🏛️ canton-dev

A containerized environment packaging the Canton SDK, DAML compiler, and all dependencies for one-click setup. Plus a set of skills to assist on Canton Development.

The container supports both stable and latest SDK versions, allowing teams to test smart contract compatibility with upcoming releases without disrupting their current development environment.

🚀 Quick start

npx git+ssh://git@github.com/Moonsong-Labs/canton-dev.git#v1.0.0 [options]

Option	Description
--dir <path>	Target folder (defaults to cwd)
--force	Overwrite existing files

Then:

1. Open the scaffolded folder in VS Code or Cursor.
2. Reopen in Container, choosing latest (SDK 3.x) or stable (SDK 2.x).
3. Ask Claude to generate a TypeScript SDK, tests, a webapp, or DAML workflow diagrams.

📦 What's included

Devcontainer

Pre-configured Docker environment for Canton and DAML development. Eliminates manual SDK installation, version management, and toolchain setup. Open the folder and start coding.

• DAML SDK and Canton runtime
• Language server with IDE support
• Pre-configured ports for local Canton nodes
• Choice of SDK versions (latest 3.x or stable 2.x)

File	Purpose
Dockerfile	Shared base with DAML SDK and tooling
latest/	SDK 3.x, plus dpm and a pre built DAML Finance
stable/	SDK 2.x
install-daml-vsix.sh	Auto-installs the DAML IDE extension
daml-lsp-restart.sh	Language server restarter helper

⭐ What's ours

Layer	Source
DAML SDK, daml build, daml codegen js	Digital Asset
DAML Finance, dpm, bundled VS Code extension	Digital Asset
The devcontainer variants and the scaffolder CLI	Built here
DAML Finance pre built for SDK 3.x, editor and LSP glue	Built here
Skills	Built here

Skills

daml codegen js produces verbose, deeply-nested TypeScript with package hashes and complex type paths, which is difficult to use directly in applications. The skills close that gap and cover the rest of the workflow around it.

Skill	What it does	Say something like
canton-sdk-generator	Discovers daml.yaml and multi-package.yaml projects, runs daml build and codegen js, flattens the output into a typed API with React hooks, type guards, and mock factories, and adds a Vitest suite.	"Generate a TypeScript API from my DAML contracts"
canton-test-generator	Turns your DAML test scripts into TypeScript integration tests that run through the SDK.	"Generate tests for my Canton project"
canton-webapp-generator	Scaffolds a React and Vite app, wiring a hook and a control for every template and every choice in the SDK.	"Create a webapp for this ledger app"
daml-diagrams	Renders choice flows and multi party workflows as themed PlantUML swim lane diagrams.	"Diagram this DAML choice flow"
daml-on-ledger-decision	Runs the authority, audit, shared input, atomicity, and privacy tests to decide what belongs on ledger.	"Should this be a DAML choice or backend logic?"

They are copied into .claude/skills/, so Claude auto-invokes them from natural-language requests.

The SDK generator output:

sdk/
├── core/
│   ├── primitives.ts   # Party, ContractId, Time, etc.
│   ├── interfaces.ts   # AccountKey, InstrumentKey, Quantity, etc.
│   └── index.ts
├── <project>-api.ts    # Workflows + TypeGuards + MockFactories
└── __tests__/
    └── <project>-api.test.ts

🛠️ Development

cd packages/canton-devenv-start && bun link
bunx canton-devenv-start          # in a test workspace

MIT.