Arka Network - Docs

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Run A Node ​

Initial Setup ​

Hardware ​

We recommend the following hardware specifications:

  • 16G RAM
  • 4vCPUs
  • 500GB Disk space

Setup Instructions ​

We recommend using Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04. The following setup instructions are assuming you are using one of these images and the setup may be different if not.

Install Dependencies ​

Update packages:

bash
sudo apt update

Install tools:

bash
sudo apt install git build-essential wget jq -y

Install Go ​

Download Go:

bash
wget https://dl.google.com/go/go1.23.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Verify data integrity:

bash
sha256sum go1.23.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Verify SHA-256 hash:

bash
9df122d6baf6f2275270306b92af3b09d7973fb1259257e284dba33c0db14f1b

Unpack Go download:

bash
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.22.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Set up environment:

bash
echo '
export GOPATH=$HOME/go
export GOROOT=/usr/local/go
export GOBIN=$GOPATH/bin
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin:$GOBIN' >> ~/.profile

Source profile file:

bash
. ~/.profile

Install Arka ​

The following instructions are for building and installing the arkad binary.

Installation ​

Clone the arka-network repository:

bash
git clone https://github.com/arka-labs/arka-network.git

Change to the arka-network directory:

bash
cd arka-network

Check out the latest version:

bash
git checkout main

Build and install the arkad binary:

bash
make install

Check to make sure the installation was successful:

bash
arkad -h

You should see the following:

bash
Arka application
....
....

Initialize Node ​

Create Accounts ​

In this section, you will create two test accounts. You will name the first account validator and the second account delegator. You will create both accounts using the test backend, meaning both accounts will not be securely stored and should not be used in a production environment. When using the test backend, accounts are stored in the home directory.

Create validator account:

bash
arkad keys add validator --keyring-backend test

Create delegator account:

bash
arkad keys add delegator --keyring-backend test

Initialize Node ​

Initializing the node will create the config and data and wasm directories within the home directory. The config directory is where configuration files for the node are stored and the data directory is where the data for the blockchain is stored and wasm directory is where cosmwasm contracts data is stored. The default home directory is ~/.arkaapp.

Initialize the node:

bash
arkad init validator --chain-id arka-local

In this case, validator is the name (or "moniker") of the node and arka-local is the chain ID. Feel free to change these values but make sure to use the same value for chain-id in the following steps.

Update Genesis ​

When the node was initialized, a genesis.json file was created within the config directory. In this section, you will be adding two genesis accounts (accounts with an initial token balance) and a genesis transaction (a transaction that registers the validator account in the validator set).

Update native staking token to uarka:

bash
sed -i "s/stake/uarka/g" ~/.arkaapp/config/genesis.json
  • Add validator account to genesis.json:
bash
arkad genesis add-genesis-account validator 1000000000000uarka  --keyring-backend test
  • Add delegator account to genesis.json:
bash
arkad genesis add-genesis-account delegator 1000000000000uarka  --keyring-backend test
  • Create genesis transaction:
bash
arkad genesis gentx validator 90000000000uarka --chain-id arka-local --keyring-backend test
  • Add genesis transaction to genesis.json:
bash
arkad genesis collect-gentxs

Now that you have updated the genesis.json file, you are ready to start the node. Starting a node with a new genesis file will create a new blockchain.

Start node ​

bash
arkad start --minimum-gas-prices 0uarka