Build Developer Environment Quickstart Guide with Docker Compose and Testnet Integration

[Inkman007]

Description

New contributors currently face a complex multi-step setup: configuring environment variables, starting Docker services, deploying to Testnet, and understanding how pipeline components interact. The existing CONTRIBUTING.md describes individual steps but does not provide a cohesive zero-to-hero guide that takes a developer from a fresh clone to a running local pipeline with a test wallet being scored.

What needs to be built

• Write docs/developer_quickstart.md covering: prerequisites, docker compose up step-by-step, running the full pipeline against Testnet with make run-testnet, verifying a test wallet's risk score, running the test suite, and a troubleshooting section for the 5 most common setup errors.
• Add make run-testnet Makefile target that starts Docker services and runs scripts/stream.py with Testnet defaults.
• Add make check-env Makefile target that validates all required env vars before pipeline start, producing a clear human-readable error per missing var.

Requirements

Functional

• The quickstart must be validated end-to-end by a person who has never seen the repo before merging.
• make check-env must produce a clear per-variable error message, not a Python traceback.

Testing

• CI must verify make check-env exits 0 with all env vars set.
• CI must verify make check-env exits non-zero with a specific missing env var and produces the expected error message.

Security

• The quickstart must prominently warn: never use mainnet keypairs for testing; never commit .env files; testnet and mainnet configs must be kept strictly separate.

Documentation

• This issue is primarily a documentation and tooling task; the quickstart guide and Makefile targets are the deliverables.

Contributor guidance

Area of specialty: Developer experience, documentation, DevOps, Docker, Stellar SDK.

How to contribute:

1. Comment describing your experience writing onboarding guides for open-source projects.
2. Propose the 5 most common first-time setup errors based on CONTRIBUTING.md and the existing issue tracker.
3. PR must include the quickstart guide, both Makefile targets, and both CI check-env tests.

[GOE001]

@GOE001 has applied to work on this issue as part of the Stellar Wave Program's 6th wave.

I would like to work on this

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[opeolarewaju5-glitch]

@opeolarewaju5-glitch has applied to work on this issue as part of the Stellar Wave Program's 6th wave.

Hello Maintainer, I can fix this issue.

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[chidinma000]

@chidinma000 has applied to work on this issue as part of the Stellar Wave Program's 6th wave.

can i work on this

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[vicky4196]

@vicky4196 has applied to work on this issue as part of the Stellar Wave Program's 6th wave.

I would like to work on this pls

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[Tobiloba0]

@Tobiloba0 has applied to work on this issue as part of the Stellar Wave Program's 6th wave.

Hi maintainer, I can solve this issue in 15 minutes.

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[drips-wave]

Congratulations, @vicky4196! 🎉 Your application was accepted by the repo's maintainers, and the issue is due on June 30, 2026.

🧑‍💻 @vicky4196: Please resolve the issue such that the repo's maintainers have enough time to review your contribution before the due date. You'll earn Points for completing the issue on-time, which will make you eligible for a share of the Stellar Wave Program's reward pool.

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