Local development setup

The preferred method of development is to use a local machine. If you encounter errors during this process, consider using remote development instead.

Step 1: Obtain an API token

Generate an API token by completing the following steps:

  1. Navigate to Personal Access Tokens in the Q2 Developer Portal.

  2. Select Generate New Token.

  3. Enter a description in the Note field. Leave the default scope settings.

  4. Select Generate Token.

This generates and displays a new API token. Save this for later use.

Step 2: Install and configure required software

To develop an application using the Caliper SDK, you must install necessary software dependencies and configure local files and environment variables. Q2 has created a script called Caliper Admin to handle this process. Run this script to complete this configuration.

Step 3: Configure your IDE

Once your machine is configured, you can set up your IDE. Q2’s preferred IDEs are Visual Studio Code and PyCharm. Refer to Local development IDE setup for information on how to configure these IDEs.

Step 4: Connect to your sandbox database (optional)

If desired, you can connect your IDE to the sandbox database to run SQL queries. Refer to Connect to your sandbox database for information on how to set up this connection.

Where to go from here

Now that your machine is set up, you can begin development. To introduce yourself to the environment, we recommend completing the Basic Tutorial

You might find the following resources useful:

  • Caliper Tutorials–a set of tutorials to help you learn the fundamentals of the Caliper SDK and how to implement specialized functions.

  • API References–complete function references.