Run Trusted Mode

Run Trusted Mode

Trusted mode is ZEVM’s writable local dev-node runtime.

Normative sources: docs/specs/prd.md and docs/specs/json-rpc-contract.md.

Prerequisite: complete Installation first, including Zig package fetch and a successful source build that produces ./zig-out/bin/zevm.

1. Start The Node

Before running startup commands, re-check Installation prerequisites: Zig, Rust/Cargo, package-manager dependency pins, and the pinned build tuple in release release-tuple.json from ZEVM release metadata. For contract source ownership and docs-first change flow, see Canonical Specs And Docs-First Process.

Default startup (trusted mode):

./zig-out/bin/zevm

Equivalent explicit startup:

./zig-out/bin/zevm --mode trusted --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8545

Config-file startup equivalent (mode.trusted):

./zig-out/bin/zevm --config ./zevm.config.json

{
  "mode": {
    "trusted": {
      "mining": { "type": "auto" }
    }
  }
}

See Configuration Overview for full config shape and CLI/config precedence.

2. Verify Baseline RPC

curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8545 \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"eth_chainId","params":[]}'

curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8545 \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"eth_blockNumber","params":[]}'

curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8545 \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":3,"method":"eth_accounts","params":[]}'

Default trusted-mode values:

• eth_chainId returns 0x7a69 (31337)
• eth_accounts returns 10 managed dev accounts in index order
• eth_coinbase is the managed account at coinbaseIndex (default 0)
• exact wallet contract (mnemonic, derivation path, addresses, private keys, and signing constraints): Managed Dev Wallet (Trusted Mode)

Warning: managed dev-account keys are deterministic/public test keys. Use them only for local development; never use them in production or with real funds.

3. Send A Local Transaction

This sends 1 ETH from managed account 0 to managed account 1:

curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8545 \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "jsonrpc":"2.0",
    "id":4,
    "method":"eth_sendTransaction",
    "params":[{
      "from":"0xf39Fd6e51aad88F6F4ce6aB8827279cffFb92266",
      "to":"0x70997970C51812dc3A010C7d01b50e0d17dc79C8",
      "value":"0xde0b6b3a7640000"
    }]
  }'

Set TX_HASH to the result returned by eth_sendTransaction, then fetch the receipt:

TX_HASH=0x... # use the tx hash returned by the previous call

curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8545 \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":5,"method":"eth_getTransactionReceipt","params":["'"$TX_HASH"'"]}'

4. Manual Mining Flow (Optional)

Start with manual mining:

./zig-out/bin/zevm --mode trusted --mining manual

Mine one block on demand:

curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8545 \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":6,"method":"zevm_mine","params":[]}'

Mine multiple blocks:

curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8545 \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":7,"method":"zevm_mine","params":["0x3"]}'

Validation Rules You Will Hit Most Often

• --block-time is valid only with --mining interval.
• --mining interval requires --block-time <seconds>.
• coinbaseIndex must be in 0..9.

Next Steps

• Forked Dev Node
• Managed Dev Wallet (Trusted Mode)
• ZEVM Controls
• Transactions And Mining