# Running a Full Node

This is a detailed documentation for setting up a **Full node** on HeliChain.

{% hint style="danger" %}
REMARKS:

The following is the minimal setup to join HeliChain. If running a validator node, you should research validator security.
{% endhint %}

### Prerequisites[​](https://docs.aura.network/validator/running-a-fullnode#prerequisites) <a href="#prerequisites" id="prerequisites"></a>

* Go 1.18+
* GCC/G++ compiler

#### Supported OS[​](https://docs.aura.network/validator/running-a-fullnode#supported-os) <a href="#supported-os" id="supported-os"></a>

We officially *support Linux only*. Other platforms may work, but there is no guarantee. We will extend our support to other platforms after we have stabilized our current architecture.

#### Commonly used ports[​](https://docs.aura.network/validator/running-a-fullnode#commonly-used-ports) <a href="#commonly-used-ports" id="commonly-used-ports"></a>

`helichaind` uses the following TCP ports. Toggle their settings to fit your environment.

* *26656*: The default port for the P2P protocol. This port is used to communicate with other nodes and must be open to join a network. However, it does not have to be open to the public. For validator nodes, we recommend configuring `persistent_peers` and closing this port to the public.

Additional ports:

* *1317*: The default port for the Lite Client Daemon (LCD), which can be executed by `helichaind rest-server`. The LCD provides an HTTP RESTful API layer to allow applications and services to interact with your `helichaind instance` through RPC. You don’t need to open this port unless you have use for it.
* *26657*: The default port for the `Tendermint RPC protocol`. Because this port is used for querying and sending transactions, it must be open for serving queries from `helichaind`.

### Networks information[​](https://docs.aura.network/validator/running-a-fullnode#networks-information) <a href="#networks-information" id="networks-information"></a>

Specify the network details for the network you want to participate in by selecting the corresponding genesis file and seeds.

### Setup a full-node[​](https://docs.aura.network/validator/running-a-fullnode#setup-a-full-node) <a href="#setup-a-full-node" id="setup-a-full-node"></a>

This guide completes the following actions:

* Download the latest release corresponding to the chosen network from [Helichaind repository](https://github.com/Heli-chain/heli)
* Compile `helichaind`
* Give your node a moniker and configure it
* Configure genesis state

Example:

```
git clone https://github.com/Heli-chain/heli
cd heli
make
cd build
./helichaind init <moniker> 
cp ../genesis.json ~/.helichain/config/genesis.json
```

Start your full-node:

```
./helichaind start --p2p.seeds <seed-id>@<seed-ip>:<seed-p2p-port> --minimum-gas-prices <gas-price>
```

```
./helichaind start --p2p.seeds 8f86b9543ee84a69072cb8347cc8fb4ace68e6f5@45.77.172.45:26656 --minimum-gas-prices 0.0025uheli
```

{% hint style="info" %}
FOR OPTIMIZED NODE PERFORMANCE, SET `minimum-gas-prices` TO ENABLE THE ANTI-SPAM MECHANISM AND REJECT INCOMING TRANSACTIONS WITH LESS THAN THE MINIMUM GAS PRICES.
{% endhint %}

After starting your full-node, wait until it completely sync transactions to your local to start create your validator.

#### Optional Configuration: State Sync[​](https://docs.aura.network/validator/running-a-fullnode#optional-configuration-state-sync) <a href="#optional-configuration-state-sync" id="optional-configuration-state-sync"></a>

State sync rapidly bootstraps a new node by discovering, fetching, and restoring a state machine snapshot from peers instead of fetching and replaying historical blocks

Visit a explorer to get a recent block height and corresponding hash. The recommended snapshot period is 1000 blocks, it is advised to choose something close to current height - 1000.

```
# Retrieve trust height interval
INTERVAL=1000
LATEST_HEIGHT=$(curl -s https://rpc.helichain.com/block | jq -r .result.block.header.height)
BLOCK_HEIGHT=$(($LATEST_HEIGHT-$INTERVAL))
TRUST_HASH=$(curl -s "https://rpc.helichain.com/block?height=$BLOCK_HEIGHT" | jq -r .result.block_id.hash)
```

Set these parameters in the code snippet below \<block\_height>, \<block\_hash>, \<rpc\_server>

```
cd $HOME/.helichain/config
RPC_SERVER=<rpc_server>
sed -i "s/enable = false/enable = true/" config.toml
sed -i "s/trust_height = 0/trust_height = \"$BLOCK_HEIGHT\"/" config.toml
sed -i "s/trust_hash = \"\"/trust_hash = \"$TRUST_HASH\"/" config.toml
sed -i "s/rpc_servers = \"\"/rpc_servers = \"$RPC_SERVER\"/" config.toml
```

#### Optional Configuration: Change RPC port <a href="#optional-configuration-change-rpc-port" id="optional-configuration-change-rpc-port"></a>

```
cd $HOME/.helichain/config
RPC_PORT=<rpc_port>
sed -i "s/localhost:1317/localhost:$RPC_PORT/" app.toml
```