How to run an Ethereum node

System Requirements

Follow the Prerequisites:

• For an archive node of Ethereum mainnet: 3.5TB

• For a full node of Goerli testnet : 1TB

HDD NOT RECOMMENDED

SSD or NVMe. Do not recommend HDD - on HDD Erigon will always stay N blocks behind the chain tip, but will not fall behind.

Note that SSD performance degrades when close to capacity.

Install Erigon​

For MacOS and Linux, run the following commands to install the latest Erigon version on your machine (if you are on Windows follow first the dedicated installation guide or use Docker).

Clone the Erigon repository to your machine

git clone --branch v2.60.6 --single-branch https://github.com/ledgerwatch/erigon.git

Change directory to the Erigon folder:

cd erigon

Now you can compile Erigon

make erigon

This should create the binary at ./build/bin/erigon

Start Erigon​

If you want to be able to send transactions with your wallet and access the Ethereum network directly, contribute to the network decentralization it is advised to run Erigon with Caplin, the internal Consensus Layer (CL).

Alternatively you can also run Prysm, Lighthouse or any other Consensus Layer client alongside with Erigon. This will also allow you to access the Ethereum blockchain directly and give you the possibility to stake your ETH and do block production.

Erigon with Caplin

The command to start a Ethereum archive node is:

./build/bin/erigon --internalcl

The flag --internalcl makes Erigon run with Caplin, the embedded Consensus Layer.

Erigon with Prysm

Start Erigon

./build/bin/erigon

Install and run Prysm

Run a Node and Stake ETH using Prysm | Prysm

Prysm installation instructions

Prysm must fully synchronize before Erigon can start syncing, since Erigon requires an existing target head to sync to. The quickest way to get Prysm synced is to use a public checkpoint synchronization endpoint from the list at https://eth-clients.github.io/checkpoint-sync-endpoints.

In order to communicate with Erigon the execution endpoint <erigon address>:8551 must be specified, where <erigon address> is either //localhost or the IP address of the device running Erigon.

Prysm must point to the JWT secret automatically created by Erigon in the datadir directory (in the below example the default data directory is used).

./prysm.sh beacon-chain --execution-endpoint=http://localhost:8551 --mainnet --jwt-secret=/home/admin/.local/share/erigon/jwt.hex --checkpoint-sync-url=https://beaconstate.info --genesis-beacon-api-url=https://beaconstate.info

If your Prysm is on a different device, add --authrpc.addr 0.0.0.0 (Engine API listens on localhost by default) as well as --authrpc.vhosts <CL host>.

Erigon with Lighthouse

Start Erigon

./build/bin/erigon

Install and run Lighthouse

Installation - Lighthouse Book

Lighthouse installation instructions

Because Erigon needs a target head in order to sync, Lighthouse must be synced before Erigon may synchronize. The fastest way to synchronize Lighthouse is to use one of the many public checkpoint synchronization endpoints at https://eth-clients.github.io/checkpoint-sync-endpoints.

In order to communicate with Erigon the execution endpoint <erigon address>:8551 must be specified, where <erigon address> is either //localhost or the IP address of the device running Erigon.

Lighthouse must point to the JWT secret automatically created by Erigon in the datadir directory (in the below example the default data directory is used).

lighthouse bn \
  --network mainnet \
  --execution-endpoint http://localhost:8551 \
  --execution-jwt /home/admin/.local/share/erigon/jwt.hex \
  --checkpoint-sync-url https://mainnet.checkpoint.sigp.io \

Basic Configuration​

• If you want to store Erigon files in a non-default location, add flag --datadir=<your_data_dir>

  • Default data directory is /home/admin/.local/share/erigon.

• --prune=hrtc to run a full node with latest 90'000 blocks instead of an archive node. If you change your mind remember to delete the --datadir folder content.

• Default chain is --chain=mainnet, add the flag --chain=goerli for Goerli testnet, --chain=sepolia for Sepolia testnet or --chain=holesky for Holesky testnet.

• --http.addr="0.0.0.0" --http.api=eth,web3,net,debug,trace,txpool to use RPC and e.g. be able to connect your wallet.

• To increase download speed add --torrent.download.rate=512mb (default is 16mb)

To stop the Erigon node you can use the CTRL+C command. Additional flags can be added to configure the node with several options.