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Introduction

The Ubu-Block CLI is a command-line tool for managing blockchain operations, including initialization, validation, querying, and submitting election results. Built with Rust, it provides a fast and reliable interface for interacting with the Ubu-Block blockchain.

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Installation

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From Source

Clone the repository and build the CLI: 
git clone <repo> ubu-block
cd ubu-block
cargo build --release
The compiled binary will be available at target/release/ubu-block.

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Using Pre-built Binaries

  1. Download the latest binary from the releases page
  2. Make it executable: chmod +x ubu-block
  3. Move it to your PATH: sudo mv ubu-block /usr/local/bin/

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Configuration

All CLI commands require a configuration file that specifies database locations. Use the -c or --config flag to specify the config file: 
ubu-block --config config.toml <command>

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Config File Format

The configuration file is in TOML format: 
main_db = "sqlite://data/blockchain.db"
private_db = "sqlite://data/private.db"

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Initial Setup

Before using the CLI, create the necessary directories and database files: 
# Create data directory
mkdir data

# Create empty database files
cp crates/database/sql/empty.db data/blockchain.db
cp crates/database/sql/empty.db data/private.db

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Available Commands

The Ubu-Block CLI provides the following commands:

init

Initialize a new blockchain with genesis block

submit

Submit polling station results to a submission node

query

Execute SQL queries on the blockchain data

validate

Verify blockchain integrity and validity

import

Import an existing SQLite blockchain database

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Command Structure

All commands follow this general structure: 
ubu-block --config <CONFIG_FILE> <COMMAND> [OPTIONS]

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Global Options

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--config
string
required
Path to the configuration file containing database connection strings
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--version
flag
Display the CLI version
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--help
flag
Display help information

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Usage Examples

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Initialize a blockchain

ubu-block --config config.toml init --source setup_constituencies.sql

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Submit results

ubu-block --config config.toml submit http://localhost:3000 022113056303301 1 66

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Query data

ubu-block --config config.toml query -q "SELECT * FROM results"

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Validate blockchain

ubu-block --config config.toml validate

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Getting Help

For help with any command: 
# General help
ubu-block --help

# Command-specific help
ubu-block --config config.toml <command> --help

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Next Steps

Initialize Blockchain

Learn how to create a new blockchain

Query Data

Explore querying blockchain data

Submit Results

Submit election results to nodes

Validate Chain

Verify blockchain integrity

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