> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.initia.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Running L1 Nodes with Initiad

## Overview

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for setting up and running an
Initia L1 node. It covers everything from system requirements to connecting to
the Initia network.

## System Requirements

Before proceeding, ensure your system meets the following requirements:

| Tier        | CPU     | Memory   | Storage                                          | Network            |
| ----------- | ------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------ |
| Minimum     | 4 cores | 8GB RAM  | 2 TB NVMe/SSD with write throughput > 1000 MiBps | 100 Mbps bandwidth |
| Recommended | 6 cores | 16GB RAM | 2 TB NVMe/SSD with write throughput > 1000 MiBps | 100 Mbps bandwidth |
| High        | 8 cores | 32GB RAM | 2 TB NVMe/SSD with write throughput > 1000 MiBps | 100 Mbps bandwidth |

<Note>
  We strongly recommend running Initia nodes on a Linux-based operating system.
  While it may be possible to run on other operating systems, we have not tested
  them and cannot guarantee the same environment settings and running
  conditions.
</Note>

## Installation

There are two ways to install the `initiad` CLI:

### Option 1: Building from Source

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install Prerequisites">
    Install the required packages:

    ```bash theme={null}
    sudo apt install -y build-essential
    ```

    Also, install the latest version of Go:

    ```bash theme={null}
    sudo apt install -y golang
    ```

    Verify the installed versions:

    ```bash theme={null}
    make --version  # Must be 3.8 or later
    go version      # Must be 1.22 or later
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Build the Daemon">
    Clone and build the Initia node:

    ```bash theme={null}
    git clone git@github.com:initia-labs/initia.git
    cd initia
    git checkout $TAG  # Replace with desired version
    make install
    ```

    Verify the installation:

    ```bash theme={null}
    initiad version
    ```

    <Warning>
      If `initiad` is not found, check your `$PATH` environment variable to ensure
      it includes `$GOBIN` or `$GOPATH/bin`.
    </Warning>
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Option 2: Using Pre-Built Binaries

Download pre-built `initiad` binaries from the
[releases page](https://github.com/initia-labs/initia/releases). Select the
appropriate version for your operating system.

## System Configuration

### File Descriptor Limits

Initia requires a higher number of file descriptors than the default Linux
limit. Adjust the system limits by adding the following to
`/etc/security/limits.conf`:

```bash theme={null}
* soft nofile 65535
* hard nofile 65535
```

## Node Setup

### Initialization

Initialize your node with a moniker (a human-readable name):

```bash theme={null}
initiad init <moniker>
```

Note that:

* Moniker must contain only ASCII characters
* Maximum length is 70 characters
* The default home directory is `${HOME}/.initia`
* To use a different directory, add `--home <YOUR_INITIA_HOME>` to commands

<Warning>
  Your private key is generated during initialization and stored in `${HOME}
      /.initia/config/priv_validator_key.json`. **IMPORTANT**: Always back up your
  private key, especially for validator nodes. Loss of the private key may
  result in permanent node inaccessibility.
</Warning>

### Network Configuration

#### Endpoints

An Initia node provides multiple endpoints that you can enable or disable.

| Endpoint      | Description             | Configuration File             |
| ------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| REST          | RESTful HTTP API        | `~/.initia/config/app.toml`    |
| gRPC/gRPC-WEB | gRPC API                | `~/.initia/config/app.toml`    |
| RPC           | Tendermint/CometBFT API | `~/.initia/config/config.toml` |
| P2P           | Gossip P2P Network      | `~/.initia/config/config.toml` |

<Info>
  Validator nodes are not recommended to expose these endpoints publicly.
</Info>

#### Configuration Examples

1. **API Configuration** (`~/.initia/config/app.toml`):

```toml theme={null}
[api]
enable = true
swagger = true
address = "tcp://0.0.0.0:1317"

[grpc]
enable = true
address = "0.0.0.0:9090"

[grpc-web]
enable = true
address = "0.0.0.0:9091"
```

2. **RPC and P2P Configuration** (`~/.initia/config/config.toml`):

```toml theme={null}
[rpc]
laddr = "tcp://0.0.0.0:26657"

[p2p]
laddr = "tcp://0.0.0.0:26656"
```

### External Address Configuration

To allow external nodes to connect to your node, configure the external address
in `config.toml`:

```toml theme={null}
[p2p]
laddr = "tcp://0.0.0.0:26656"
external_address = "YOUR_PUBLIC_IP:26656"
```

You can automatically set your public IP using:

```bash theme={null}
sed -i -e 's/external_address = \"\"/external_address = \"'$(curl httpbin.org/ip | jq -r .origin)':26656\"/g' ~/.initia/config/config.toml
```

## Connecting to Initia Network

To fully connect to the network, you first need to download the genesis file,
configure your peers, and sync the node.

<Note>
  You can find information on the genesis file, peers, and state sync for the
  network you want to join on the [networks
  page](/resources/developer/initia-l1).
</Note>

### Genesis File

To start syncing the node, you first need to download the genesis file.

```bash theme={null}
wget $GENESIS_FILE_URL -O $HOME/.initia/config/genesis.json
```

### Network Configuration

Once the genesis file is downloaded, you can configure the persistent peers in
`~/.initia/config/config.toml`:

```bash theme={null}
persistent_peers = "peer1@ip1:port1,peer2@ip2:port2"
```

Replace `peer1@ip1:port1,peer2@ip2:port2` with the list of peers for the network
you want to join.

### State Sync & Snapshots

To sync the node, you can use the
[state sync](https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint/blob/v0.34.x/spec/p2p/messages/state-sync.md)
feature.

## Running as a Service (Optional)

To run Initia as a system service, create an `initiad.service` file in
`/etc/systemd/system`:

```ini theme={null}
[Unit]
Description=initiad

[Service]
Type=simple
User=ubuntu
ExecStart=/usr/bin/initiad start
Restart=on-abort
StandardOutput=syslog
StandardError=syslog
SyslogIdentifier=initiad
LimitNOFILE=65535

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
```

Once the service file is created, you can enable and start the service:

```bash theme={null}
systemctl enable initiad
systemctl start initiad
```

To see the logs, you can use the following commands:

```bash theme={null}
journalctl -t initiad    # View current logs
journalctl -t initiad -f # Follow logs in real-time
journalctl -t initiad -n <number> # View last N lines
```

## Cosmovisor (Optional)

If you want automatic binary upgrades, set up Cosmovisor after completing all
steps above. In the Cosmovisor setup, the `<path-to-executable>` refers to your
`initiad` binary path.

Follow the
[Cosmovisor guide](/nodes-and-rollups/running-nodes/manual-setup/cosmovisor).