Reth AlphaNet is a testnet OP Stack rollup aimed at enabling experimentation of bleeding edge Ethereum Research. AlphaNet is not a fork of reth. AlphaNet implements traits provided by the reth node builder API, allowing implementation of precompiles and instructions of experimental EIPs without forking the node.

Specifically, AlphaNet currently implements the following EIPs:

• EIP-7702: Set EOA account code.
• EIP-7212: Precompile for secp256r1 curve support.
• EIP-2537: Precompiles for BLS12-381 curve operations.

AlphaNet also implements the EIPs for EOF, or The EVM Object Format.

AlphaNet has 2 goals:

1. Showcase Reth's performance at the extremes. We intend to launch a hosted version of AlphaNet on Conduit, targeting 50mgas/s, and eventually ramping up to 1ggas/s and beyond. In the process we hope to hit the state growth performance bottleneck, and discover ways to solve it. If our hosted chains end up getting too big, we may possibly restart the experiment from zero, and try again.
2. Showcase how Reth's modular architecture can serve as a distribution channel for research ideas. Specifically, AlphaNet's node extensions were chosen for their ability to enable applications that enhance the onchain user experience, and drastically reduce cost for existing applications that improve UX.

AlphaNet does not yet have a running testnet, but can be run locally for development and testing purposes. To do this, the binary can be run with the --dev flag, which will start the node with a development configuration.

First, alphanet should be built locally:

git clone https://github.com/paradigmxyz/alphanet
cd alphanet
cargo install --path bin/alphanet

alphanet node --chain etc/alphanet-genesis.json --dev --http --http.api all

This will start the node with a development configuration, and expose the HTTP API on http://localhost:8545.

To use EOF-enabled foundry, use forge-eof and follow installation instructions.

Running AlphaNet will require running additional infrastructure for the archival L1 node. These instructions are a guide for running the AlphaNet OP-stack node only.

For instructions on running the full AlphaNet OP stack, including the L1 node, see the Reth book section on running the OP stack, using the alphanet binary instead of op-reth.

To run AlphaNet from source, clone the repository and run the following commands:

git clone https://github.com/paradigmxyz/alphanet.git
cd alphanet
cargo install --path bin/alphanet
alphanet node
    --chain etc/alphanet-genesis.json \
    --rollup.sequencer-http <TODO> \
    --http \
    --ws \
    --authrpc.port 9551 \
    --authrpc.jwtsecret /path/to/jwt.hex

Once alphanet is started, op-node can be run with the included alphanet-rollup.json:

cd alphanet/
op-node \
    --rollup.config ./etc/alphanet-rollup.json \
    --l1=<your-sepolia-L1-rpc> \
    --l2=http://localhost:9551 \
    --l2.jwt-secret=/path/to/jwt.hex \
    --rpc.addr=0.0.0.0 \
    --rpc.port=7000 \
    --l1.trustrpc

Running a local network with a full AlphaNet OP stack with Kurtosis requires some extra setup, since AlphaNet uses a forked version of op-node.

To get started, follow these instructions to install Kurtosis.

Next, clone and build the modified optimism-contract-deployer image:

git clone git@github.com:paradigmxyz/optimism-package.git
cd optimism-package
git switch alphanet
docker build . -t ethpandaops/optimism-contract-deployer:latest --progress plain

Finally, run start a Kurtosis enclave (ensure you are still in optimism-package):

kurtosis run --enclave op-devnet github.com/paradigmxyz/optimism-package@alphanet \
  --args-file https://raw.githubusercontent.com/paradigmxyz/alphanet/main/etc/kurtosis.yaml

This will start an enclave named op-devnet. You can tear down the enclave with kurtosis enclave rm --force op-devnet, or tear down all enclaves using kurtosis clean -a.

Consult the Kurtosis OP package repository for instructions on how to adjust the args file to spin up additional services, like a block exporer.

See SECURITY.md.