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Installation snarkOS

Table of Contents​

1. Overview​

snarkOS is a decentralized operating system for zero-knowledge applications. This code forms the backbone of Aleo network, which verifies transactions and stores the encrypted state applications in a publicly-verifiable manner.

2. Build Guide​

2.1 Requirements​

The following are minimum requirements to run an Aleo node:

  • OS: 64-bit architectures only, latest up-to-date for security
    • Clients: Ubuntu 20.04, macOS Ventura or later, Windows 11 or later
    • Provers: Ubuntu 20.04, macOS Ventura or later
    • Validators: Ubuntu 20.04
  • CPU: 64-bit architectures only
    • Clients: 32-cores
    • Provers: 32-cores (64-cores preferred)
    • Validators: 32-cores (64-cores preferred)
  • RAM: DDR4 or better
    • Clients: 32GB of memory
    • Provers: 32GB of memory (64GB or larger preferred)
    • Validators: 64GB of memory (128GB or larger preferred)
  • Storage: PCIe Gen 3 x4, PCIe Gen 4 x2 NVME SSD, or better
    • Clients: 300GB of disk space
    • Provers: 32GB of disk space
    • Validators: 2TB of disk space (4TB or larger preferred)
  • Network: Symmetric, commercial, always-on
    • Clients: 100Mbps of upload and download bandwidth
    • Provers: 500Mbps of upload and download bandwidth
    • Validators: 1000Mbps of upload and download bandwidth
  • GPU:
    • Clients: Not required at this time
    • Provers: CUDA-enabled GPU (optional)
    • Validators: Not required at this time

Please note to run an Aleo Prover that is competitive, the machine will require more than these requirements.

2.2 Installation​

Before beginning, please ensure your machine has Rust v1.76+ installed. Instructions to install Rust can be found here.

Start by cloning this Github repository:

git clone https://github.com/AleoHQ/snarkOS.git --depth 1

Next, move into the snarkOS directory:

cd snarkOS

[For Ubuntu users] A helper script to install dependencies is available. From the snarkOS directory, run:

./build_ubuntu.sh

Lastly, install snarkOS:

cargo install --path .

Please ensure ports 4130/tcp and 3030/tcp are open on your router and OS firewall.

3. Run an Aleo Node​

3a. Run an Aleo Client​

Start by following the instructions in the Build Guide.

Next, to start a client node, from the snarkOS directory, run:

./run-client.sh

3b. Run an Aleo Prover​

Start by following the instructions in the Build Guide.

Next, generate an Aleo account address:

snarkos account new

This will output a new Aleo account in the terminal.

Please remember to save the account private key and view key. The following is an example output:

 Attention - Remember to store this account private key and view key.

  Private Key  APrivateKey1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  <-- Save Me And Use In The Next Step
     View Key  AViewKey1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  <-- Save Me
      Address  aleo1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  <-- Save Me

Next, to start a proving node, from the snarkOS directory, run:

./run-prover.sh

When prompted, enter your Aleo private key:

Enter the Aleo Prover account private key:
APrivateKey1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

4. FAQs​

1. My node is unable to compile.​

  • Ensure your machine has Rust v1.66+ installed. Instructions to install Rust can be found here.
  • If large errors appear during compilation, try running cargo clean.
  • Ensure snarkOS is started using ./run-client.sh or ./run-prover.sh.

2. My node is unable to connect to peers on the network.​

  • Ensure ports 4130/tcp and 3030/tcp are open on your router and OS firewall.
  • Ensure snarkOS is started using ./run-client.sh or ./run-prover.sh.

3. I can't generate a new address​

  • Before running the command above (snarkos account new) try source ~/.bashrc
  • Also double-check the spelling of snarkos. Note the directory is /snarkOS, the command is snarkos

5. Command Line Interface​

To run a node with custom settings, refer to the full list of options and flags available in the snarkOS CLI.

The full list of CLI flags and options can be viewed with snarkos --help:

snarkOS 
The Aleo Team <[email protected]>

USAGE:
    snarkos [OPTIONS] <SUBCOMMAND>

OPTIONS:
    -h, --help                     Print help information
    -v, --verbosity <VERBOSITY>    Specify the verbosity [options: 0, 1, 2, 3] [default: 2]

SUBCOMMANDS:
    account    Commands to manage Aleo accounts
    clean      Cleans the snarkOS node storage
    help       Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)
    start      Starts the snarkOS node
    update     Update snarkOS

The following are the options for the snarkos start command:

USAGE:
    snarkos start [OPTIONS]

OPTIONS:
        --network <NETWORK_ID>                  Specify the network ID of this node [default: 3]
        
        --validator                             Specify this node as a validator
        --prover                                Specify this node as a prover
        --client                                Specify this node as a client
        
        --private-key <PRIVATE_KEY>             Specify the node's account private key
        --private-key-file <PRIVATE_KEY_FILE>   Specify the path to a file containing the node's account private key
        
        --node <IP:PORT>                        Specify the IP address and port for the node server [default: 0.0.0.0:4130]
        --connect <IP:PORT>                     Specify the IP address and port of a peer to connect to
 
        --rest <REST>                           Specify the IP address and port for the REST server [default: 0.0.0.0:3030]
        --norest                                If the flag is set, the node will not initialize the REST server
        
        --nodisplay                             If the flag is set, the node will not render the display
        --verbosity <VERBOSITY_LEVEL>           Specify the verbosity of the node [options: 0, 1, 2, 3] [default: 2]
        --logfile <PATH>                        Specify the path to the file where logs will be stored [default: /tmp/snarkos.log]
        
        --dev <NODE_ID>                         Enables development mode, specify a unique ID for this node
        -h, --help                              Print help information

6. Development​

6.1 Quick Start​

In the first terminal, start the first validator by running:

cargo run --release -- start --nodisplay --dev 0 --validator

In the second terminal, start the second validator by running:

cargo run --release -- start --nodisplay --dev 1 --validator

In the third terminal, start the third validator by running:

cargo run --release -- start --nodisplay --dev 2 --validator

In the fourth terminal, start the fourth validator by running:

cargo run --release -- start --nodisplay --dev 3 --validator

From here, this procedure can be used to further start-up provers and clients.

6.2 Operations​

It is important to initialize the nodes starting from 0 and incrementing by 1 for each new node.

The following is a list of options to initialize a node (replace <NODE_ID> with a number starting from 0):

cargo run --release -- start --nodisplay --dev <NODE_ID> --validator
cargo run --release -- start --nodisplay --dev <NODE_ID> --prover
cargo run --release -- start --nodisplay --dev <NODE_ID> --client
cargo run --release -- start --nodisplay --dev <NODE_ID>

When no node type is specified, the node will default to --client.

6.3 Local Devnet​

6.3.1 Install tmux​

To run a local devnet with the script, start by installing tmux.

macOS

To install tmux on macOS, you can use the Homebrew package manager. If you haven't installed Homebrew yet, you can find instructions at their website.

# Once Homebrew is installed, run:
brew install tmux
Ubuntu

On Ubuntu and other Debian-based systems, you can use the apt package manager:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install tmux
Windows

There are a couple of ways to use tmux on Windows:

Using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)​

  1. First, install Windows Subsystem for Linux.
  2. Once WSL is set up and you have a Linux distribution installed (e.g., Ubuntu), open your WSL terminal and install tmux as you would on a native Linux system:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install tmux

6.3.2 Start a Local Devnet​

To start a local devnet, run:

./devnet.sh

Follow the instructions in the terminal to start the devnet.

6.3.3 View a Local Devnet​

Switch Nodes (forward)​

To toggle to the next node in a local devnet, run:

Ctrl+b n

Switch Nodes (backwards)​

To toggle to the previous node in a local devnet, run:

Ctrl+b p

Select a Node (choose-tree)​

To select a node in a local devnet, run:

Ctrl+b w

Select a Node (manually)​

To select a node manually in a local devnet, run:

Ctrl+b :select-window -t {NODE_ID}

6.3.4 Stop a Local Devnet​

To stop a local devnet, run:

Ctrl+b :kill-session

Then, press Enter.

Clean Up​

To clean up the node storage, run:

cargo run --release -- clean --dev <NODE_ID>

7. License​

We welcome all contributions to snarkOS. Please refer to the license for the terms of contributions.