Posted on Jun 4 • Edited on Jun 5

Arweave AO Bootcamp 1/8 Introduction

Welcome to Arweave AO Bootcamp — a practical, in-depth guide to building with Arweave, the decentralized permanent storage layer, and AO, the hyper-parallel computing protocol built on top of it.

Whether you're new to decentralized infrastructure or already experimenting with on-chain compute, this tutorial series will walk you through everything from setup to advanced applications — step by step, with real code.

Why Arweave and AO?

Modern decentralized applications demand more than just immutable storage or simple contract execution. They require scalable compute, rich messaging, and developer-friendly tools — all without compromising decentralization.

This is exactly what Arweave + AO delivers:

Arweave offers permanent data storage with a one-time payment, no subscriptions, and no centralized dependencies. It’s a censorship-resistant, infinitely scalable data layer.
AO is a decentralized supercomputer built on Arweave, powered by an actor model that enables unlimited parallelism and composable units of execution.

Together, they form a new kind of decentralized stack — one capable of supporting applications at Web2 scale, with the resilience and openness of Web3.

What Makes AO Special?

AO is more than an execution environment — it’s an ecosystem.

Secured by Ethereum L1 restaking, the protocol has reached nearly \$1B in TVL within months of launch.
Its fair-launch token model ensures that liquidity flows directly to builders.
AO tokens are distributed on a Bitcoin-style halving schedule, rewarding long-term contributions from developers and operators.

AO isn't just another blockchain. It's the first decentralized protocol designed for real, production-grade compute.

What You'll Learn in This Bootcamp

Through hands-on tutorials and real-world examples, you’ll learn how to:

Set up a local development environment
Interact with Arweave (wallets, tokens, storage)
Build actor-based applications using AOS
Create and deploy your own custom VM
Understand AO’s token incentives and system architecture

No prior experience with Arweave or AO is required — but by the end of this series, you’ll be ready to ship your first decentralized app on this next-gen stack.

Let’s begin our journey into permanent storage and infinite compute.

ao-bootcamp/ ├── arweave-fundamentals/ # Arweave Basics │ ├── decentralized-storage.md # Arweave as Decentralized Storage │ ├── gateway-connection.md # Connecting to the Arweave Gateway │ ├── wallet-setup.md # Creating an Arweave Wallet │ ├── mint-ar-token.md # Minting AR Tokens │ ├── send-ar-token.md # Sending AR Tokens │ ├── save-data.md # Saving Data Permanently │ ├── query-graphql.md # Fetching Transactions with GraphQL │ └── bundle-transactions.md # Nesting & Bundling Transactions │ ├── ao-fundamentals/ # AO Basics │ ├── what-is-ao.md # What is AO? │ ├── actor-model.md # Actor Model & Messaging │ ├── architecture.md # AO Architecture Overview │ ├── wasm-modules.md # Intro to Wasm Modules │ ├── economy.md # AO Economic Model │ └── security.md # AO Security Model │ ├── aos-getting-started/ # Getting Started with AOS │ ├── setup.md # Setting Up AOS │ ├── connect-units.md # Connecting to Units │ ├── spawn-process.md # Spawning AOS Processes │ ├── lua-handlers.md # Basics of Lua Handlers │ ├── register-handlers.md # Creating & Registering Handlers │ ├── messaging.md # Sending & Receiving Messages │ └── best-practices.md # Dev Patterns & Best Practices │ ├── custom-vm/ # Building Your Own VM │ ├── loader.md # AO Loader Fundamentals │ ├── messenger-unit.md # Implementing a Messenger Unit │ ├── compute-unit.md # Implementing a Compute Unit │ ├── register-js.md # Registering JavaScript Modules │ └── test-process.md # Creating & Testing a Process │ ├── token-design/ # AO Token Design │ ├── principles.md # Core Principles of AO Tokens │ ├── ar-vs-ao.md # Relationship Between AR and AO Tokens │ ├── aoeth-and-bridges.md # aoETH and Bridged Assets │ └── dev-incentives.md # Token Incentives for Developers