Using Binary

This guide describes how to deploy a Pharos node using pre-compiled binaries and the ops tool.

📌 For the latest binary package, see Current Node Versions.

Prerequisites

Component	Specification
CPU	32 cores, 2.8GHz or faster, AMD Milan EPYC or Intel Xeon Platinum
Memory	256 GB
Storage	5 TB SSD with at least 350MiB/s bandwidth and 30000 IOPS
Network Bandwidth	0.5 Gbps
Open Files Limit	ulimit -n ≥ 10000000

1. Create working directory and download binary package

export WORKSPACE=pharos
mkdir -p /data/$WORKSPACE && cd /data/$WORKSPACE

Download the latest binary release from GitHub:

wget https://github.com/PharosNetwork/resources/releases/download/v0.15.0/pharos-v0.15.0-d6d98fd3.tar.gz
tar -zxvf pharos-v0.15.0-d6d98fd3.tar.gz

The extracted package contains:

• bin/pharos_light - Pharos node binary
• bin/pharos_cli - Pharos CLI tool

2. Download configuration files

Download the genesis configuration and VERSION file based on your network:

For Atlantic Testnet:

wget -O genesis.conf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PharosNetwork/resources/refs/heads/main/atlantic.genesis
wget -O bin/VERSION https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PharosNetwork/resources/refs/heads/main/atlantic.version

For Mainnet:

wget -O genesis.conf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PharosNetwork/resources/refs/heads/main/mainnet.genesis
wget -O bin/VERSION https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PharosNetwork/resources/refs/heads/main/mainnet.version

Note: When upgrading to a new version, you must also re-download the VERSION file to keep it in sync.

Download the node configuration file (choose one based on your node type):

For Archive/Full/Validator Node:

wget -O pharos.conf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PharosNetwork/resources/refs/heads/main/conf/full.conf

Note: Pruning is disabled by default. To enable pruning, see Enable Pruning in Pharos Node.

For TraceDB Node:

wget -O pharos.conf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PharosNetwork/resources/refs/heads/main/conf/traceDB.conf

3. Download and setup ops tool

Download the latest ops tool for Linux:

wget https://github.com/PharosNetwork/ops/releases/latest/download/ops-linux-amd64 -O ops
chmod +x ops

4. Set password for key encryption

Set a password that will be used to encrypt your node's cryptographic keys:

./ops set-password YOUR_SECURE_PASSWORD

Important:

• Remember this password - you'll need it to start your node
• The password is stored in ./.password file
• Keep this password secure and backed up

5. Generate cryptographic keys

Generate the domain and stabilizing keys for your node:

./ops generate-keys

This will create the following files in the ./keys/ directory:

• domain.key - ECDSA private key (prime256v1)
• domain.pub - ECDSA public key
• stabilizing.key - BLS12-381 private key
• stabilizing.pub - BLS12-381 public key

6. Bootstrap the node

Initialize the node with genesis state:

./ops bootstrap --config ./pharos.conf

This command will:

• Create the storage database
• Initialize the genesis block
• Prepare the node for first startup

7. Start the node

Start the Pharos node service:

./ops start --config ./pharos.conf

The node will start in daemon mode and begin syncing with the network.

Check the logs to verify the node is running:

tail -f log/aldaba.log

8. (Optional) Setup systemd service

For production deployments, it's recommended to manage the Pharos node with systemd.

Create a systemd service file:

sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/pharos.service > /dev/null <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=Pharos Node
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=$USER
WorkingDirectory=/data/$WORKSPACE/bin
Environment="CONSENSUS_KEY_PWD=$(cat /data/$WORKSPACE/.password)"
Environment="PORTAL_SSL_PWD=$(cat /data/$WORKSPACE/.password)"
ExecStart=/data/$WORKSPACE/bin/pharos_light -c /data/$WORKSPACE/pharos.conf
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal

# Resource limits
LimitNOFILE=10000000

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

Enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable pharos
sudo systemctl start pharos

Check service status:

sudo systemctl status pharos

View logs:

sudo journalctl -u pharos -f

Note: If not using systemd, you can manually stop the node with pkill pharos_light and restart with ./ops start --config ./pharos.conf

Directory Structure

After deployment, your directory structure should look like:

/data/pharos/
├── bin/
│   ├── pharos_light
│   ├── pharos_cli
│   └── VERSION
├── keys/
│   ├── domain.key
│   ├── domain.pub
│   ├── stabilizing.key
│   └── stabilizing.pub
├── data/
│   └── (blockchain data)
├── log/
│   ├── aldaba.log
│   ├── pamir.log
│   └── (other logs)
├── genesis.conf
├── pharos.conf
├── ops
└── .password

9. (Optional) Register as Validator

If you want to run a validator node, you need to register your node on-chain after it has synced with the network.

Set up your validator private key

The validator registration requires an Ethereum-compatible private key that holds sufficient tokens for staking. Set it as an environment variable:

export VALIDATOR_PRIVATE_KEY=your_private_key_hex

Security Note: Do not pass the private key via command-line arguments. Always use the environment variable.

Register the validator

./ops add-validator \
  --rpc-endpoint http://127.0.0.1:18100 \
  --domain-label "My Validator Node" \
  --domain-endpoint "your-node-public-endpoint:20000" \
  --domain-pubkey ./keys/domain.pub \
  --stabilizing-pubkey ./keys/stabilizing.pub \
  --stake 1000000

Parameters:

• --rpc-endpoint - RPC endpoint of a synced Pharos node (default: http://127.0.0.1:18100)
• --domain-label - A description for your validator
• --domain-endpoint - The public-facing endpoint of your node for P2P communication
• --domain-pubkey - Path to the domain public key file generated in Step 5
• --stabilizing-pubkey - Path to the stabilizing public key file generated in Step 5
• --stake - Stake amount in tokens (default: 1,000,000 tokens)

On success, the command will output the transaction hash and your Node ID.

Exit the validator (if needed)

To voluntarily exit your validator from the network:

export VALIDATOR_PRIVATE_KEY=your_private_key_hex

./ops exit-validator \
  --rpc-endpoint http://127.0.0.1:18100 \
  --domain-pubkey ./keys/domain.pub

Security Recommendations

1. Protect your keys: The files in keys/ directory contain your node's private keys
2. Secure your password: Keep the .password file secure with proper permissions
3. Backup important files: Backup keys/, .password, and pharos.conf
4. Firewall configuration: Ensure required ports are open (18100, 19000, 20000)
5. Regular updates: Keep your node software up to date with latest releases

Next Steps

• Node Monitoring Setup - Configure Prometheus metrics for your node
• To register as a validator, see Step 9 above