straight to the Run the Server section.