diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index f33c274b5..a98c6710e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -66,6 +66,21 @@ jobs:
         run: sudo ./scripts/install-build-tools.sh
       - name: Lint with Pylint
         run: ./scripts/pylint.sh
+  shellcheck:
+    name: Shellcheck
+    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          submodules: recursive
+      - name: Install Shellcheck
+        run: |
+          sudo apt-get update
+          sudo apt-get install -y shellcheck
+      - name: Lint with Shellcheck
+        run: |
+          NUM_CORES=$(nproc)
+          find . -name '*.sh' -print0 | xargs -0 -n 1 -P $NUM_CORES shellcheck
   unit-and-integration-test:
     name: Unit and Integration Tests
     runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
@@ -84,7 +99,7 @@ jobs:
         run: ./scripts/test.sh
       - name: Shorten SHA
         id: vars
-        run: echo "::set-output name=sha_short::$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)"
+        run: echo "sha_short=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)" >> $GITHUB_ENV
       - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
         if: ${{ !env.ACT }}
         name: Archive Test Results
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index ebb163ae7..fddc84dfe 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ CMakeFiles/
 plots/
 .deps/
 .libs/
+.cache/
 
 # Database
 blocks.dat
diff --git a/benchmarks/transactions.cpp b/benchmarks/transactions.cpp
index 83aa6c5e7..0350d6f2a 100644
--- a/benchmarks/transactions.cpp
+++ b/benchmarks/transactions.cpp
@@ -41,21 +41,21 @@ void reset_wallets(cbdc::transaction::wallet& w1,
 /// @brief Time an N-in, 1-out transaction.
 /// @brief Note: handles benchmark timing, do not time outside function.
 /// @param sender
-/// @param reciever
+/// @param receiver
 /// @param n_in
 /// @param state
 /// @return
 inline bool generate_Nto1_tx(cbdc::transaction::wallet& sender,
-                             cbdc::transaction::wallet& reciever,
+                             cbdc::transaction::wallet& receiver,
                              uint32_t n_in,
                              benchmark::State& state) {
     std::optional<cbdc::transaction::full_tx> maybe_tx{};
     state.ResumeTiming();
-    maybe_tx = sender.send_to(n_in * 2, reciever.generate_key(), true).value();
+    maybe_tx = sender.send_to(n_in * 2, receiver.generate_key(), true).value();
     state.PauseTiming();
     if(maybe_tx.has_value()) {
         sender.confirm_transaction(*maybe_tx);
-        reciever.confirm_transaction(*maybe_tx);
+        receiver.confirm_transaction(*maybe_tx);
         return true;
     }
     return false;
@@ -64,22 +64,22 @@ inline bool generate_Nto1_tx(cbdc::transaction::wallet& sender,
 /// @brief Time an N-in, 2-out transaction.
 /// @brief Note: handles benchmark timing, do not time outside function.
 /// @param sender
-/// @param reciever
+/// @param receiver
 /// @param n_in
 /// @param state
 /// @return
 inline bool generate_Nto2_tx(cbdc::transaction::wallet& sender,
-                             cbdc::transaction::wallet& reciever,
+                             cbdc::transaction::wallet& receiver,
                              uint32_t n_in,
                              benchmark::State& state) {
     std::optional<cbdc::transaction::full_tx> maybe_tx{};
     state.ResumeTiming();
     maybe_tx
-        = sender.send_to(n_in * 2 - 1, reciever.generate_key(), true).value();
+        = sender.send_to(n_in * 2 - 1, receiver.generate_key(), true).value();
     state.PauseTiming();
     if(maybe_tx.has_value()) {
         sender.confirm_transaction(*maybe_tx);
-        reciever.confirm_transaction(*maybe_tx);
+        receiver.confirm_transaction(*maybe_tx);
         return true;
     }
     return false;
diff --git a/scripts/build.sh b/scripts/build.sh
index 90d07991d..542714937 100755
--- a/scripts/build.sh
+++ b/scripts/build.sh
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 set -e
 
 help() {
-    if [ $# -gt 0 ]; then
+    if [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; then
         printf 'Unexpected Argument (%s)\n' "$1"
     fi
     printf 'HELP: Usage: %s [Debug|Release|Profiling]\n' "$0"
@@ -13,15 +13,15 @@ help() {
 # Note:
 # CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="Debug" adds "-O0 -g" flags by default
 # CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="Release" adds "-O3 -DNDEBUG" by default
-if [[ "$BUILD_DEBUG" == "1" ]]; then
+if [[ "${BUILD_DEBUG}" == "1" ]]; then
     CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="Debug"
-elif [[ "$BUILD_RELEASE" == "1" ]]; then
+elif [[ "${BUILD_RELEASE}" == "1" ]]; then
     CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="Release"
-elif [[ "$BUILD_PROFILING" == "1" ]]; then
+elif [[ "${BUILD_PROFILING}" == "1" ]]; then
     CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="Profiling"
 fi
 
-if [ $# -gt 0 ]; then
+if [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; then
     case "$1" in
         Release|--release|-r) CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="Release";;
         Profiling|--profiling|-p) CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="Profiling";;
@@ -36,29 +36,30 @@ echo "Building..."
 # see PREFIX in ./scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
 PREFIX="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")"/.. && pwd)/prefix"
 
-if [ -z ${BUILD_DIR+x} ]; then
+if [[ -z ${BUILD_DIR+x} ]]; then
     export BUILD_DIR=build
 fi
 
-mkdir -p $BUILD_DIR
-cd $BUILD_DIR
+mkdir -p "${BUILD_DIR}"
+cd "${BUILD_DIR}"
 
 CMAKE_FLAGS=-DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="${PREFIX}"
 CPUS=1
-if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
+if [[ "${OSTYPE}" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
     CPUS=$(grep -c ^processor /proc/cpuinfo)
-elif [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
+elif [[ "${OSTYPE}" == "darwin"* ]]; then
     CPUS=$(sysctl -n hw.ncpu)
     XCODE_CMDLINE_DIR=$(xcode-select -p)
     CMAKE_FLAGS+=" -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=${XCODE_CMDLINE_DIR}/usr/bin/clang -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=${XCODE_CMDLINE_DIR}/usr/bin/clang++ -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS=-isystem\ /usr/local/include -DCMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS=ON"
 fi
 
-if [[ -z $CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE ]]; then
+if [[ -z "${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}" ]]; then
     echo "CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE not set, defaulting to debug"
     CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="Debug"
 fi
 
-echo "Building $CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE"
+echo "Building ${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}"
 eval "cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE} ${CMAKE_FLAGS} .."
-make -j$CPUS
+make "-j${CPUS}"
 
+echo; echo "Build complete"; echo
diff --git a/scripts/install-build-tools.sh b/scripts/install-build-tools.sh
index 523789d99..c8aba49e1 100755
--- a/scripts/install-build-tools.sh
+++ b/scripts/install-build-tools.sh
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ ENV_NAME=".py_venv"
 # make a virtual environement to install python packages
 create_venv_install_python() {
     PY_LOC=$1
-    if [[ -z "$PY_LOC" ]]; then
+    if [[ -z "${PY_LOC}" ]]; then
         echo "Python path not provided"
         exit 1
     fi
@@ -57,14 +57,14 @@ create_venv_install_python() {
     fi
     # install pip for linux
     if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
-        if ! $SUDO apt install -y python3-pip; then
+        if ! ${SUDO} apt install -y python3-pip; then
             echo "Failed to install python3-pip"
             wget https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py
-            $SUDO python${PY_VERSION} get-pip.py
+            ${SUDO} python${PY_VERSION} get-pip.py
             rm get-pip.py
         fi
         # add deadsnakes to download the python venv module
-        $SUDO add-apt-repository -y ppa:deadsnakes/ppa
+        ${SUDO} add-apt-repository -y ppa:deadsnakes/ppa
         # make sure deadsnakes is available
         DEADSNAKES_AVAIL=$(wget -q --spider http://ppa.launchpad.net/deadsnakes/ppa/ubuntu/dists/focal/Release; echo $?)
         if [[ $DEADSNAKES_AVAIL -ne 0 ]]; then
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ create_venv_install_python() {
             exit 1
         fi
         # install python3 venv module for linux
-        if ! $SUDO apt install -y "python${PY_VERSION}-venv"; then
+        if ! ${SUDO} apt install -y "python${PY_VERSION}-venv"; then
             echo "Failed to install python${PY_VERSION}-venv"
             exit 1
         else
@@ -102,9 +102,9 @@ create_venv_install_python() {
     deactivate
 }
 
-echo "OS Type: $OSTYPE"
+echo "OS Type: ${OSTYPE}"
 # macOS install with homebrew
-if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
+if [[ "${OSTYPE}" == "darwin"* ]]; then
 
     # macOS does not support running shell scripts as root with homebrew
     if [[ $EUID -eq 0 ]]; then
@@ -112,9 +112,10 @@ if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
         exit 1
     fi
 
+    # either use $CPUS for parallelization or delete from this script
     CPUS=$(sysctl -n hw.ncpu)
     # ensure development environment is set correctly for clang
-    $SUDO xcode-select -switch /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools
+    ${SUDO} xcode-select -switch /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools
 
     if ! brew --version &>/dev/null; then
         echo -e "${cyan}Homebrew is required to install dependencies.${end}"
@@ -127,21 +128,21 @@ if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
     BREW_ROOT=$(brew --prefix)
 
     CLANG_TIDY=/usr/local/bin/clang-tidy
-    if [[ ! -L "$CLANG_TIDY" ]]; then
-        $SUDO ln -s "${BREW_ROOT}/opt/llvm@14/bin/clang-tidy" /usr/local/bin/clang-tidy
+    if [[ ! -L "${CLANG_TIDY}" ]]; then
+        ${SUDO} ln -s "${BREW_ROOT}/opt/llvm@14/bin/clang-tidy" /usr/local/bin/clang-tidy
     fi
     GMAKE=/usr/local/bin/gmake
-    if [[ ! -L "$GMAKE" ]]; then
-        $SUDO ln -s $(xcode-select -p)/usr/bin/gnumake /usr/local/bin/gmake
+    if [[ ! -L "${GMAKE}" ]]; then
+        ${SUDO} ln -s $(xcode-select -p)/usr/bin/gnumake /usr/local/bin/gmake
     fi
 
     # install valid python version if not installed yet
-    if [[ -z "$PY_INSTALLED" ]]; then
+    if [[ -z "${PY_INSTALLED}" ]]; then
         PY_VERS=${PYTHON_VERSIONS[0]}
         FULL_PY="python${PY_VERS}"
 
         MAX_RETRIES=2
-        while [[ $MAX_RETRIES -gt 0 ]]; do
+        while [[ ${MAX_RETRIES} -gt 0 ]]; do
             # try to install python version from homebrew and verify installation
             if brew install "${FULL_PY}"; then
                 echo "${FULL_PY} installed successfully"
@@ -151,50 +152,50 @@ if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
             MAX_RETRIES=$((MAX_RETRIES - 1))
             sleep 1
         done
-        if [[ $MAX_RETRIES -eq 0 ]]; then
+        if [[ ${MAX_RETRIES} -eq 0 ]]; then
             echo "Python3 install with homebrew failed, attempted on ${FULL_PY}"
             exit 1
         fi
     fi
 # Linux install with apt
-elif [[ "$OSTYPE" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
+elif [[ "${OSTYPE}" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
     # avoids getting stuck on interactive prompts which is essential for CI/CD
     export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
-    $SUDO apt update -y
-    $SUDO apt install -y build-essential wget cmake libgtest-dev libbenchmark-dev \
+    ${SUDO} apt update -y
+    ${SUDO} apt install -y build-essential wget cmake libgtest-dev libbenchmark-dev \
         lcov git software-properties-common rsync unzip bc
 
     # Add LLVM GPG key (apt-key is deprecated in Ubuntu 21.04+ so using gpg)
     wget -qO - https://apt.llvm.org/llvm-snapshot.gpg.key | \
         gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/llvm-archive-keyring.gpg
     echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/llvm-archive-keyring.gpg] http://apt.llvm.org/focal/ llvm-toolchain-focal-14 main" | \
-        $SUDO tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/llvm.list
+        ${SUDO} tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/llvm.list
 
-    $SUDO apt update -y
-    $SUDO apt install -y clang-format-14 clang-tidy-14
-    $SUDO ln -sf $(which clang-format-14) /usr/local/bin/clang-format
-    $SUDO ln -sf $(which clang-tidy-14) /usr/local/bin/clang-tidy
+    ${SUDO} apt update -y
+    ${SUDO} apt install -y clang-format-14 clang-tidy-14
+    ${SUDO} ln -sf "$(which clang-format-14)" /usr/local/bin/clang-format
+    ${SUDO} ln -sf "$(which clang-tidy-14)" /usr/local/bin/clang-tidy
 
     # install valid python version if not installed yet
-    if [[ -z "$PY_INSTALLED" ]]; then
+    if [[ -z "${PY_INSTALLED}" ]]; then
         PY_VERS=${PYTHON_VERSIONS[0]}
         FULL_PY="python${PY_VERS}"
 
         # try to install python version from apt and verify installation
-        $SUDO apt install -y software-properties-common
-        $SUDO add-apt-repository -y ppa:deadsnakes/ppa
-        $SUDO apt update -y
+        ${SUDO} apt install -y software-properties-common
+        ${SUDO} add-apt-repository -y ppa:deadsnakes/ppa
+        ${SUDO} apt update -y
 
         DEADSNAKES_AVAIL=$(wget -q --spider http://ppa.launchpad.net/deadsnakes/ppa/ubuntu/dists/focal/Release; echo $?)
-        if [[ $DEADSNAKES_AVAIL -ne 0 ]]; then
+        if [[ ${DEADSNAKES_AVAIL} -ne 0 ]]; then
             echo "Failed to add deadsnakes which is needed to install python3"
             exit 1
         fi
 
         MAX_RETRIES=2
-        while [[ $MAX_RETRIES -gt 0 ]]; do
+        while [[ ${MAX_RETRIES} -gt 0 ]]; do
             # install python3 valid version and venv module
-            if $SUDO apt install -y ${FULL_PY}; then
+            if ${SUDO} apt install -y "${FULL_PY}"; then
                 echo "${FULL_PY} installed successfully"
                 PY_INSTALLED=${PY_VERS}
                 break
@@ -202,7 +203,7 @@ elif [[ "$OSTYPE" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
             MAX_RETRIES=$((MAX_RETRIES - 1))
             sleep 1
         done
-        if [[ $MAX_RETRIES -eq 0 ]]; then
+        if [[ ${MAX_RETRIES} -eq 0 ]]; then
             echo "Python3 install with apt and deadsnakes failed, attempted on ${FULL_PY}"
             exit 1
         fi
@@ -216,7 +217,7 @@ if ! which "python${PY_INSTALLED}" &> /dev/null; then
 else
     # create virtual environment and install python packages for the valid python version
     PYTHON_PATH=$(which "python${PY_INSTALLED}")
-    create_venv_install_python "${PYTHON_PATH}" ${PY_INSTALLED}
+    create_venv_install_python "${PYTHON_PATH}" "${PY_INSTALLED}"
 fi
 echo "To activate the virtual env to run python, run 'source ./scripts/activate-venv.sh'"
 
@@ -224,8 +225,8 @@ PYTHON_TIDY=/usr/local/bin/run-clang-tidy.py
 if [[ ! -f "${PYTHON_TIDY}" ]]; then
     echo -e "${green}Copying run-clang-tidy to /usr/local/bin${end}"
     wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/llvm/llvm-project/e837ce2a32369b2e9e8e5d60270c072c7dd63827/clang-tools-extra/clang-tidy/tool/run-clang-tidy.py
-    $SUDO mv run-clang-tidy.py /usr/local/bin
+    ${SUDO} mv run-clang-tidy.py /usr/local/bin
 fi
 
-echo "Build environment setup complete."
-echo "Next run './scripts/setup-dependencies.sh'."
+echo; echo "Build environment setup complete."
+echo "Next run './scripts/setup-dependencies.sh'"; echo
diff --git a/scripts/lint.sh b/scripts/lint.sh
index c6e4b0936..ee1e6d81d 100755
--- a/scripts/lint.sh
+++ b/scripts/lint.sh
@@ -4,30 +4,41 @@ set -e
 # Usage: ./scripts/lint.sh
 echo "Linting..."
 
-check_files=$(git ls-files \
-              | grep -v -E ".jpg|.svg|3rdparty" | cat)
+# GIT_FILES=$(git ls-files)
+CHECK_FILES=$(git ls-files | grep -v -E ".jpg|.svg|3rdparty" | cat)
 
-whitespace_files=$(printf '%s' "${check_files[@]}" | xargs egrep -l " +$" | grep -v -E ".md" | cat)
+WHITESPACE_FILES=$(printf '%s' "${check_files[@]}" | xargs egrep -l " +$" | grep -v -E ".md" | cat)
 
-if [ -n "$whitespace_files" ]; then
+if [[ -n "${WHITESPACE_FILES}" ]]; then
     echo "The following files have trailing whitespace:"
-    printf '%s\n' "${whitespace_files[@]}"
+    printf '%s\n' "${WHITESPACE_FILES[@]}"
 fi
 
-newline_files=$(printf '%s' "${check_files[@]}" | xargs -r -I {} bash -c 'test "$(tail -c 1 "{}" | wc -l)" -eq 0 && echo {}' | cat)
+NEWLINE_FILES=$(printf '%s' "${CHECK_FILES[@]}" | \
+                xargs -r -I {} bash -c 'test "$(tail -c 1 "{}" | wc -l)" -eq 0 && echo {}' | cat)
 
-if [ -n "$newline_files" ] ; then
+if [[ -n "${NEWLINE_FILES}" ]] ; then
     echo "The following files need an EOF newline:"
-    printf '%s\n' "${newline_files[@]}"
+    printf '%s\n' "${NEWLINE_FILES[@]}"
 fi
 
-if [ -n "$whitespace_files" ] || [ -n "$newline_files" ] ; then
+if [[ -n "${WHITESPACE_FILES}" ]] || [[ -n "${NEWLINE_FILES}" ]] ; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
-check_format_files=$(git ls-files | grep -E "tools|tests|src|cmake-tests" \
-                     | grep -E "\..*pp")
-clang-format --style=file --Werror --dry-run ${check_format_files[@]}
+# enable parallelization for clang-format and clang-tidy
+NUM_CORES=1
+if [[ "${OSTYPE}" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
+    NUM_CORES=$(grep -c ^processor /proc/cpuinfo)
+elif [[ "${OSTYPE}" == "darwin"* ]]; then
+    NUM_CORES=$(sysctl -n hw.ncpu)
+fi
+
+CHECK_FORMAT_FILES=$(git ls-files \
+                    | grep -E "tools|tests|src|cmake-tests" \
+                    | grep -E "\..*pp")
+echo "${CHECK_FORMAT_FILES}" | \
+    xargs -n1 -P"${NUM_CORES}" -I{} clang-format --style=file --Werror --dry-run {}
 
 if ! command -v clang-tidy &>/dev/null; then
     echo "clang-tidy does not appear to be installed"
@@ -35,10 +46,10 @@ if ! command -v clang-tidy &>/dev/null; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
-if [ -z ${BUILD_DIR+x} ]; then
+if [[ -z "${BUILD_DIR+x}" ]]; then
     echo "BUILD_DIR environment variable not found. Assuming default: build"
     export BUILD_DIR=build
-    if [ ! -d "${BUILD_DIR}" ]; then
+    if [[ ! -d "${BUILD_DIR}" ]]; then
         echo "${BUILD_DIR} directory not found. Please set BUILD_DIR or run \`export BUILD_DIR=${BUILD_DIR}; build.sh\` before linting."
         exit 1
     fi
@@ -46,6 +57,6 @@ fi
 
 # use python from the virtual environment for clang-tidy
 if source "./scripts/activate-venv.sh"; then
-    python /usr/local/bin/run-clang-tidy.py -p ${BUILD_DIR} "tests/.*/.*\.cpp|src/.*/.*\.cpp|tools/.*/.*\.cpp"
+    python /usr/local/bin/run-clang-tidy.py -j "${NUM_CORES}" -p "${BUILD_DIR}" "tests/.*/.*\.cpp|src/.*/.*\.cpp|tools/.*/.*\.cpp"
     deactivate
 fi
diff --git a/scripts/setup-dependencies.sh b/scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
index ea4b4c771..e8978403c 100755
--- a/scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
+++ b/scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
@@ -11,44 +11,44 @@ set -e
 # install in a custom prefix rather than /usr/local. by default, this
 # chooses "prefix" directory alongside "scripts" directory.
 PREFIX="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")"/.. && pwd)/prefix"
-echo "Will install local dependencies in the following prefix: $PREFIX"
-mkdir -p "$PREFIX"/{lib,include}
+echo "Will install local dependencies in the following prefix: ${PREFIX}"
+mkdir -p "${PREFIX}"/{lib,include}
 
 CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="Debug"
-if [[ "$BUILD_RELEASE" == "1" ]]; then
+if [[ "${BUILD_RELEASE}" == "1" ]]; then
     CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="Release"
 fi
 
 CPUS=1
-if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
+if [[ "${OSTYPE}" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
     CPUS=$(grep -c ^processor /proc/cpuinfo)
-elif [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
+elif [[ "${OSTYPE}" == "darwin"* ]]; then
     CPUS=$(sysctl -n hw.ncpu)
 fi
 
 LEVELDB_VERSION="1.23"
 echo -e "${green}Building LevelDB from sources...${end}"
-wget https://github.com/google/leveldb/archive/${LEVELDB_VERSION}.tar.gz
+wget "https://github.com/google/leveldb/archive/${LEVELDB_VERSION}.tar.gz"
 rm -rf "leveldb-${LEVELDB_VERSION}-${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}"
-tar xzvf ${LEVELDB_VERSION}.tar.gz
-rm -rf ${LEVELDB_VERSION}.tar.gz
-mv leveldb-${LEVELDB_VERSION} "leveldb-${LEVELDB_VERSION}-${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}"
+tar xzvf "${LEVELDB_VERSION}.tar.gz"
+rm -rf "${LEVELDB_VERSION}.tar.gz"
+mv "leveldb-${LEVELDB_VERSION}" "leveldb-${LEVELDB_VERSION}-${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}"
 cd "leveldb-${LEVELDB_VERSION}-${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}"
-cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${PREFIX}" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE} -DLEVELDB_BUILD_TESTS=0 -DLEVELDB_BUILD_BENCHMARKS=0 -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=0 -DHAVE_SNAPPY=0 .
-make -j$CPUS
+cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${PREFIX}" "-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}" -DLEVELDB_BUILD_TESTS=0 -DLEVELDB_BUILD_BENCHMARKS=0 -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=0 -DHAVE_SNAPPY=0 .
+make "-j${CPUS}"
 make install
 cd ..
 
 NURAFT_VERSION="1.3.0"
 echo -e "${green}Building NuRaft from sources...${end}"
-wget https://github.com/eBay/NuRaft/archive/v${NURAFT_VERSION}.tar.gz
+wget "https://github.com/eBay/NuRaft/archive/v${NURAFT_VERSION}.tar.gz"
 rm -rf "NuRaft-${NURAFT_VERSION}-${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}"
-tar xzvf v${NURAFT_VERSION}.tar.gz
-rm v${NURAFT_VERSION}.tar.gz
-mv NuRaft-${NURAFT_VERSION} "NuRaft-${NURAFT_VERSION}-${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}"
+tar xzvf "v${NURAFT_VERSION}.tar.gz"
+rm "v${NURAFT_VERSION}.tar.gz"
+mv "NuRaft-${NURAFT_VERSION}" "NuRaft-${NURAFT_VERSION}-${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}"
 cd "NuRaft-${NURAFT_VERSION}-${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}"
 ./prepare.sh
-if [[ "$BUILD_RELEASE" == "1" ]]; then
+if [[ "${BUILD_RELEASE}" == "1" ]]; then
     # If we're doing a release build, remove the examples and tests
     rm -rf examples tests
     mkdir examples
@@ -58,12 +58,12 @@ if [[ "$BUILD_RELEASE" == "1" ]]; then
 fi
 mkdir -p build
 cd build
-cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${PREFIX}" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE} -DDISABLE_SSL=1 ..
-make -j$CPUS static_lib
+cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${PREFIX}" "-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}" -DDISABLE_SSL=1 ..
+make "-j${CPUS}" static_lib
 
-echo -e "${green}Copying nuraft to $PREFIX/lib and $PREFIX/include${end}"
-cp libnuraft.a $PREFIX/lib
-cp -r ../include/libnuraft $PREFIX/include
+echo -e "${green}Copying nuraft to \"${PREFIX}/lib\" and ${PREFIX}/include${end}"
+cp libnuraft.a "${PREFIX}/lib"
+cp -r ../include/libnuraft "${PREFIX}/include"
 
 cd ../..
 
@@ -72,63 +72,63 @@ rm -rf lua-5.4.3
 tar zxf lua-5.4.3.tar.gz
 rm -rf lua-5.4.3.tar.gz
 cd lua-5.4.3
-make -j$CPUS
-make INSTALL_TOP=$PREFIX install
+make "-j${CPUS}"
+make "INSTALL_TOP=${PREFIX}" install
 cd ..
 
-if [[ "$OSTYPE" != "darwin"* ]]; then
+if [[ "${OSTYPE}" != "darwin"* ]]; then
     # <NOTE> For Mac Silicon: this curl install creates problems for building tools/bench/parsec/evm/
     CURL_VERSION="7.83.1"
-    wget https://curl.se/download/curl-${CURL_VERSION}.tar.gz
-    rm -rf curl-${CURL_VERSION}
-    tar xzvf curl-${CURL_VERSION}.tar.gz
-    rm -rf curl-${CURL_VERSION}.tar.gz
-    mkdir -p curl-${CURL_VERSION}/build
-    cd curl-${CURL_VERSION}/build
+    wget "https://curl.se/download/curl-${CURL_VERSION}.tar.gz"
+    rm -rf "curl-${CURL_VERSION}"
+    tar xzvf "curl-${CURL_VERSION}.tar.gz"
+    rm -rf "curl-${CURL_VERSION}.tar.gz"
+    mkdir -p "curl-${CURL_VERSION}/build"
+    cd "curl-${CURL_VERSION}/build"
     ../configure --prefix="${PREFIX}" --disable-shared --without-ssl --without-libpsl --without-libidn2 --without-brotli --without-zstd --without-zlib
-    make -j$CPUS
+    make "-j${CPUS}"
     make install
     cd ../..
 fi
 
 JSONCPP_VERSION="1.9.5"
 wget https://github.com/open-source-parsers/jsoncpp/archive/refs/tags/${JSONCPP_VERSION}.tar.gz
-rm -rf jsoncpp-${JSONCPP_VERSION}
-tar xzvf ${JSONCPP_VERSION}.tar.gz
-rm -rf ${JSONCPP_VERSION}.tar.gz
-mkdir -p jsoncpp-${JSONCPP_VERSION}/build
-cd jsoncpp-${JSONCPP_VERSION}/build
+rm -rf "jsoncpp-${JSONCPP_VERSION}"
+tar xzvf "${JSONCPP_VERSION}.tar.gz"
+rm -rf "${JSONCPP_VERSION}.tar.gz"
+mkdir -p "jsoncpp-${JSONCPP_VERSION}/build"
+cd "jsoncpp-${JSONCPP_VERSION}/build"
 cmake .. -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${PREFIX}" -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=NO -DBUILD_STATIC_LIBS=YES -DJSONCPP_WITH_TESTS=OFF -DJSONCPP_WITH_POST_BUILD_UNITTEST=OFF
-make -j$CPUS
+make "-j${CPUS}"
 make install
 cd ../..
 
 # NOTE: evmc v10.0.0 requires evmone v0.9.0
 #       evmc v10.1.1 requires evmone v0.10.0 (which requires c++20)
 EVMC_VER=10.0.0
-wget https://github.com/ethereum/evmc/archive/refs/tags/v${EVMC_VER}.zip
-rm -rf evmc-${EVMC_VER}
-unzip v${EVMC_VER}.zip
-rm v${EVMC_VER}.zip
-cd evmc-${EVMC_VER}
+wget "https://github.com/ethereum/evmc/archive/refs/tags/v${EVMC_VER}.zip"
+rm -rf "evmc-${EVMC_VER}"
+unzip "v${EVMC_VER}.zip"
+rm "v${EVMC_VER}.zip"
+cd "evmc-${EVMC_VER}"
 mkdir build
 cd build
 cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${PREFIX}" ..
-make -j$CPUS
+make "-j${CPUS}"
 make install
 cd ../..
 
 # NOTE: updating evmone to v0.10.0 requires c++20
 EVMONE_VER=0.9.1
-wget https://github.com/ethereum/evmone/archive/refs/tags/v${EVMONE_VER}.zip
-rm -rf evmone-${EVMONE_VER}
-unzip v${EVMONE_VER}.zip
-rm v${EVMONE_VER}.zip
-cd evmone-${EVMONE_VER}
+wget "https://github.com/ethereum/evmone/archive/refs/tags/v${EVMONE_VER}.zip"
+rm -rf "evmone-${EVMONE_VER}"
+unzip "v${EVMONE_VER}.zip"
+rm "v${EVMONE_VER}.zip"
+cd "evmone-${EVMONE_VER}"
 rm -rf evmc
-mv ../evmc-${EVMC_VER} ./evmc
+mv "../evmc-${EVMC_VER}" ./evmc
 mkdir ./evmc/.git
-if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
+if [[ "${OSTYPE}" == "darwin"* ]]; then
     # Mac Silicon: clang 'ar' does not allow empty member list, fails w/ -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF
     cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${PREFIX}"
 else
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ cmake --build build --parallel
 cd build
 make install
 cd ../..
-rm -rf evmone-${EVMONE_VER}
+rm -rf "evmone-${EVMONE_VER}"
 
 wget https://github.com/chfast/ethash/archive/e3e002ecc25ca699349aa62fa38e7b7cc5f653af.zip
 rm -rf ethash-e3e002ecc25ca699349aa62fa38e7b7cc5f653af
@@ -149,8 +149,8 @@ mkdir build
 cd build
 cmake -DETHASH_BUILD_ETHASH=OFF -DETHASH_BUILD_TESTS=OFF ..
 cmake --build . --parallel
-cp ./lib/keccak/libkeccak.a $PREFIX/lib
-cp -r ../include/ethash $PREFIX/include
+cp ./lib/keccak/libkeccak.a "${PREFIX}/lib"
+cp -r ../include/ethash "${PREFIX}/include"
 cd ../..
 
 wget https://gnu.askapache.com/libmicrohttpd/libmicrohttpd-0.9.75.tar.gz
@@ -160,8 +160,11 @@ rm libmicrohttpd-0.9.75.tar.gz
 cd libmicrohttpd-0.9.75
 mkdir build
 cd build
-../configure --prefix="${PREFIX}" --disable-curl --disable-examples --disable-doc --disable-shared --disable-https
-make -j $CPUS
+../configure "--prefix=${PREFIX}" --disable-curl --disable-examples --disable-doc --disable-shared --disable-https
+make -j "${CPUS}"
 make install
 cd ../../
 rm -rf libmicrohttpd-0.9.75
+
+echo; echo "Setup dependencies complete."
+echo "Next run './scripts/build.sh'"; echo