DarkFi public node guide

Public nodes are nodes that reveal themselves to the network. They are publicly accessible so they can accept inbound connections from other nodes. Public nodes are important for the health of the DarkFi P2P network. This guide explains how to run the optimal DarkFi public node configurations.

Note: If you do not want your IP address to be public you can run a node using Tor.

Note: This page is a general guide for public nodes in the DarkFi ecosystem and is applicable to other apps such as taud and darkfid. We use darkirc as our main example throughout this guide. Commands such as ./darkirc and configuration filenames need to be adjusted if using different apps. If you’re using another app, the network configurations remain the same except for the seed nodes you connect to.

Generating configuration files

After compiling, you can start the application so it can spawn its configuration file. We use darkirc as the application example going forward.

% ./darkirc

darkirc creates a configuration file darkirc_config.toml by default in ~/.config/darkfi/. You will review and edit this configuration file for your preferred network settings.

Configure your network settings

Edit your darkirc_config.toml file to reflect the network settings you want to support. Listed below are different darkirc_config.toml configurations. You can choose between a clearnet node, a fully anonymous Tor node, or a bridge node which runs over clearnet & Tor, and is most beneficial for the health of the network. Each mode can be activated by adding the appropriate profile to active_profiles net setting.

Note: As you modify the file, if you notice some settings are missing, simply add them. Some settings may be commented-out by default. In the example configurations below, you will find the placeholders MY_IP_V4, MY_IP_V6, my.resolveable.address, and youraddress.onion which indicates you should replace them with your public IPv4, IPv6, domain or your onion address. If you don’t have some of them (for example: IPv6 or domain) remove the values entirely.

Clearnet node

A clearnet node routes traffic over tcp+tls. It is enabled by adding tcp+tls to the active_profiles list. You can find a complete example config file for darkirc-clearnet.toml in ${DARKFI_REPO}/bin/darkirc/config.

## Outbound connection slots
outbound_connections = 8

## Inbound connection slots
inbound_connections = 64

## Whitelisted transports for outbound connections
active_profiles = ["tcp+tls"]

## Transports to be mixed
mixed_profiles = []

[net.profiles."tcp+tls"]
## Seed nodes to connect to
seeds = ["tcp+tls://lilith1.dark.fi:25551"]

## Addresses we want to advertise to peers
external_addrs = ["tcp+tls://MY_IP_V4:26661", "tcp+tls://MY_IP_V6:26661", "tcp+tls://my.resolveable.address:26661"]

## P2P accept addresses
inbound = ["tcp+tls://0.0.0.0:26661", "tcp+tls://[::]:26661"]

## Connection settings with default values applicable for each profile separately
#outbound_connect_timeout = 15
#channel_handshake_timeout = 10
#channel_heartbeat_interval = 30

Fully anonymous Tor-enabled node

A Tor-enabled node routes traffic over tor. It is enabled by adding tor to the active_profiles list. You can find a complete example config file for darkirc-tor.toml in ${DARKFI_REPO}/bin/darkirc/config. This node configuration is for users that would like to support darkirc over the Tor network. A Tor node provides the best anonymity on the network.

You need to configure Tor and launch your hidden service prior to running your public node over Tor. Please refer to Tor Nodes.

## connection settings
outbound_peer_discovery_cooloff_time = 60

## Outbound connection slots
outbound_connections = 8

## Inbound connection slots
inbound_connections = 64

## Whitelisted transports for outbound connections
active_profiles = ["tor"]

## Transports to be mixed
mixed_profiles = []

[net.profiles."tor"]
## Seed nodes to connect to
seeds = [
    "tor://g7fxelebievvpr27w7gt24lflptpw3jeeuvafovgliq5utdst6xyruyd.onion:25552",
    "tor://yvklzjnfmwxhyodhrkpomawjcdvcaushsj6torjz2gyd7e25f3gfunyd.onion:25552",
]

## Addresses we want to advertise to peers
external_addrs = ["tor://youraddress.onion:26661"]

## P2P accept addresses
inbound = ["tcp://127.0.0.1:26661"]

## Connection settings with default values applicable for each profile separately
#outbound_connect_timeout = 60
#channel_handshake_timeout = 55
#channel_heartbeat_interval = 90

Fully anonymous I2p-enabled node

An I2p-enabled node routes traffic over i2p. It is enabled by adding i2p to the active_profiles list. You can find a complete example config file for darkirc-i2p.toml in ${DARKFI_REPO}/bin/darkirc/config. This node configuration is for users that would like to support darkirc over the I2p network.

You need to configure I2p and launch your eepsite(hidden service) prior to running your public node over I2p. Please refer to I2p Nodes.

## connection settings
outbound_peer_discovery_cooloff_time = 60

## Outbound connection slots
outbound_connections = 8

## Inbound connection slots
inbound_connections = 64

## Whitelisted transports for outbound connections
active_profiles = ["i2p"]

## I2p Socks5 proxy
i2p_socks5_proxy = "socks5://127.0.0.1:4447"

[net.profiles."i2p"]
## Seed nodes to connect to
seeds = [
    "i2p://6l2rdfriixo2nh5pr5bt555lyz56qox2ikzia4kuzm4okje7gtmq.b32.i2p:5262"
]

## Addresses we want to advertise to peers
external_addrs = ["i2p://youraddress.b32.i2p:26661"]

## P2P accept addresses
inbound = ["tcp://127.0.0.1:26661"]

## Connection settings with default values applicable for each profile separately
#outbound_connect_timeout = 60
#channel_handshake_timeout = 55
#channel_heartbeat_interval = 90

Bridge node

A bridge node is a node that offers connectivity via multiple transport layers. This provides the most benefit for the health of the network. This is the most maximally compatible node for people that wish to support the network. It can be enabled by adding multiple profiles to the active_profiles list. You can find a complete example config file for darkirc-mixed.toml in ${DARKFI_REPO}/bin/darkirc/config. Refer to Tor Nodes to configure Tor.

## connection settings
outbound_peer_discovery_cooloff_time = 60

## Outbound connection slots
outbound_connections = 8

## Inbound connection slots
inbound_connections = 64

## I2p Socks5 proxy
i2p_socks5_proxy = "socks5://127.0.0.1:4447"

## Whitelisted transports for outbound connections
active_profiles = ["tcp+tls", "tor", "i2p"]

## Transports to be mixed
mixed_profiles = []

[net.profiles."tcp+tls"]
## Seed nodes to connect to
seeds = ["tcp+tls://lilith0.dark.fi:25551", "tcp+tls://lilith1.dark.fi:25551"]

## P2P accept addresses
inbound = ["tcp+tls://0.0.0.0:26661", "tcp+tls://[::]:26661"]

## Addresses we want to advertise to peers
external_addrs = ["tcp+tls://MY_IP_V4:26661", "tcp+tls://MY_IP_V6:26661", "tcp+tls://my.resolveable.address:26661"]

[net.profiles."tor"]
## Seed nodes to connect to
seeds = [
    "tor://g7fxelebievvpr27w7gt24lflptpw3jeeuvafovgliq5utdst6xyruyd.onion:25552",
    "tor://yvklzjnfmwxhyodhrkpomawjcdvcaushsj6torjz2gyd7e25f3gfunyd.onion:25552",
]

## P2P accept addresses
inbound = ["tcp://127.0.0.1:26662"]

## Addresses we want to advertise to peers
external_addrs = ["tor://youraddress.onion:26662"]

[net.profiles."i2p"]
## Seed nodes to connect to
seeds = [
    ##TODO: replace with an official seed address
    "i2p://6l2rdfriixo2nh5pr5bt555lyz56qox2ikzia4kuzm4okje7gtmq.b32.i2p:5262"
]

## Manual peers to connect to
#peers = []

## P2P accept addresses
inbound = ["tcp://127.0.0.1:26663"]

## Addresses we want to advertise to peers
external_addrs = ["i2p://youraddress.b32.i2p:26663"]

Autohost

Ipv6

You can autohost a public IPv6 node without manually specifying your external IPv6 address. Your Ipv6 address will be automatically detected and used to configure an inbound node. To enable this, edit the inbound and external_addrs fields in the tcp+tls profile as shown below.

[net.profiles."tcp+tls"]
## P2P accept addresses
inbound = ["tcp+tls://[::]:26661"]

## Addresses we want to advertise to peers
external_addrs = ["tcp+tls://[::]:26661"]

## Seed nodes to connect to
seeds = ["tcp+tls://lilith0.dark.fi:25551", "tcp+tls://lilith1.dark.fi:25551"]

Tor

You can autohost a public Tor node using Arti without manually specifying your external address. Arti will automatically create an ephemeral onion address and an inbound node will be setup at that address. To enable this, edit the inbound field in the tor as shown below.

[net.profiles."tor"]
## P2P accept addresses
inbound = ["tor://127.0.0.1:26661"]

## Addresses we want to advertise to peers
external_addrs = []

## Seed nodes to connect to
seeds = [
    "tor://g7fxelebievvpr27w7gt24lflptpw3jeeuvafovgliq5utdst6xyruyd.onion:25552",
    "tor://yvklzjnfmwxhyodhrkpomawjcdvcaushsj6torjz2gyd7e25f3gfunyd.onion:25552",
]

Test your node

You can test if your node is configured properly on the network. Use Dnet and the ping-tool to test your node connections. You can view if your node is making inbound and outbound connections.

Troubleshooting

Refer to Network troubleshooting for further troubleshooting resources.