Get started | ArcBlock

This section is the local-first path from a new directory to a checked, running Blocklet. Remote publish and DID Space deploy are not prerequisites.

Prerequisites

Install the public CLI:

curl -fsSL https://arc.afsd.io/install.sh | bash
arc --version

Verified baseline for this board: 2.0.0-beta.28.

Work in a temporary or project directory outside the ARC monorepo. You do not need to clone ArcBlock/arc to author a third-party Blocklet.
Prefer a named instance when experimenting so a test cannot alter the seed daemon on :4900. ARC_HOME is retired (the CLI warns and ignores it). Isolation is the instance name plus --home:

export ARC_INSTANCES_DIR=/tmp/arc-instances-demo
arc service start --instance demo --home /tmp/arc-home-demo
arc service url --instance demo --print url
# when finished:
arc service stop --instance demo
arc service rm --instance demo

Three pages, one path

Step	Page	What you prove
1	Package and instance	Package (artifact) vs instance (run/deployment) vocabulary
2	Create and run locally	Scaffold + local serve + browser URL
3	Check, build, and inspect	`check` / `build` / `inspect` / `dev` evidence chain

Minimal command sequence

# 1. Scaffold a complete tiny app (web + AUP + agent + settings)
arc blocklet create ./demo-min --recipe minimal-app --name demo-min

# 2. Validate declared DSL and package profile
arc dsl validate ./demo-min
arc blocklet check ./demo-min --profile minimal-app

# 3. Serve only this Blocklet on a named instance (no DID Space)
arc service start --instance demo --blocklet ./demo-min --port 4939

Verified output shape (arc 2.0.0-beta.28):

Created minimal app blocklet "demo-min" with 18 file(s).
Next: arc dsl validate /…/demo-min

Passed DSL validation
  path: /…/demo-min
  files: 16

Passed blocklet check (minimal-app)
  dir: /…/demo-min
  AUP pages: agent, home, settings
  web sections: 1
  agents: 1
  settings files: 5

AFS Service started
  Port: 4939
  Blocklet: demo-min
    http://demo-min.localhost:4939/
    http://localhost:4939/?blocklet=demo-min (Safari / universal)

Open the printed subdomain URL. For local acceptance, stop the temporary named instance when finished (arc service stop --instance demo). Do not stop the seed daemon on :4900 unless you started it.

Recipes you can scaffold today

arc blocklet recipe list

Recipe	Capabilities (as reported by CLI)	Generated files (approx.)
`basic` / `blank`	manifest only	1 (`blocklet.yaml`)
`blog`	aup	small AUP set
`agent`	aup, agent	chat + one agent
`minimal-app`	web, aup, agent, settings	~18 files
`agent-workspace`	web, aup, agent, settings	~19 files
`support-community`	web, aup, agent, settings	~20 files

Explain one recipe before you scaffold:

arc blocklet recipe explain minimal-app

What not to do first

Avoid	Why
`arc deploy … --server …` as step 1	Requires auth and a remote DID Space; not local acceptance
Treating `arc blocklet dev` as a server	It only scans conventions; it does not serve HTTP
Assuming `dist/` is hand-edited source	`arc blocklet build` owns `dist/`; do not commit it unless your release process requires the artifact
Collapsing package and instance language	Makes data ownership, config, and release discussion ambiguous — see Package and instance

When the local page looks right, continue to authoring (Author) or the release boundary (Publish and deploy).