Setting Up a Node on Babylon Chain

A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction

In the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency, setting up a node can be a challenging but rewarding endeavor. This guide is designed to help you through the process of setting up a node on the Babylon Chain, a dynamic blockchain network. By following these steps, you’ll be able to join the network and start contributing to its stability and security.

Preparation

Before diving into the node setup, it’s crucial to prepare your system. Start by updating and upgrading your system packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Next, you’ll need to set your node’s moniker, which is like its unique name in the network:

MONIKER="YOUR_MONIKER_IS_HERE"

Remember to replace YOUR_MONIKER_IS_HERE with a name of your choice.

Install Essential Build Tools

To ensure your system has all the necessary tools for building and running the node, install the following packages:

sudo apt -qy install curl git jq lz4 build-essential

Install Go

The Babylon Chain node requires Go programming language. Here’s how you can install it:

1. First, remove any existing Go installations: sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go
2. Download and install the Go language: curl -Ls https://go.dev/dl/go1.20.12.linux-amd64.tar.gz | sudo tar -xzf - -C /usr/local
3. Set the Go path: eval $(echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin' | sudo tee /etc/profile.d/golang.sh) eval $(echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/go/bin' | tee -a $HOME/.profile)

Download and Build Binaries

Clone Project Repository

Navigate to your home directory and clone the Babylon project repository:

cd $HOME
rm -rf babylon
git clone https://github.com/babylonchain/babylon.git
cd babylon
git checkout v0.7.2

Build Binaries

Compile the binaries needed for the node:

make build

Prepare Binaries for Cosmovisor

Create directories and move the built binaries:

mkdir -p $HOME/.babylond/cosmovisor/genesis/bin
mv build/babylond $HOME/.babylond/cosmovisor/genesis/bin/
rm -rf build

Create Application Symlinks

Link the binaries for easier access and management:

sudo ln -s $HOME/.babylond/cosmovisor/genesis $HOME/.babylond/cosmovisor/current -f
sudo ln -s $HOME/.babylond/cosmovisor/current/bin/babylond /usr/local/bin/babylond -f

Set Up Cosmovisor

Cosmovisor is a process manager for Cosmos SDK application binaries.

Download and Install Cosmovisor

go install cosmossdk.io/tools/cosmovisor/cmd/cosmovisor@latest

Create and Start Service

Set up a system service for your Babylon node:

1. Create a service file: sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/babylon.service > /dev/null << EOF [Unit] Description=babylon node service After=network-online.target [Service] User=$USER ExecStart=$(which cosmovisor) run start Restart=on-failure RestartSec=10 LimitNOFILE=65535 Environment="DAEMON_HOME=$HOME/.babylond" Environment="DAEMON_NAME=babylond" Environment="UNSAFE_SKIP_BACKUP=true" Environment="PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games:/snap/bin:$HOME/.babylond/cosmovisor/current/bin" [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target EOF
2. Reload the system daemon and enable the service: sudo systemctl daemon-reload sudo systemctl enable babylon.service

Initialize the Node

Set Node Configuration

Configure the node with the chain ID, keyring backend, and node address:

babylond config chain-id bbn-test-2
babylond config keyring-backend test
babylond config node tcp://localhost:16457

Initialize the Node

Initialize your node with the moniker you set earlier:

babylond init $MONIKER --chain-id bbn-test-2

Download Genesis and Addrbook

Download the necessary configuration files:

curl -Ls https://snapshots.kjnodes.com/babylon-testnet/genesis.json > $HOME/.babylond/config/genesis.json
curl -Ls https://snapshots.kjnodes.com/babylon-testnet/addrbook.json > $HOME/.babylond/config/addrbook.json

Configure Network Settings

Update your node’s seeds, minimum gas price, pruning settings, and custom ports as per the network requirements. This involves editing the configuration files with the correct parameters.

Download Latest Chain Snapshot

To sync your node faster, download the latest chain snapshot:

curl -L https://snapshots.kjnodes.com/babylon-testnet/snapshot_latest.tar.lz4 | tar -Ilz4 -xf - -C $HOME/.babylond

Start the Service and Check the Logs

Finally, start your node and monitor its logs:

sudo systemctl start babylon.service && sudo journalctl -u babylon.service -f --no-hostname -o cat

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve now successfully set up a Babylon Chain node. This is just the beginning of your journey in the Babylon ecosystem. As your node runs, you’ll be supporting the network while gaining valuable insights into the world of blockchain technology. Happy node-running!