> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://svpchain.gitbook.io/svpchain-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://svpchain.gitbook.io/svpchain-docs/chain/run-a-node.md).

# Run a node

Run a full svpchaind node — for indexing, dApp backends, and infra teams.

A full node serves JSON-RPC and WebSocket traffic for your own apps without the rate limits of public endpoints. It does **not** sign blocks — that's a [validator](/svpchain-docs/chain/validator-setup.md), which requires a partnership today.

This page is the full-node subset of the validator flow. If you intend to validate, follow [Validator setup](/svpchain-docs/chain/validator-setup.md) directly — it's a strict superset.

### Hardware

| Resource | Recommended                                                          |
| -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| CPU      | 8+ cores                                                             |
| RAM      | 32 GB (64 GB if you also run an indexer)                             |
| Disk     | NVMe SSD, 1 TB+ (with `--pruning default`; archive nodes are larger) |
| OS       | Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (x86-64) or equivalent                              |
| Network  | Stable public IP; port `26656` (P2P) reachable inbound               |

### Before you start

You'll need a few values from the network operators (or the published [Networks](/svpchain-docs/chain/networks.md) page):

| Placeholder          | What it is                                                                                                  |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `<GENESIS_URL>`      | URL to download the network's `genesis.json` (or a public RPC `/genesis`).                                  |
| `<SEEDS>`            | Comma-separated P2P seeds: `nodeid@host:26656`.                                                             |
| `<PERSISTENT_PEERS>` | Optional, same format.                                                                                      |
| `<RPC_URL>`          | A public CometBFT RPC for status checks and (optionally) state-sync.                                        |
| `<ETH_RPC_ENDPOINT>` | Ethereum JSON-RPC for the bridge daemon. Default `https://ethereum-sepolia-rpc.publicnode.com` for testnet. |

### Install

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### 1) System packages

```bash
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y curl jq git build-essential
```

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### 2) Install Go 1.23.8 and build the binary

```bash
ARCH=$(dpkg --print-architecture)
curl -fsSL "https://go.dev/dl/go1.23.8.linux-${ARCH}.tar.gz" -o /tmp/go.tgz
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go && sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf /tmp/go.tgz
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin:$HOME/go/bin
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin:$HOME/go/bin' >> ~/.bashrc

git clone https://github.com/svpchain/protocol.git
cd protocol
git checkout <RELEASE_TAG>
make install
svpchaind version
```

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### 3) Initialize and install genesis

```bash
export MONIKER="<your-node-name>"
svpchaind init "$MONIKER" --chain-id svp-2517-1
curl -fsSL "<GENESIS_URL>" -o ~/.svpchain/config/genesis.json
svpchaind validate-genesis ~/.svpchain/config/genesis.json
```

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### 4) Configure peers and EVM JSON-RPC

In `~/.svpchain/config/config.toml`:

```toml
[p2p]
seeds = "<SEEDS>"
persistent_peers = "<PERSISTENT_PEERS>"
pex = true
addr_book_strict = false
```

In `~/.svpchain/config/app.toml`, enable the EVM JSON-RPC server so your apps can talk to the node:

```toml
minimum-gas-prices = "2000000000asvp"   # 2 Gwei

[evm]
evm-chain-id = 2517

[json-rpc]
enable = true
address = "0.0.0.0:8545"
ws-address = "0.0.0.0:8546"
api = "eth,net,web3,debug"
```

{% hint style="warning" %}
Binding `:8545` to `0.0.0.0` makes your node's RPC publicly reachable. Put it behind a firewall or a reverse proxy with rate limits before doing so on the open internet.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### 5) Start the node under systemd

```bash
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/svpchaind.service >/dev/null <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=svpchaind full node
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
User=$USER
ExecStart=$HOME/go/bin/svpchaind start \\
  --home $HOME/.svpchain \\
  --bridge-daemon-eth-rpc-endpoint <ETH_RPC_ENDPOINT> \\
  --max-daemon-unhealthy-seconds 4294967295
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
LimitNOFILE=65535

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now svpchaind
sudo journalctl -u svpchaind -f
```

{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

### Verify

```bash
# Cosmos / CometBFT side — height should be rising
curl -s http://localhost:26657/status | jq '.result.sync_info | {height: .latest_block_height, catching_up}'

# EVM side — same height in hex
curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8545 \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_blockNumber","params":[],"id":1}'
```

The node is healthy when `catching_up` is `false` and both block heights agree.

### Sync modes

* **Full sync from genesis** (default) — replay every block. Slow on a long chain.
* **State-sync** — fetch a recent state snapshot from RPC peers. Configure `[statesync]` in `config.toml` with two `rpc_servers` (`<RPC_URL>`) and a recent trust height/hash. Ask the network operators for the current trust point.
* **Snapshot restore** — restore a published `~/.svpchain/data/` snapshot. Fastest if the network publishes one.

### Archive vs pruned

`--pruning default` keeps recent state and a sparse history of older heights — adequate for most apps and indexers. Run with `--pruning nothing` (archive mode) only if you need historical state queries (`eth_call` at old blocks). Archive disk usage grows roughly linearly with chain history.

### Next steps

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th>Operate</th><th data-card-target data-type="content-ref">Link</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Become a validator</td><td><a href="/svpchain-docs/chain/validator-setup.md">Validator setup</a></td></tr><tr><td>Add metrics and alerts</td><td><a href="/svpchain-docs/chain/monitoring.md">Monitoring</a></td></tr><tr><td>Index chain data</td><td><a href="/svpchain-docs/build/indexing-and-events.md">Indexing &amp; events</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


---

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