๐Getting Started (Docker)
The Witnet Mainnet is open for anyone to join and and run their own full node.
Hardware requirements
Hardware requirements are listed in the node operators docs:
๐ปNode RequirementsUp and running in 1 minute, using Docker
The most convenient method for running a Witnet node is through the witnet/witnet-rust
Docker image. For alternate installation methods or more complex setups, take a look at the docker-compose and systemd integrations.
Firstly, you need to install Docker on the device you will be running the node from. Note: some GNU/Linux distributions require some extra steps to get Docker up and running.
The Witnet docker image downloads and runs a Witnet node in in just a matter on seconds. To start a node, use:
docker run -d \
--name witnet_node \
--volume ~/.witnet:/.witnet \
--publish 21337:21337 \
--restart always \
witnet/witnet-rust
Restore from a Snapshot
The Witnet blockchain has been running since October 2020, so syncing a new node from scratch can take a long time. To speed this up, you can restore the node from a snapshot, reducing sync time from days to just a few hours.
Download the latest mainnet snapshot file
wget https://witnet.network/snapshots/mainnet-latest.tar.zst
Decompress the file
tar --zstd -xvf mainnet-latest.tar.zst
Make note of the folder path where the snapshot was extracted. The folder name will include the date it was created, and the .bin
file inside will include the corresponding epoch number.
Start the Node Using the Snapshot
docker run -d \
--name witnet_node \
--volume ~/.witnet:/.witnet \
--publish 21337:21337 \
--restart always \
witnet/witnet-rust \
node server --snapshot-import /path/to/your/witnet_chain_snapshot_mainnet.bin
๐ Replace /path/to/your/snapshot_file.bin
with the actual path to the .bin
file you extracted.
Example:
/20250610-snapshot-mainnet/witnet_chain_snapshot_mainnet_3457949.bin
Now what?
There are two important things you should do now to make the most of your Witnet node:
Open ports as explained below.
Follow the Next Steps guide to learn how to check the node status, progress and statistics:
Open your ports!
The best way to contribute to the growth and sustainability of the Witnet network is by opening up the listening port of your node, so that other nodes in the network can download block chain data from you and your transactions can be broadcasted more quickly.
For this feature to be effective, you will also need your IP address to be public (and ideally, static). If you are operating a node in your home network, you can request your ISP to assign you a static IP address or at least disable CGN on it.
A simple easy way to debug if you're probably behind a double NAT & will need to speak with your ISP is to run this command
tracert -h 5 8.8.8.8
if you notice your first 2 hops are behind private IPs then you're most likely behind a double NAT Private IP ranges:
192.168.x.x
10.x.x.x
172.16.x.x through 172.31.x.x
100.64.x.x through 100.127.x.x
Depending on your setup, this will normally imply changing the settings on your router or firewall so as to forward all incoming connections to port 21337
from your external IP into the IP of the device or interface where the node is running.
You can find out how to verify that your ports are open in the Next Steps guide:
๐Next stepsLast updated
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