Set Up a Full Node

Examples on this page are for mainnet deployments by dYdX token holders. For information on alternative deployment types, including testnet deployments in the United States, see the Network Constants page.

System requirements

To run a full node, the system that hosts the node must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Linux (Ubuntu Server 22.04.3 or later recommended)
• 8-core CPU (ARM or x86_64 architecture)
• 64 GB RAM
• 500 GB SSD NVMe Storage

Install dydxprotocold

The dydxprotocold binary contains the software you need to operate a full node. You must use the same version of the software as the network to which you want to connect.

1. Find the current version of the dYdX network.

2. Find the matching Release protocol version from the v4 Chain Releases (opens in a new tab) page. Download the compressed dydxprotocold file for your system.

   For example, for protocol version 5.0.5 on an AMD system, download dydxprotocold-v5.0.5-linux-amd64.tar.gz.

   Alternatively, you can install the latest release protocol by modifying this curl command (opens in a new tab) for your case.

3. Extract the binary.

   Extract the .tar.gz file that you downloaded. To run dydxprotocold from the command line, either rename the extracted file or create a symbolic link to the file:

   Option 1: Rename the file. Edit the filename from dydxprotocold-<version>-<architecture> to simply dydxprotocold. You might need to add your current directory to your $PATH or move the file to a directory in your $PATH.

   Option 2: Create a symbolic link to the file using the name dydxprotocold. Run the following command:

   ln -s /path/to/your/binary dydxprotocold

4. Initialize your data directory.

   First, make sure that your data directory is empty. In the example below, DYDX_HOME contains the path to the directory that must be empty.

   Then, run the dydxprotocold init command, supplying a chain ID, a path to a data directory, and a moniker for your node:

   # Example values
   CHAIN_ID=my-dydx-deployment
   DYDX_HOME=/path/to/your/data/directory
   NODE_MONIKER=my-dydx-fullnode
    
   dydxprotocold init --chain-id=$CHAIN_ID --home=$DYDX_HOME $NODE_MONIKER

After you initialize your data directory, your full node can write to it.

Install a snapshot of the dYdX chain's history

Installing a snapshot saves time by syncing your full node to the history of the dYdX chain. This avoids downloading and validating the entire blockchain.

1. Download the latest snapshot contents from https://bwarelabs.com/snapshots/dydx (opens in a new tab).

   If you can’t download the snapshot contents from Bware, you can download the snapshot contents from the following alternative sources:

   • https://polkachu.com/tendermint_snapshots/dydx (opens in a new tab)
   • https://dydx-archive-snapshot.kingnodes.com (opens in a new tab)
   • Also check Snapshot service

2. Extract the snapshot to your data directory.

   In your data directory, run the following command using your own snapshot filename:

   # Example value
   SNAPSHOT_FILENAME=dydx2024example
    
   lz4 -dc < $SNAPSHOT_FILENAME.tar.lz4 | tar xf -

When you start your full node, it will automatically use the snapshot you saved to its data directory.

Start your full node

Configuring and starting your full node for the first time allows it to sync with the dYdX chain network. If you saved a dYdX snapshot to your data directory, starting your node will first use that snapshot to quickly recreate most of the chain's history.

1. Configure parameters in your command line. Use the following syntax:

   # Example values
   SEED_LIST="123@seeds.polkachu.com:123,123@seeds.kingnodes.net:123"
   DYDX_HOME=/path/to/your/data/directory
    
   dydxprotocold start
   --p2p.seed=$SEED_LIST
   --home=$DYDX_HOME
   --non-validating-full-node=true

   Using the --p2p.seeds command line flag, provide a comma-separated list of node URIs in the blockchain network that you are connecting to. For a list of node URIs, see the Resources page section for Seed Nodes.

   Using the --home command line flag, provide the path to your data directory.

   Once you have entered your parameters, your command should resemble the following:

   dydxprotocold start --p2p.seeds="ade4d8bc8cbe014af6ebdf3cb7b1e9ad36f412c0@seeds.polkachu.com:23856,65b740ee326c9260c30af1f044e9cda63c73f7c1@seeds.kingnodes.net:23856,f04a77b92d0d86725cdb2d6b7a7eb0eda8c27089@dydx-mainnet-seed.bwarelabs.com:36656,20e1000e88125698264454a884812746c2eb4807@seeds.lavenderfive.com:23856,c2c2fcb5e6e4755e06b83b499aff93e97282f8e8@tenderseed.ccvalidators.com:26401,4f20c3e303c9515051b6276aeb89c0b88ee79f8f@seed.dydx.cros-nest.com:26656,a9cae4047d5c34772442322b10ef5600d8e54900@dydx-mainnet-seednode.allthatnode.com:26656,802607c6db8148b0c68c8a9ec1a86fd3ba606af6@64.227.38.88:26656,4c30c8a95e26b07b249813b677caab28bf0c54eb@rpc.dydx.nodestake.top:666,ebc272824924ea1a27ea3183dd0b9ba713494f83@dydx-mainnet-seed.autostake.com:27366" --home=$DYDX_HOME --non-validating-full-node=true > /tmp/fullnode.log 2>&1 &

   Run your command to start the full node.

2. Monitor your full node's progress by tailing the log (optional).

   To tail the log, run the following command:

   tail -f /tmp/fullnode.log

3. Confirm that your full node has finished syncing by comparing its current block to the dYdX chain. The full node is caught up with the dYdX chain head when it reaches the dYdX chain's current block.

   To determine your full node's current block, use a block explorer like this example on mintscan.io (opens in a new tab).

   To determine the dYdX chain's current block, use the program v4block_subscribe.py (opens in a new tab).

   Run the program with your full node IP address and port 26657:

   # Example values
   FULL_NODE_IP_ADDRESS=192.168.0.150
    
   python3 v4block_subscribe.py ws://$FULL_NODE_IP_ADDRESS:26657

When you have confirmed that your full node is up to date with the rest of the dYdX network, you can configure advanced settings and learn about best practices on the Running a Full Node page.