Deployment Creation | Akash Network - Your Guide to Decentralized Cloud

BME Deployment Flow:

Mint ACT first: User converts AKT to ACT via akash tx bme mint-act
Wait for epoch: ACT appears in balance after ~1 minute
Create deployment: SDL pricing and deposit must use uact (not uakt)
Escrow funded with ACT: User’s ACT balance decreases

CRITICAL: SDL Pricing Change With BME enabled, SDL pricing must be specified in uact instead of uakt. Example:

profiles:
  compute:
    web:
      resources:
        cpu:
          units: 0.5
        memory:
          size: 512Mi
        storage:
          size: 1Gi
  placement:
    dcloud:
      pricing:
        web:
          denom: uact    # <-- Must be uact, not uakt
          amount: 1000

ACT Minting Delay ACT mints are processed in epochs (default: every 10 blocks). After akash tx bme mint-act, the ACT will NOT appear in your bank balance immediately. Wait ~1 minute (10 blocks × ~6 sec/block) then check balance.

Required Tools

akash CLI configured for testnet
provider-services binary (required for sending manifests) — download from: https://github.com/akash-network/provider/releases

CLI Deployment Guide: For detailed deployment instructions, see: https://akash.network/docs/developers/deployment/cli/

⚠️ Important: Close all test deployments when Category 1 testing is complete to avoid unnecessary escrow drain.

Test 1.1: Create Standard Deployment

Objective: Verify complete deployment lifecycle from ACT minting through active lease, validating BME state at each step

Preconditions:

Provider is online and bidding
User has AKT balance (from faucet)
provider-services binary installed

Step 1.1.1: Mint ACT (Required Before Deployment)

Background: With BME, deployments require ACT for escrow deposits. Users must first convert AKT to ACT.

User Actions:

Mint ACT from AKT:
Terminal window
```
akash tx bme mint-act 100000000uakt --from <wallet> -y
```
(This converts 100 AKT to ACT)
Wait for epoch processing (~1 minute):
Terminal window
```
sleep 60
```
Verify ACT appeared in balance:
Terminal window
```
akash query bank balances <user-address>
```

Expected Results:

AKT balance decreased by ~100 AKT
ACT balance appears (amount = 100 × oracle_price)

Step 1.1.2: Record Pre-Deployment Baseline

User Actions:

Record baseline state:

akash query bank balances <user-address>
akash query bme vault-state
akash query oracle prices | head -n 15

Record These Values:

Metric	Baseline Value
User AKT Balance	_______
User ACT Balance	_______
VaultAKT	_______
OutstandingACT	_______
RemintCredits	_______
Oracle Price (AKT/USD)	_______

Step 1.1.3: Create Deployment

User Actions:

Ensure SDL file (deploy.yml) has uact pricing:

placement:
  akash:
    pricing:
      web:
        denom: uact    # MUST be uact
        amount: 100000

Submit deployment transaction with uact deposit:

akash tx deployment create deploy.yml \
  --from <wallet> \
  --deposit 5000000uact \
  -y

Note the DSEQ (deployment sequence) from output

Verify deployment created:

akash query deployment get --owner <user-address> --dseq <dseq>

Expected Results:

Transaction succeeds
Deployment state shows active
Order created for the deployment

Step 1.1.4: Accept Bid and Create Lease

User Actions:

Wait 10-30 seconds for provider to bid, then query bids:

akash query market bid list --owner <user-address> --dseq <dseq>

Accept the bid (creates lease):

akash tx market lease create \
  --dseq <dseq> \
  --provider <provider-address> \
  --from <wallet> \
  -y

Verify lease created:

akash query market lease list --owner <user-address> --dseq <dseq>

Expected Results:

At least one bid appears
Lease state shows active

Step 1.1.5: Send Manifest

Note: This step requires the provider-services binary. Download from: https://github.com/akash-network/provider/releases

User Actions:

Send manifest to provider:

provider-services send-manifest deploy.yml \
  --dseq <dseq> \
  --provider <provider-address> \
  --from <wallet>

Verify deployment is running:

akash query deployment get --owner <user-address> --dseq <dseq>

Expected Results:

Manifest send shows status: PASS
Deployment is active and running

Step 1.1.6: Post-Deployment Validation

User Actions:

Query updated state:

akash query bank balances <user-address>
akash query bme vault-state

Expected Results:

User ACT balance decreased by deposit amount (~5 ACT)
User AKT balance unchanged (minus gas fees)
Deployment escrow shows funded balance in ACT

Key Insight: BME conversion (AKT → ACT) happens at mint time (Step 1.1.1), not at deployment time. Deployment simply uses the user’s existing ACT balance.

⚠️ Important: Close this deployment when testing is complete:

akash tx deployment close --dseq <dseq> --from <wallet> -y

Proof to Submit:

Pre-deployment ACT balance
Deployment create tx hash and DSEQ (from tx output)

Lease status showing service ready:

provider-services lease-status --dseq <dseq> --provider <provider> --from <wallet>

Post-deployment ACT balance (confirming escrow deducted)

Test 1.2: Create Deployment - Insufficient Funds

Objective: Verify deployment fails gracefully with insufficient ACT balance

User Actions:

Check current ACT balance:
Terminal window
```
akash query bank balances <user-address>
```
Note the ACT balance (or confirm it’s 0)

Attempt deployment with deposit exceeding ACT balance:

akash tx deployment create deploy.yml \
  --from <wallet> \
  --deposit 999999999999uact \
  -y

Observe error

Expected Results:

Transaction fails with insufficient funds error
No ACT leaves wallet
BME vault state unchanged
No deployment created

Proof to Submit:

Current ACT balance (showing amount is less than attempted deposit)
Error message from deployment attempt: deposit invalid: insufficient balance

Test 1.3: Create Deployment - Minimum Deposit

Objective: Verify deployment works with minimum viable deposit amount

User Actions:

Ensure wallet has ACT balance (mint if needed):

akash tx bme mint-act 50000000uakt --from <wallet> -y
sleep 60

Create deployment with minimum deposit:

akash tx deployment create deploy.yml \
  --from <wallet> \
  --deposit 1000000uact \
  -y

Complete lease creation and manifest send (see Test 1.1 for full workflow)

Verify deployment is active:

akash query deployment get --owner <user-address> --dseq <dseq>

Expected Results:

Deployment created successfully with minimal deposit
Lease created (if provider bids)
Deployment may close quickly if escrow depletes rapidly

Note: Minimum deposit depends on provider pricing. Very low deposits may result in immediate escrow depletion.

⚠️ Important: Close deployment when done:

akash tx deployment close --dseq <dseq> --from <wallet> -y

Proof to Submit:

Deployment create tx hash with minimum deposit amount (e.g., 1000000uact)

Deployment state showing active:

akash query deployment get --owner <user-address> --dseq <dseq> | head -n 10

Bid received (showing provider address and price):

akash query market bid list --owner <user-address> --dseq <dseq> | head -n 20

Test 1.4: Multiple Deployments from Single Wallet

Objective: Verify account-level ACT pool funds multiple deployments correctly

Step 1.4.1: Setup and Baseline

User Actions:

Ensure wallet has sufficient AKT (500 AKT from faucet)
Mint ACT for all deployments:
Terminal window
```
akash tx bme mint-act 200000000uakt --from <wallet> -y
```
(This converts 200 AKT to ACT — enough for multiple deployments)
Wait for epoch processing (~1 minute):
Terminal window
```
sleep 60
```

Record initial state:

akash query bank balances <user-address>
akash query bme vault-state

Step 1.4.2: Create Deployment A

User Actions:

Create first deployment:

akash tx deployment create deploy.yml \
  --from <wallet> \
  --deposit 5000000uact \
  -y

Complete lease creation and manifest send (see Test 1.1)
Record DSEQ-A: _______

Step 1.4.3: Create Deployment B

User Actions:

Create second deployment:

akash tx deployment create deploy.yml \
  --from <wallet> \
  --deposit 5000000uact \
  -y

Complete lease creation and manifest send
Record DSEQ-B: _______

Step 1.4.4: Create Deployment C

User Actions:

Create third deployment:

akash tx deployment create deploy.yml \
  --from <wallet> \
  --deposit 5000000uact \
  -y

Complete lease creation and manifest send
Record DSEQ-C: _______

Step 1.4.5: Final State Validation

User Actions:

akash query bank balances <user-address>
akash query bme vault-state
akash query deployment list --owner <user-address>
akash query market lease list --owner <user-address>

Expected Results:

User ACT balance decreased by ~15 ACT (3 × 5 ACT deposits)
All three deployments active with leases
Each deployment independently accounted
Cumulative vault state reflects the initial mint operation

⚠️ Important: Close all deployments when testing is complete:

akash tx deployment close --dseq <dseq-a> --from <wallet> -y
akash tx deployment close --dseq <dseq-b> --from <wallet> -y
akash tx deployment close --dseq <dseq-c> --from <wallet> -y

Proof to Submit:

Pre-test ACT balance

Both deployments showing active (query each individually):

akash query deployment get --owner <user-address> --dseq <dseq-a> | head -n 10
akash query deployment get --owner <user-address> --dseq <dseq-b> | head -n 10

Post-test ACT balance (confirming multiple escrow deposits deducted)