Detailed Generic Instructions

The following instructions detail how to set up a Taraxa lite node RPC. The instructions cover common operating systems that support Docker.

For specific instructions and examples for Windows Desktop or a Ubuntu Cloud Instance, refer to the respective guides: Windows Desktop and Cloud Instance.

Install Docker

The first step is installing Docker, if it isn’t already installed. Follow the Docker Desktop for Desktop installations or the Docker Engine for server installations.

Docker Desktop

For systems with a graphical interface (e.g., home desktops), follow the Docker Desktop installation guide.

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

During Docker Desktop installation on Windows, you may be prompted to install WSL. It is recommended to do so. Alternatively, install it manually by running wsl --install in an Administrator PowerShell session. WSL is required to be installed.

Docker Engine

For servers without a GUI or users preferring command-line tools, follow the Docker Engine installation guide.

Install Taraxa Node

The following steps set up the Taraxa node using the command shell:

Open a command shell:
- Windows: PowerShell or WSL
- Linux/macOS: Terminal
Create a new folder mainnet:
- Windows: mkdir C:/mainnet (PowerShell) or mkdir /mnt/c/mainnet (WSL)
- Linux/macOS: mkdir ~/mainnet
Navigate to the mainnet folder:
- Windows: cd C:/mainnet (PowerShell) or cd /mnt/c/mainnet (WSL)
- Linux/macOS: cd ~/mainnet

Download the Taraxa lite node Docker Compose file:

 wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Taraxa-project/taraxa-ops/master/taraxa_compose_mainnet/docker-compose.light.yml -O docker-compose.yml

or for a full node:

 wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Taraxa-project/taraxa-ops/master/taraxa_compose_mainnet/docker-compose.yml -O docker-compose.yml

Start the Taraxa node:
```
 docker compose up -d
```
Optional: Validate that the node is running:
```
 docker compose logs -f -n 100 node
```
(Press CTRL+C to exit.)

Optional: Validate the RPC endpoint:

Windows (PowerShell):

  curl -Uri http://localhost:7777 -Method Post -Headers @{ "Content-Type" = "application/json" } -Body '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"taraxa_getVersion","params":[],"id":1}'

Linux/macOS or WSL:

  curl -X POST http://localhost:7777 --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"taraxa_getVersion","params":[],"id":1}'

If the command returns a JSON string with a version field (e.g., 1.13.1), your node is successfully running.

Next, install the latest database snapshot to speed up synchronization.

Install Database Snapshot (Recommended)

Installing a snapshot significantly accelerates the initial sync.

Stop the running node:
```
 docker compose down
```

Mount the data volume:

 docker run --rm -it -v mainnet_data:/data alpine sh

Navigate to the database directory:
```
 cd /data/db
```
Remove the existing database:
```
 rm -r db state_db
```

Download the latest lite node snapshot if previously selected:

 wget http://snapshots.cryptobauer.com/snapshot-litenode-latest.tar.gz

or full node snapshot:

 wget https://storage.googleapis.com/taraxa-snapshot/snapshot.tar.gz

Extract the snapshot:

 tar xzf snapshot-litenode-latest.tar.gz

Delete the downloaded archive:
```
 rm snapshot-litenode-latest.tar.gz
```
Exit the container:
```
 exit
```
Start the node:
```
 docker compose up -d
```
Monitor synchronization:
```
 docker compose logs -f -n 100 node
```
Wait for the log message STATUS: GOOD. NODE SYNCED, indicating the node is fully synced and ready. (Press CTRL+C to exit.)

Revalidate the RPC endpoint:

Windows (PowerShell):

  curl -Uri http://localhost:7777 -Method Post -Headers @{ "Content-Type" = "application/json" } -Body '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"taraxa_getVersion","params":[],"id":1}'

Linux/macOS or WSL:

  curl -X POST http://localhost:7777 --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"taraxa_getVersion","params":[],"id":1}'

Test Program

The following simple Javascript program can verify the RPC endpoint programmatically. Node.js must be installed. If the script is executed on a different machine than the node, ensure the RPC endpoint URL is changed to the node’s public IP address instead of localhost.

import { ethers } from 'ethers';

async function printTaraxaVersion() {
    const rpcUrl = 'http://localhost:7777';
    const provider = new ethers.JsonRpcProvider(rpcUrl);

    try {
        const version = await provider.send('taraxa_getVersion', []);
        console.log('Response from Taraxa RPC node:', version);
    } catch (error) {
        console.error('Error interacting with Taraxa RPC node:', error);
    }
}

printTaraxaVersion();

To run:

Save the code in a file named taraxa-rpc-test.js.
Install dependencies and run the script:

npm install ethers
node taraxa-rpc-test.js

Successful output will look like:

Response from Taraxa RPC node: {
  git_branch: '',
  git_commit_date: 'Tue, 8 Apr 2025 17:33:09 +0200',
  git_commit_hash: 'cdba692488ed9feab87637cb5f2520f01322c3f8',
  git_description: 'v1.12.15-31-gcdba69248',
  version: '1.13.1'
}