# Quick Start Guide

This guide gets you from a fresh clone to a locally running MEV Bot instance and points you toward deeper documentation.

## Prerequisites
- Go 1.24 or newer (`go version` to verify)
- Access to an Arbitrum RPC/WebSocket endpoint
- OpenSSL (for generating encryption keys)

## Environment Setup
```bash
# Clone and enter the repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd mev-beta

# Provision default environment files and directories
./setup-env.sh

# Generate a 32-byte encryption key and export connection secrets
export MEV_BOT_ENCRYPTION_KEY="$(openssl rand -base64 32)"
export ARBITRUM_RPC_ENDPOINT="wss://..."
export ARBITRUM_WS_ENDPOINT="wss://..."
```
Update `.env` with the Ethereum key material described in `docs/5_development/CONFIGURATION.md` before running transactions.

## Install Dependencies & Build
```bash
# Sync Go modules and vendor checksums
go mod tidy

# Compile the bot binary (writes to bin/mev-bot)
make build
```

## Run & Verify
```bash
# Execute the service binary
./bin/mev-bot start

# Alternatively run without rebuilding
go run cmd/mev-bot/main.go
```

## Recommended Checks
```bash
# Format, lint, and vet code before committing
make fmt
make lint
make vet

# Run the full test suite with coverage
make test
make test-coverage
```

## Where to Go Next
- `docs/INDEX.md` – Navigation for all documentation categories
- `PROJECT_SPECIFICATION.md` – High-level architecture and requirements
- `docs/5_development/TESTING_BENCHMARKING.md` – Testing strategy and performance validation

Keep this doc purposely actionable; consult the broader documentation sections for architecture deep dives, deployment practices, and security hardening.