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Build Options

Only Official Builds Supported

  • The fastest and most recommended method of installation is through Docker management
  • Only official release builds are recommended and supported for use on the main network
  • Builds created from git should be done using the available tags - building from branches is not recommended, including building off the master branch as that is used during development of features

Breaking changes on master branch

Breaking changes can be included in the master branch early in the development process. Do not build from the master branch

Official release builds

OS Binaries
Each release cycle official builds of the node for Linux, MacOS and Windows are generated and linked to from the related GitHub Release as well as on Nano.org.

Known issues with V19.0

macOS "Too many open files"

  • Issue: The following error can be seen when attempting to run a full node on macOS using the built-in Qt wallet or other GUI-based wallets: "Exception while running wallet: open: Too many open files". This is due to macOS having a very low default file descriptor limit and V19.0 uses more of them after the move to TCP.

  • Solution: For now a workaround is needed to increase the limit. The method depends on the specific macOS version, but some people had success with the recipe in https://superuser.com/a/1171028.

Other sources
The node can be also be installed from other sources including Docker and RHEL/CentOS rpm: 

sudo yum-config-manager --add-repo https://repo.nano.org/nanocurrency.repo
sudo yum install nanocurrency

This installs nano_node to bin.

Beta builds

OS Binaries
Each beta release cycle official beta builds of the node for Linux, MacOS and Windows are released and can be found at https://beta.nano.org. Go to the Beta Network page for more details.

Other sources
The beta node can be also be installed from other sources including Docker and RHEL/CentOS rpm: 

sudo yum-config-manager --add-repo https://repo.nano.org/nanocurrency-beta.repo
sudo yum install nanocurrency-beta

This installs nano_node-beta to bin.

Nano Folder

Contents

The Nano folder contains: wallets file (wallets.ldb), log files, optional config files, ledger file (data.ldb) and related lock files.

Protect wallet and backup files

The built-in node wallet is for use in development and testing only. Those using it should take care in protecting access to the wallets.ldb file and backup files, whether encrypted or not, for added security.

Locations

OS Location
Windows C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Nano\
OSX /Users/<user>/Library/Nano/
Linux /home/<user>/Nano/
Moving folder locations

Some users desire to change the blockchain download location. A solution is available for the no gui nano_node (see https://github.com/nanocurrency/nano-node/issues/79), but no concrete solution is available for the GUI client. However, a workaround can be acheived via the use of symbolic links. Below is a short tutorial for Windows builds:

  1. Rename/delete the Nano folder in your appdata Local folder (if you haven't run the wallet yet, skip this step). This is necessary because the command to create a symbolic link in windows will fail if the the input directory already exists.
  2. Decide on where you want to store the blockchain and create a symbolic link. The command is (in an administrative command-prompt): mklink /d "C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Nano\" "E:\Some\Other\Directory". This command creates a symbolic link for a directory (/d) that 'redirects' all requests for files/directories in the Local\Nano folder to the Other\Directory. This means that a file created in the input directory will actually be in the output directory (on the other disk).
  3. Verify it works. Create a file in your Nano folder in your appdata, and you should see it appear in the directory you linked it to (and vice-versa). If you have old wallets or a partially-downloaded blockchain, copy them back into the local directory. Start the wallet.

General Build Instructions

Unsupported configuration

  • This documentation is intended only for developers of the Nano Node software, and will not result in a supported configuration. End-users are advised to use releases.
  • The fastest and most recommended method of installation is through Docker.
  • Running node as a service.
  • To manage a node, use RPC commands or the CLI.

Requirements

Required Source

  • Boost 1.67 extracted to [boost.src] (OR sh nano-node/util/build_prep/bootstrap_boost.sh -m)
  • (wallet) Qt 5.x open source edition extracted to [qt.src]
  • Nano node source in [nano-node.src]

Required build tools

  • (macOS) XCode >= 7.3
  • (Windows) Visual Studio 2015
  • (Windows) NSIS package builder
  • (*nix) Clang >= 3.5 or GCC >= 5
  • CMake

Boost

Option 1

Inside nano-node directory run:

sh util/build_prep/bootstrap_boost.sh -m

This will build the required Boost libraries at /usr/local/boost/.

Option 2

Inside [boost.src] run: 

./bootstrap.sh --with-libraries=filesystem,log,program_options,system,thread
./b2 --prefix=[boost] --build-dir=[boost.build] link=static install
If on Windows: an additional b2 option address-model=64 for x64 builds should be included.

QT Wallet

In [qt.build] execute: 

[qt.src]/configure -shared -opensource -nomake examples -nomake tests -confirm-license  -prefix [qt]
make
make install
If on Windows: use nmake instead of make.

Node

CMake variables

Format: cmake -D VARNAME=VARVALUE

  • BOOST_ROOT=\[boost\] (/usr/local/boost/ if bootstrapped)
  • CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release (default)
  • ACTIVE_NETWORK=nano_live_network (default)
  • Qt5_DIR=[qt]lib/cmake/Qt5 (to build GUI wallet)
  • NANO_GUI=ON (to build GUI wallet)
  • ENABLE_AVX2=ON, optional PERMUTE_WITH_GATHER=ON, optional PERMUTE_WITH_SHUFFLES=ON (for CPU with AXV2 support, choose fastest method for your CPU with https://github.com/sneves/blake2-avx2/)
  • CRYPTOPP_CUSTOM=ON (more conservative building of Crypto++ for wider range of systems)
  • NANO_SIMD_OPTIMIZATIONS=OFF (Enable CPU-specific SIMD optimization: SSE/AVX or NEON, e.g.)
  • NANO_SECURE_RPC=ON (to build node with TLS)
  • NANO_WARN_TO_ERR=ON (v20.0+ turn compiler warnings into errors on Linux/Mac)
  • NANO_TIMED_LOCKS=50 (v20.0+ when the number of milliseconds a mutex is held is equal or greater than this output a stacktrace, 0 disables. If enabled requires the boost context & fiber libraries)
  • NANO_STACKTRACE_BACKTRACE=ON (v20.0+ use a different configuration of Boost backtrace in stacktraces, attempting to display filenames, function names and line numbers. Needs libbacktrace to be installed. Some workarounds may be necessary depending on system and configuration. Use CLI --debug_stacktrace to get an example output.)
  • CI_BUILD=TRUE (v20.0+ if enabled, uses environment variable TRAVIS_TAG (required) to modify the locally reported node version; example TRAVIS_TAG="My Nano Node v20")
  • NANO_ROCKSDB=ON (v20.0+ NOTE: RocksDB support is still in experimental stages and should not be used in production systems. To build the node with RocksDB click here for more details)

Build Node

  • git submodule update --init --recursive
  • Generate with cmake then build with your compiler
  • (*nix) to build node without GUI execute: make nano_node
  • (*nix) to build wallet with GUI execute: make nano_wallet
  • (*nix) to build rpc for child/out of process execute: make nano_rpc

Building a package

  • (macOS) cpack -G "DragNDrop"
  • (Windows) cpack -G "NSIS"
  • (*nix) cpack -G "TBZ2"

Testing the Node

  • In order to run the tests, the corresponding CMake variable must be set: -D NANO_TEST=ON.
  • With this variable set, make will also build test files, and will produce core_test, rpc_test and slow_test binaries, which can be executed such as ./core_test.
  • See more details in Testing

Beta Network Participation

  • More information can be found on the Beta Network page
  • To run a node on the beta network, set CMake variable: -DACTIVE_NETWORK=nano_beta_network

Unix Dependencies

These instructions are for the following systems:

  • Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Server
  • Ubuntu 16.10+
  • Debian 8 Jessie (Debian 8 requires Cmake 3.4+)
  • Debian 9 Stretch

Install dependencies

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install git cmake g++ curl wget

Follow the build instructions.

CentOS 7 Dependencies

Requirements

  • GCC compiler version 4.9+ or other compiler with C++14 language support (default Centos 7 compilers are outdated)
  • Cmake 3.4+

Install dependencies

sudo yum check-update
sudo yum install git libstdc++-static curl wget

Configure repository with modern GCC 

sudo yum install centos-release-scl
sudo yum install devtoolset-7-gcc*
scl enable devtoolset-7 bash

Modern Cmake 

wget https://cmake.org/files/v3.12/cmake-3.12.1.tar.gz
tar zxvf cmake-3.12.1.tar.gz && cd cmake-3.12.1
./bootstrap --prefix=/usr/local
make -j$(nproc)
sudo make install
cd ..

Follow the build instructions.

Arch Linux Dependencies

Install dependencies

pacman -Syu
pacman -S base-devel git gcc cmake curl wget

Follow the build instructions.

Build Instructions - Unix, CentOS, Arch Linux

Unsupported configuration

  • This documentation is intended only for developers of the Nano Node software, and will not result in a supported configuration. End-users are advised to use releases.
  • The fastest and most recommended method of installation is through Docker.
  • Running node as a service.
  • To manage a node, use RPC commands or the CLI.

Static Boost

wget -O boost_1_67_0.tar.gz https://netix.dl.sourceforge.net/project/boost/boost/1.67.0/boost_1_67_0.tar.gz
tar xzvf boost_1_67_0.tar.gz
cd boost_1_67_0
./bootstrap.sh --with-libraries=filesystem,log,program_options,system,thread
./b2 --prefix=../[boost] link=static install
cd ..

Node

git clone --recursive https://github.com/nanocurrency/nano-node.git nano_build
cd nano_build
cmake -DBOOST_ROOT=../[boost] -G "Unix Makefiles"
make nano_node
cp nano_node ../nano_node && cd .. && ./nano_node --diagnostics

Build Instructions - OSX

Unsupported configuration

  • This documentation is intended only for developers of the Nano Node software, and will not result in a supported configuration. End-users are advised to use releases.
  • The fastest and most recommended method of installation is through Docker.
  • Running node as a service.
  • To manage a node, use RPC commands or the CLI.
git clone --recursive https://github.com/nanocurrency/nano-node.git nano_build
cd nano_build
sh util/build_prep/bootstrap_boost.sh -m
cmake -DBOOST_ROOT=../[boost] -G "Unix Makefiles"
make nano_node
cp nano_node ../nano_node && cd .. && ./nano_node --diagnostics

Build Instructions - Windows

Unsupported configuration

  • This documentation is intended only for developers of the Nano Node software, and will not result in a supported configuration. End-users are advised to use releases.
  • The fastest and most recommended method of installation is through Docker.
  • Running node as a service.
  • To manage a node, use RPC commands or the CLI.

Dependencies

Setup

Download Source

Using git_bash: 

git clone --recursive https://github.com/nanocurrency/nano-node
cd nano-node

Create a build folder inside nano-node (makes for easier cleaning of build)

Using git_bash: 

mkdir build
cd build
* Note: all subsequent commands should be run within this "build" folder.

Get redistributables

Using Powershell: 

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://aka.ms/vs/15/release/vc_redist.x64.exe -OutFile .\vc_redist.x64.exe

Generate the build configuration.

Using 64 Native Tools Command Prompt:

  • Replace %CONFIGURATION% with one of the following: Release, RelWithDebInfo, Debug
  • Replace %NETWORK% with one of the following: nano_beta_network, nano_live_network, nano_test_network
  • Ensure the Qt, Boost, and Windows SDK paths match your installation.
cmake -DNANO_GUI=ON -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=%CONFIGURATION% -DACTIVE_NETWORK=%NETWORK% -DQt5_DIR="C:\Qt\5.9.5\msvc2017_64\lib\cmake\Qt5" -DNANO_SIMD_OPTIMIZATIONS=TRUE -DBoost_COMPILER="-vc141" -DBOOST_ROOT="C:/local/boost_1_67_0" -DBOOST_LIBRARYDIR="C:/local/boost_1_67_0/lib64-msvc-14.1" -G "Visual Studio 15 2017 Win64" -DIPHLPAPI_LIBRARY="C:/Program Files (x86)/Windows Kits/10/Lib/10.0.17763.0/um/x64/iphlpapi.lib" -DWINSOCK2_LIBRARY="C:/Program Files (x86)/Windows Kits/10/Lib/10.0.17763.0/um/x64/WS2_32.lib" ..\.

Build

  • Open nano-node.sln in Visual Studio
  • Build the configuration specified in the previous step
  • Alternative using 64 Native Tools Command Prompt:
cmake --build . --target ALL_BUILD --config %CONFIGURATION% -- /m:%NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS%

Package up binaries

Using 64 Native Tools Command Prompt:

  • Replace %CONFIGURATION% with the build configuration specified in previous step
  • Replace %GENERATOR% with NSIS (if installed) or ZIP
cpack -G %GENERATOR% -C %CONFIGURATION%

Testing

A number of tests binaries can be built when the -DNANO_TEST CMake variable is set to ON.

  • core_test - Tests the majority of protocol, node and network functionality.
  • slow_test - Tests which operate on a large amount of data and may take a while. Not currently tested by CI.
  • rpc_test - Tests all RPC commands
  • load_test - Launches many nodes and RPC servers, checking sending/receiving blocks with simultaneous calls. Use ./load_test --help to see the available options

Running Tests

To run all tests in a binary just launch it: 

./core_test

To check a specific subset of tests, gtest filtering can be used (with optional wildcards): 

./core_test --gtest_filter=confirmation_height.single
./rpc_test --gtest_filter=rpc.*

To run tests multiple times: 

./core_test --gtest_repeat=10

If running on a debugger, add the argument --gtest_break_on_failure break at the moment a test fails.

Sanitizers

3 different CMake sanitizer options are supported: NANO_ASAN_INT, NANO_TSAN and NANO_ASAN. They cannot be used in conjunction with each other.

Thread Sanitizer

Use -DNANO_TSAN=ON as an extra CMake option. The following environment variable should also be set:

export TSAN_OPTIONS="suppressions=../tsan_suppressions"

tsan_suppressions should be a path to the file in the root nano directory. This suppresses many errors relating to the mdb and rocksdb libraries.

Address Sanitizer

Use the CMake variable -DNANO_ASAN=ON or -DNANO_ASAN_INT=ON before running an executable.

Valgrind

Valgrind can be used to find other issues such as memory leaks. A valgrind suppressions file is provided to remove some warnings. Valgrind can be run as follows (there are many options available):

valgrind --leak-check=full --track-origins=yes --suppressions=../valgrind.supp ./core_test