Aleo’s Leo: your personal guide to secure and private coding

Hey there, fellow coders and tech enthusiasts! Today, we’re diving into something truly exciting. It’s all about Aleo’s Leo — a remarkable tool that’s shaping the future of coding and app creation, making it more secure and privacy-oriented than ever before. But, before we go all technical, let’s keep it personal.

Leo: more than just a name. Meet Leo — Aleo’s very own programming language. It’s designed to let us harness zero-knowledge technology and give us the power to code securely and privately. Sounds pretty cool, right?

Why you should be excited. Let’s break it down, personal-style. We’re talking about the advantages you’ll have in your coding journey:

1. Privacy-preserving proofs. You’ll be able to provide the data needed for your online services without worrying about data leaks. Your secrets are safe with Leo.
2. Zero-knowledge magic. With zero-knowledge technology, you can validate data without exposing sensitive info. You don’t need to share what you don’t want to.
3. Bye-bye cybersecurity headaches. No more burdens on organizations to secure your data. With Aleo, you’re in control, and that means cost reduction and more peace of mind.
4. Smooth data migration. Developers, you’re going to love this. Move your data to the Aleo ledger while maintaining control over its visibility.
5. User-centric data handling. It’s your data, and you decide who gets what. Your data, your rules.
6. Data validation with no exposures. Check data accuracy without revealing the actual content. It’s like a superpower for coders.
7. Public or private data? Your call. With Aleo, you can store data on the ledger as you see fit, whether it’s for everyone to see or just your eyes only.
8. Tailor-made data storage. Developers, you’re the boss. You choose what information to store, making things more efficient and safer.
9. Open-source awesomeness. Aleo’s transition to open-source means the community takes the reins. Decentralization and user control are the future.
10. Aleo systems has your back. Aleo Systems is all about providing a privacy-first blockchain and supporting products and services on the Aleo Network. That’s a strong commitment, folks.

Ready to get your hands dirty? Now, the fun part — getting started with Leo! Here’s a personal, step-by-step guide:

Download and install Leo:

1. Get the latest Leo version right here. Download the one that fits your machine.

Release v1.10.0 · AleoHQ/leo

2. Unzip the file you just downloaded.

3. To install Leo, drag it into /usr/local/bin. If you're a fan of terminal magic, you can do it with sudo mv leo /usr/local/bin. You might need to enter your computer password, just to keep things interesting.

The leo commands

leo-help command: open a new terminal window and check your Leo installation. Type leo --help and see the magic unfold. You should see a bunch of CLI arguments and global parameters. Cool, right?

 CLI Arguments entry point - includes global parameters and subcommands
 
 Usage: leo [OPTIONS] [API] <COMMAND>
 
 Commands:
 account  Create a new Aleo account
 new      Create a new Leo package in a new directory
 example  Create a new Leo example package in a new directory
 build    Compile the current package as a program
 clean    Clean the output directory
 run      Run a program with input variables
 execute  Execute a program with input variables
 update   Update the Leo CLI
 help     Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)
 
 Arguments:
 [API]  Custom Aleo PM backend URL [env: APM_URL=]
 
 Options:
 -d                 Print additional information for debugging
 -q                 Suppress CLI output
 --path <PATH>  Optional path to Leo program root folder
 -h, --help         Print help
 -V, --version      Print version

leo-account command: now, let’s work on your Aleo account. In your existing terminal window, type leo account new. You'll get a private key, a view key, and an address. These are your secret keys to the Aleo kingdom. Keep them safe!

Private Key  APrivateKey1zkpAeeSTY6CuV2ahuJsHLqBFEChK3NnKxLqDyFoMQVmi1Ru
View Key  AViewKey1cuV5NU4WgkHezc6fFFduECwrpGg8knqyb78YFJVmhhMT
Address  aleo14hmf2rfh5nne6m7wsqlklqzcagh2tjydecvjycgj80snnns9svqsyjzsll

leo-example command: you’re probably itching to try things out. Type leo example $NAME in your terminal. There are a few choices like 'lottery,' 'tictactoe,' and 'token.' Pick your poison and get coding!

Create a new Leo example package in a new directory
    
Usage: leo example [OPTIONS] <COMMAND>
    
Commands:
  lottery    A public lottery program
  tictactoe  A standard tic-tac-toe game program
  token      A transparent & shielded custom token program
  help       Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)
    
Options:
  -d                 Print additional information for debugging
  -q                 Suppress CLI output
      --path <PATH>  Optional path to Leo program root folder
  -h, --help         Print help

leo-run command: want to see your creation in action? Get to your Leo project’s folder using cd in the terminal. Run your leo example and follow the instructions in the README.md file. Want a quick start? Try leo run new for a new tic-tac-toe game board.

Become a Leo contributor.

Alright, you’re on a coding roll! How about claiming your Leo contributor badge on GitHub? It’s easy, just follow these steps:

1. Push your Leo app to GitHub: if you’re new to Git, don’t worry, we all were once. Start by creating a new Git repository and add your project files.

Adding locally hosted code to GitHub - GitHub Docs

2. Add a local repository to GitHub using Git:

• Create a new repository on GitHub without initializing it with any files. You can add them later. Copy the remote repository URL.
• In your terminal, navigate to your project’s root folder and initialize your project as a Git repository with git init -b main.
• Stage your files by running git add . and commit them with git commit -m "First commit".
• Add the remote repository with git remote add origin <REMOTE_URL>. Finally, push your project to GitHub with git push -u origin main.

3. Claim your badge:

• Go to the Leo repository on GitHub and give it a star. You’re part of the crew now!

GitHub - AleoHQ/leo: 🦁 The Leo Programming Language. A Programming Language for Formally Verified…

• Click on “New Issue” in the top right corner, select “Get started” in the Leo Contributor Badge row.

Issues · AleoHQ/leo

• Title your issue as “Add <your_github_username> to contributors” and provide the requested information in the description.
• Click “Submit new issue” and once it’s approved, you’ll be proudly displayed in the Contributors section of the Leo README.md file.

My opened Aleo issue example:

Add colliseum2006 to contributors · Issue #2646 · AleoHQ/leo

Congratulations on your journey to becoming a Leo contributor! It’s a wild ride, but remember, you’re not alone. The community is here to help. You’ve just scratched the surface, and there’s a world of coding adventures ahead with Leo.

To know more, join now!
Aleo Twitter
Aleo Discord
Aleo Website
List of Aleo and Leo code and resourses

Prepared by Colliseum