0 · Install

$ git clone https://github.com/vela-science/vela
$ cd vela && cargo build --release --bin vela
$ export PATH="$PWD/target/release:$PATH"

$ vela --version
vela 0.103.0

Rust 1.79+. ~60s build on a recent laptop.

1 · Verify the flagship frontier

$ vela registry pull vfr_5076e7b3ff8e6b0f \
    --from https://vela-hub.fly.dev \
    --out /tmp/anti-amyloid.json

$ vela stats /tmp/anti-amyloid.json
$ vela check /tmp/anti-amyloid.json
$ vela decision-brief projects/anti-amyloid-translation --json
$ vela trial-summary projects/anti-amyloid-translation --json
$ vela artifacts /tmp/anti-amyloid.json --json
$ vela proof projects/anti-amyloid-translation --out /tmp/anti-amyloid-proof

This pulls Anti-amyloid translation in Alzheimer's disease, verifies the public hub state, and exports the same proof packet used by the hosted demo.

2 · Scaffold a frontier

$ vela frontier new --name "demo" --description "Quickstart demo" my-frontier.json

· frontier scaffolded frontier 'demo' at my-frontier.json
  next steps:
    1. vela finding add my-frontier.json --assertion '...' --author 'reviewer:you' --apply
    2. vela sign generate-keypair --out keys
    3. vela actor add my-frontier.json reviewer:you --pubkey "$(cat keys/public.key)"
    4. vela registry publish my-frontier.json --owner reviewer:you --key keys/private.key --locator <url> --to https://vela-hub.fly.dev

3 · Add a finding

$ vela finding add my-frontier.json \
    --assertion "Pericyte loss precedes cognitive decline in early Alzheimer's." \
    --author "reviewer:demo" \
    --apply

Finding proposal applied
  frontier: demo
  finding:  vf_83185611d673465b
  proposal: vpr_ee0e410e7553eab9
  status:   applied
  event:    vev_6ae700c652da33ee
  wrote:    my-frontier.json

Without --apply the finding is a pending proposal in the inbox. Reviewers inspect proposals before applying them; this flag bypasses review for solo flows.

4 · Generate a keypair

$ vela sign generate-keypair --out keys

· generated keypair · keys
  public key: 88ccb43144e9e228c37566554845dcd4e1f5afd3fab3e10d23df551dcdd87041

Ed25519 keypair on disk at keys/private.key and keys/public.key. The private key never leaves your machine. Back it up; losing it means losing the ability to sign as you.

5 · Register the actor and sign

$ vela actor add my-frontier.json reviewer:demo --pubkey "$(cat keys/public.key)"

· registered actor reviewer:demo (pubkey 88ccb43144e9e228)

$ vela sign apply my-frontier.json --private-key keys/private.key

· signed 1 findings in my-frontier.json

6 · Verify

$ vela sign verify my-frontier.json

  VELA · SIGN · VERIFY · MY-FRONTIER.JSON
  ····························································
  total findings:   1
  signed:           1
  unsigned:         0
  valid:            1
  invalid:          0

The signed finding now byte-replays identically across the Rust, Python, and TypeScript reducers. Anyone with the file and the public key can verify locally.

7 · Publish (optional)

$ vela registry publish my-frontier.json \
    --owner reviewer:demo \
    --key keys/private.key \
    --to https://vela-hub.fly.dev

The hub verifies the signed manifest and promotes the frontier into event-first read state. Skip this step if you're staying local.