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Development Workflow Guide

🚀 Quick Start (First Time Setup)

# 1. Start Ganache (persistent blockchain)
./start-ganache.sh

# 2. Deploy contracts
npx truffle migrate --network development

# 3. Start backend (in new terminal)
cd backend && node index.js

# 4. Start frontend (in new terminal)
cd frontend && npm start

# 5. Open http://localhost:5173
# 6. Connect MetaMask with Account 1 (admin)
# 7. Register voters and add candidates

🔄 Daily Development (After First Setup)

The blockchain state is PERSISTENT! You don't need to redeploy or re-register.

# Just start the services:
./start-ganache.sh      # Terminal 1
node backend/index.js    # Terminal 2
cd frontend && npm start # Terminal 3

# Your registrations and candidates are still there! ✓

🗑️ When to Delete Database & Start Fresh

Only delete ganache_db/ when:

  • Smart contract code changed
  • You want to test from scratch
  • Database is corrupted
# Stop Ganache (Ctrl+C)
rm -rf ganache_db/
./start-ganache.sh
npx truffle migrate --reset --network development

📝 Important Notes

❌ DON'T DO THIS (common mistake):

# This deletes all your voter registrations!
npx truffle migrate --reset

✅ DO THIS (correct):

# Just restart Ganache if it crashed
./start-ganache.sh

# Frontend/backend can restart anytime without losing data

🔧 Troubleshooting

"Voter not registered after restart"

  • Cause: You ran truffle migrate --reset which deployed a new contract
  • Fix: Don't use --reset flag during normal development

"Contract address changed"

  • Cause: Database was deleted or contracts redeployed
  • Fix: Re-register voters on the new contract

"MetaMask transaction fails"

  • Cause: Circuit breaker from too many errors
  • Fix: MetaMask → Settings → Advanced → Clear activity tab data

📊 Current Setup

  • Ganache Database: ./ganache_db/ (DO NOT DELETE during dev)
  • Chain ID: 1337 (fixed)
  • Network ID: 1337 (fixed)
  • Admin Account: Account 0 (first account shown in Ganache output)
  • Voter Accounts: Accounts 1-9 (use any for testing voters)

🎯 Best Practices

  1. Leave Ganache running - Don't stop it unless necessary
  2. Don't use --reset - Only for fresh starts
  3. Check database exists - ls ganache_db/ should show files
  4. One-time registration - Register voters once, they persist
  5. Backend/Frontend - Can restart these anytime, data is on blockchain