Setup & Prerequisites

Welcome! This guide covers the essential setup required to start building with LearnCard. Following these steps will get your environment ready for our Quick Start and tutorials.


1. 🧭 Introduction

This guide will help you:

  • Set up your development environment

  • Install core SDKs and tools

  • Verify everything is working before your first credential issuance

Assumed Knowledge: You should be familiar with:

  • Basic terminal/command line use

  • JavaScript or TypeScript

  • Package managers like npm, yarn, or pnpm

All examples use modern JavaScript and run on Node.js.


2. 🖥️ System Requirements

✅ Supported OS

  • macOS (M1/M2/M3+ supported)

  • Windows (Use WSL for best results)

  • Linux (Ubuntu LTS recommended)

🔧 Node.js + npm/yarn

  • Required version: Node.js v18.x or v20.x

  • Node.js includes npm by default.

📥 Download Node.js

🔎 Verify:

node -v
npm -v
# or if using yarn
yarn -v

🔧 Git

Git is required for cloning repositories and managing code.

📥 Download Git

🔎 Verify:

git --version

3. 👤 Account Setup (Optional)

Developer Account

You do not need a developer account to complete the Quick Start.

You'll be using local/demo network capabilities for your first integration. For live network use later, you can create a developer profile.

API Keys

Not required for Quick Start.

You’ll need them later for:

  • Live network integrations

  • Custom signing authorities

  • Auth-granted service access


4. 📦 Install the Wallet SDK

To get started with the LearnCard Wallet SDK:

# Using npm
npm install @learncard/init 

# Using yarn
yarn add @learncard/init 

# Using pnpm
pnpm add @learncard/init 

This installs the essential module to initialize LearnCard


5. 🔧 Install Essential Tools (Optional for Quick Start)

LearnCard CLI (Optional)

If you want to script or automate wallet actions via terminal:

npm install -g @learncard/cli

🔎 Verify:

learncard --version

→ See CLI Documentation

Seed Phrases

You don’t need an external wallet for Quick Start. LearnCard uses secure, deterministic wallets derived from seed phrases. You’ll use an environment variable (SECURE_SEED) for your first script.


Code Editor

We recommend Visual Studio Code

Helpful Extensions:

  • ESLint – Code quality

  • Prettier – Auto-formatting

  • dotenv – Recognizes environment variables in .env files


7. ✅ Check Your Setup

Run the following commands to confirm everything is ready:

# Verify Node + package manager
node -v
npm -v
# or yarn -v / pnpm -v

# Verify Git
git --version

# (Optional) Verify CLI
learncard --version

Need help? Visit our Troubleshooting Guide or join the Community for support.


8. 🚀 Next Steps

You’re ready to go!

👉 Proceed to the Quick Start: Issue Your First Digital Badge →

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