---
title: "Development Workflow"
description: "Run the check, test, fix, and CI Just recipes used day-to-day on base/base."
source: https://basehub.org/getting-started/development/
---
The `base/base` repository drives day-to-day development through [Just](https://github.com/casey/just) recipes for checking, testing, formatting, and CI parity. The recipes below cover the commands you will run most often.

## Quick Reference

| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| `just check` | Runs the full check suite (format, udeps, clippy, test, deny) |
| `just test` | Runs the test suite via cargo-nextest |
| `just fix` | Auto-fixes formatting, clippy, and zepter issues |
| `just ci` | Full CI pipeline (fix, check, lychee, zepter, no-std check) |

## Running Tests

The project uses [cargo-nextest](https://nexte.st/) as its test runner. Install it if you have not already:

```bash
cargo install cargo-nextest
```

Run the full test suite:

```bash
just test
```

This executes `cargo nextest` with all features enabled. The devnet tests are excluded by default since they require a running Docker Compose stack.

To run tests for a specific crate:

```bash
cargo nextest run -p base-execution-evm
```

To run a single test by name:

```bash
cargo nextest run -p base-execution-evm -- test_name
```

### Building Test Contracts

Some tests depend on compiled Solidity contracts. If you see test failures related to missing contract artifacts, build them first:

```bash
just build-contracts
```

See [Building from Source](/getting-started/building/#building-solidity-test-contracts) for details.

## Checking Code Quality

The `check` recipe runs the full quality gate in sequence:

```bash
just check
```

This is equivalent to running each of these in order:

1. **`check-format`** -- Verifies that all Rust source files match `rustfmt` style.
2. **`check-udeps`** -- Detects unused dependencies in `Cargo.toml` files.
3. **`check-clippy`** -- Runs Clippy with the project's configured lints.
4. **`test`** -- Runs the full test suite.
5. **`check-deny`** -- Checks dependencies for known vulnerabilities and license issues via `cargo-deny`.

If any step fails, the pipeline stops. Fix the issue and re-run.

## Auto-Fixing Issues

Most formatting and lint issues can be fixed automatically:

```bash
just fix
```

This runs three fixers in sequence:

1. **`format-fix`** -- Applies `rustfmt` to all source files.
2. **`clippy-fix`** -- Applies Clippy's suggested fixes.
3. **`zepter-fix`** -- Fixes feature propagation issues detected by [zepter](https://github.com/nicknisi/zepter).

Run `just fix` before committing to avoid CI failures.

## Full CI Pipeline

To run the same checks that CI runs on pull requests:

```bash
just ci
```

This encompasses:

1. `fix` -- auto-fix everything fixable
2. `check` -- the full quality gate
3. `lychee` -- checks for broken links in documentation
4. `zepter` -- validates Cargo feature propagation
5. `check-no-std` -- ensures `no_std` compatibility for crates that require it

Running `just ci` locally before pushing is the best way to catch issues early.

## Formatting

Check formatting without modifying files:

```bash
just check-format
```

Auto-format all files:

```bash
just format-fix
```

The project uses the standard `rustfmt` configuration. If your editor supports format-on-save with `rustfmt`, enable it for a smoother workflow.

## Clippy

Run Clippy to catch common mistakes and non-idiomatic patterns:

```bash
just check-clippy
```

Apply Clippy's suggestions automatically:

```bash
just clippy-fix
```

## Recommended Editor Setup

For the best development experience, configure your editor with:

- **rust-analyzer** -- Provides inline type hints, go-to-definition, and real-time diagnostics.
- **Format on save** -- Set your editor to run `rustfmt` whenever you save a `.rs` file.
- **Clippy as the check command** -- Configure rust-analyzer to use `clippy` instead of `cargo check` for richer diagnostics:

  ```json
  {
    "rust-analyzer.check.command": "clippy"
  }
  ```

## Next Steps

- [Local Devnet](/getting-started/devnet/) -- run a full local network for integration testing.
- [Contributing](/contributing/) -- guidelines for submitting pull requests.