Welcome to your journey into the world of smart contracts with the Pact programming language! Pact is a Turing-incomplete smart contract language designed with blockchains in mind. In this article, we’ll walk you through installing Pact, supported editors, and how to leverage its capabilities for your blockchain projects.

Table of Contents

• Tutorials
• Documentation
• Quickstart
• Installing Pact
• Supported Editors
• The Pact REST Api
• License

Tutorials

To master Pact, a variety of tutorials covering all aspects of the language can be found at docs.kadena.io. You can also explore example scripts located in Kadena’s pact-examples repository.

Documentation

For detailed insights into language specification and API documentation, check out the comprehensive materials available at pact-language.readthedocs.io. Keep in mind that documentation evolves, so don’t hesitate to report issues or update outdated sections.

Quickstart

The quickest way to try out Pact is via the Kadena in-browser tool or through the Chainweaver wallet on GitHub. Both platforms offer features such as error highlighting and an in-app REPL for easy code testing.

Installing Pact

Binary Downloads

To install Pact, you can choose from ready-to-use binary downloads for Linux or Mac. Here’s a simple step-by-step:

• Install z3 version 4.11.2.
• Download the prebuilt binaries for your operating system.
• Mark the downloaded file as executable by running chmod +x executable-file.
• Ensure the binary is in your PATH.

Once Pact is in your path, validate the installation by running tests in the REPL.

Instructions for Mac Users

On macOS, it’s easiest to use Homebrew. If you haven’t installed Homebrew yet, instructions can be found here. Then execute:

brew update
brew install kadena-io/pact/pact

Instructions for Linux Users

Linux users can rely on either pre-built binaries or build from the source. For Arch family distributions, check out the AUR package.

Building from Source

To build from source, follow these steps:

• Ensure you have git installed.
• Get the code from here.

We’ll use a Haskell package manager called Cabal. Install GHC (version 9.6) and Cabal (version 2.2) using:

ghcup install 9.6.2
ghcup install cabal

Finally, build the project with:

cabal v2-update
cabal v2-build

Supported Editors

Pact works seamlessly with various editors, including:

• Chainweaver: A well-rounded IDE experience that integrates wallet functionalities.
• VS Code: Community-supported via the pact-vscode package.
• Atom: Add Atom and use the language-pact package.
• Emacs: Includes pact-mode for streamlined support.
• Vim: Get started with vim-pact.

The Pact REST Api

Pact comes equipped with a REST API for HTTP server and SQLite database implementations, facilitating blockchain application development. Launch the server by issuing:

pact --serve CONFIG

Make sure to replace CONFIG with a valid configuration YAML file. This server allows you to host static files effortlessly and provides detailed documentation on the config file format.

License

This software is distributed under BSD-3 license. Check the LICENSE file for any further details.

Troubleshooting Tips

If you encounter issues during installation or operation, here are some handy troubleshooting ideas:

• Ensure that all dependencies are installed correctly, including z3 and GHC.
• Check your PATH settings to ensure the Pact binary is included.
• For any lingering issues, consider restarting your terminal session.

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