General improvements to the leo devnode docs

Author: Mohammad Fawaz

documentation/cli/00_overview.md

@@ -25,23 +25,24 @@ You can print the list of commands by running `leo --help`
 - [`debug`](./05_debug.md) - Run the interactive debugger in the current package.
 - [`deploy`](./06_deploy.md) - Deploy a program to the Aleo network.
 - [`devnet`](./07_devnet.md) - Initialize a local devnet.
-- [`execute`](./08_execute.md) - Execute a program and produce a transaction containing a proof.
-- [`new`](./09_new.md) - Create a new Leo project in a new directory.
-- [`query`](./10_query.md) - Query live data and state from the Aleo network.
-  - [`block`](./10_query.md#leo-query-block) - Query block information.
-  - [`transaction`](./10_query.md#leo-query-transaction) - Query transaction information.
-  - [`program`](./10_query.md#leo-query-program) - Query program source code and live mapping values.
-  - [`stateroot`](./10_query.md#leo-query-stateroot) - Query the latest stateroot.
-  - [`committee`](./10_query.md#leo-query-committee) - Query the current committee.
-  - [`mempool`](./10_query.md#leo-query-mempool) - Query transactions and transmissions from the memory pool.
-  - [`peers`](./10_query.md#leo-query-peers) - Query peer information.
-- [`remove`](./11_remove.md) - Remove a dependency from the current project.
-- [`run`](./12_run.md) - Run a program without producing a proof.
-- [`test`](./13_test.md) - Run the test cases for a Leo project.
-- [`update`](./14_update.md) - Update to the latest version of Leo.
-- [`upgrade`](./15_upgrade.md) - Upgrade a deployed program on the Aleo network.
-- [`synthesize`](./16_synthesize.md) - Generate proving and verifying keys for a program.
-- [`fmt`](./17_fmt.md) - Format Leo source files.
+- [`devnode`](./08_devnode.md) - Run a local lightweight devnode.
+- [`execute`](./09_execute.md) - Execute a program and produce a transaction containing a proof.
+- [`new`](./10_new.md) - Create a new Leo project in a new directory.
+- [`query`](./11_query.md) - Query live data and state from the Aleo network.
+  - [`block`](./11_query.md#leo-query-block) - Query block information.
+  - [`transaction`](./11_query.md#leo-query-transaction) - Query transaction information.
+  - [`program`](./11_query.md#leo-query-program) - Query program source code and live mapping values.
+  - [`stateroot`](./11_query.md#leo-query-stateroot) - Query the latest stateroot.
+  - [`committee`](./11_query.md#leo-query-committee) - Query the current committee.
+  - [`mempool`](./11_query.md#leo-query-mempool) - Query transactions and transmissions from the memory pool.
+  - [`peers`](./11_query.md#leo-query-peers) - Query peer information.
+- [`remove`](./12_remove.md) - Remove a dependency from the current project.
+- [`run`](./13_run.md) - Run a program without producing a proof.
+- [`test`](./14_test.md) - Run the test cases for a Leo project.
+- [`update`](./15_update.md) - Update to the latest version of Leo.
+- [`upgrade`](./16_upgrade.md) - Upgrade a deployed program on the Aleo network.
+- [`synthesize`](./17_synthesize.md) - Generate proving and verifying keys for a program.
+- [`fmt`](./18_fmt.md) - Format Leo source files.
 
 ## Universal Flags
 

documentation/cli/05_debug.md

@@ -12,4 +12,4 @@ sidebar_label: Debug
 `leo debug` has been removed in Leo 4.0. The interactive interpreter is no longer available.
 :::
 
-For testing and debugging your Leo programs, use [`leo test`](13_test.md), which runs your test suite against the real VM. For integration testing against a live network or a local devnet, use the [SDK](https://github.com/ProvableHQ/sdk) directly.
+For testing and debugging your Leo programs, use [`leo test`](14_test.md), which runs your test suite against the real VM. For integration testing against a live network or a local devnet, use the [SDK](https://github.com/ProvableHQ/sdk) directly.

documentation/cli/08_devnode.md

@@ -6,12 +6,16 @@ toc_min_heading_level: 2
 toc_max_heading_level: 2
 ---
 
-[general tags]: # "cli, leo_devnode, devnode local_devnode"
+[general tags]: # "cli, leo_devnode, devnode, local_devnode"
 
 # `leo devnode`
 
 Leo devnode is a lightweight-node network that bypasses the consensus algorithm and the requirement to generate proofs for deployment and execution transactions. It is a development tool intended for rapidly iterating on Aleo program design and running end-to-end tests prior to deploying Aleo programs to testnet and mainnet.
 
+:::note
+`leo devnode` is the recommended local development tool for lightweight testing. The older [`leo devnet`](./07_devnet.md) command (which requires a full snarkOS installation and spins up a multi-validator network) remains available for more complex testing scenarios.
+:::
+
 To initialize devnode, run the following command:
 
 ```bash
@@ -26,7 +30,7 @@ The default endpoint for a local devnode is `http://localhost:3030`.
 
 <!-- markdown-link-check-enable -->
 
-Press `Ctrl+C` to stop the devnode. If started with persistent storage (`-l`), the ledger state is saved and can be resumed by running `leo devnode start -l` again. If started without persistent storage, the ledger is discarded when the devnode exits.
+Press `Ctrl+C` to stop the devnode. If started with `--ledger-path`, the ledger state is saved and can be resumed by running the same command again. If started without `--ledger-path`, the ledger is discarded when the devnode exits.
 
 ## `leo devnode start`
 
@@ -36,32 +40,32 @@ leo devnode start [OPTIONS]
 
 | Flag | Short | Default | Description |
 |------|-------|---------|-------------|
-| `--private-key` | `-p` | | Private key (required, or set via environment variable) |
+| `--private-key` | | | Private key (required, or set via `PRIVATE_KEY` environment variable) |
 | `--verbosity` | `-v` | `2` | Log verbosity level (`0`–`2`) |
 | `--socket-addr` | `-a` | `127.0.0.1:3030` | Address and port for the REST API |
 | `--genesis-path` | `-g` | (built-in) | Path to a custom genesis block file |
 | `--manual-block-creation` | `-m` | `false` | Disable automatic block creation after broadcast |
-| `--ledger-path` | `-l` | (in-memory) | Directory for persistent ledger storage. If `-l` is given without a path, defaults to `./devnode/` |
+| `--ledger-path` | `-l` | (in-memory) | Path for persistent ledger storage. If `-l` is given without a path, defaults to `./devnode` |
 | `--clean` | `-c` | `false` | Clear the ledger directory before starting. Requires `--ledger-path` |
 
 **Examples**
 
 ```bash
 # In-memory (ephemeral, no persistence)
-leo devnode start
+leo devnode start --private-key APrivateKey1zkp8CZNn3yeCseEtxuVPbDCwSyhGW6yZKUYKfgXmcpoGPWH
 
-# Persistent, default directory (./devnode/)
-leo devnode start -l
+# Persistent, default directory (./devnode)
+leo devnode start --private-key APrivateKey1zkp8CZNn3yeCseEtxuVPbDCwSyhGW6yZKUYKfgXmcpoGPWH -l
 
 # Persistent, custom directory
-leo devnode start -l ./my-ledger
+leo devnode start --private-key APrivateKey1zkp8CZNn3yeCseEtxuVPbDCwSyhGW6yZKUYKfgXmcpoGPWH -l ./my-ledger
 
 # Fresh start — wipe existing ledger before starting
-leo devnode start -l --clean
-leo devnode start -l ./my-ledger --clean
+leo devnode start --private-key APrivateKey1zkp8CZNn3yeCseEtxuVPbDCwSyhGW6yZKUYKfgXmcpoGPWH -l --clean
+leo devnode start --private-key APrivateKey1zkp8CZNn3yeCseEtxuVPbDCwSyhGW6yZKUYKfgXmcpoGPWH -l ./my-ledger --clean
 
 # Manual block creation (blocks only advance when explicitly requested)
-leo devnode start -m
+leo devnode start --private-key APrivateKey1zkp8CZNn3yeCseEtxuVPbDCwSyhGW6yZKUYKfgXmcpoGPWH -m
 ```
 
 ## `leo devnode advance`
@@ -120,7 +124,7 @@ leo upgrade --skip-deploy-certificate --endpoint http://localhost:3030
 
 ```bash
 # 1. Start a persistent devnode
-leo devnode start -l
+leo devnode start --private-key APrivateKey1zkp8CZNn3yeCseEtxuVPbDCwSyhGW6yZKUYKfgXmcpoGPWH -l
 
 # 2. Deploy your program (in another terminal, from your Leo project directory)
 leo deploy --skip-deploy-certificate --endpoint http://localhost:3030
@@ -129,5 +133,5 @@ leo deploy --skip-deploy-certificate --endpoint http://localhost:3030
 leo execute <TRANSITION> <INPUTS> --skip-execute-proof --endpoint http://localhost:3030
 
 # 4. Reset and start fresh when needed
-leo devnode start -l --clean
+leo devnode start --private-key APrivateKey1zkp8CZNn3yeCseEtxuVPbDCwSyhGW6yZKUYKfgXmcpoGPWH -l --clean
 ```

documentation/cli/13_run.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ toc_max_heading_level: 2
 
 # `leo run`
 
-You can run an entry function by using the `leo run` command. This will simply run the specified entry function with the provided inputs and show what the produced output will be. It will NOT generate the zero-knowledge proof of execution or the transaction, and nothing will be run onchain. For that, please see the [`leo execute`](08_execute.md) command.
+You can run an entry function by using the `leo run` command. This will simply run the specified entry function with the provided inputs and show what the produced output will be. It will NOT generate the zero-knowledge proof of execution or the transaction, and nothing will be run onchain. For that, please see the [`leo execute`](09_execute.md) command.
 
 To run a Leo entry function with inputs from the command line, run the following command:
 

documentation/guides/08_testing.md

@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ or
 leo test addition
 ```
 
-See the `leo test` CLI documentation [here](./../cli/13_test.md)
+See the `leo test` CLI documentation [here](./../cli/14_test.md)
 
 ## Running a Devnet