Your first local node

Start a local Cardano chain from a ready-to-run release. You do not need Git, Gradle, or a source checkout.

1. Download Yano

Open the Yano v0.1.0-pre12 release and download:

• JVM: yano-0.1.0-pre12.zip, with Java 25 installed. Recommended if you also want to try app chains.
• Native: the yano-native-0.1.0-pre12-<platform>.zip matching your operating system and CPU. No Java installation needed.

See installation for the platform download links and Windows commands.

2. Extract and start

Extract the whole ZIP, including its config/ directory. For the JVM download on macOS or Linux:

unzip yano-0.1.0-pre12.zip
cd yano-0.1.0-pre12
./yano.sh start:devnet

For a native download, enter its extracted yano-native-0.1.0-pre12-<platform> directory and run the same ./yano.sh start:devnet command. The launcher selects the packaged binary automatically.

Keep this terminal running. The default REST port is 7070; the node-to-node port is 13337. The local devnet uses network magic 42.

3. Check your chain

In another terminal:

curl -fsS http://localhost:7070/q/health/ready
curl -fsS http://localhost:7070/api/v1/node/tip
curl -fsS http://localhost:7070/api/v1/blocks/latest
curl -fsS http://localhost:7070/api/v1/epochs/latest/parameters

Repeat the tip query after a few seconds. Once startup completes, blocks should advance. Open Swagger UI to explore the API included in your release.

What you just started

This is a local Cardano development chain backed by RocksDB. Its test currency has no public-network value. Keep devnet mutation endpoints on your development machine or a trusted test network.

If startup fails, check Java with java -version for a JVM installation, confirm that ports are free, and ensure you extracted the complete distribution. See troubleshooting.

Next steps

Connect your favorite SDK, submit a transaction, or start an app chain. Source builds are an optional contributor workflow.