# Lighthouse ## Overview {% hint style="info" %} [Lighthouse](https://github.com/sigp/lighthouse) is an Eth client with a heavy focus on speed and security. The team behind it, [Sigma Prime](https://sigmaprime.io), is an information security and software engineering firm who have funded Lighthouse along with the Ethereum Foundation, Consensys, and private individuals. Lighthouse is built in Rust and offered under an Apache 2.0 License. {% endhint %} #### Official Links | Subject | Links | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Releases | | | Documentation | [https://lighthouse-book.sigmaprime.io](https://lighthouse-book.sigmaprime.io/) | | Website | [https://lighthouse.sigmaprime.io](https://lighthouse.sigmaprime.io/) | ### 1. Initial configuration Create a service user for the consensus service, create data directory and assign ownership. ```bash sudo adduser --system --no-create-home --group consensus sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/lighthouse sudo chown -R consensus:consensus /var/lib/lighthouse ``` Install dependencies. ```bash sudo apt install curl ccze jq -y ``` ### 2. Install Binaries * Downloading binaries is often faster and more convenient. * Building from source code can offer better compatibility and is more aligned with the spirit of FOSS (free open source software).
Option 1 - Download binaries Run the following to automatically download the latest linux release, un-tar and cleanup. ```bash RELEASE_URL="https://api.github.com/repos/sigp/lighthouse/releases/latest" BINARIES_URL="$(curl -s $RELEASE_URL | jq -r ".assets[] | select(.name) | .browser_download_url" | grep x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz$)" echo Downloading URL: $BINARIES_URL cd $HOME # Download wget -O lighthouse.tar.gz $BINARIES_URL # Untar tar -xzvf lighthouse.tar.gz -C $HOME # Cleanup rm lighthouse.tar.gz ``` Install the binaries. 
sudo mv $HOME/lighthouse /usr/local/bin/lighthouse
Option 2 - Build from source code **Install rust dependency** ```bash curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh ``` When prompted, enter '1' to proceed with the default install. Update your environment variables. ```bash echo export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH" >> ~/.bashrc source ~/.bashrc ``` Install rust dependencies. ```bash sudo apt-get update sudo apt install -y git gcc g++ make cmake pkg-config libssl-dev libclang-dev clang protobuf-compiler ``` Build the binaries. ```bash mkdir -p ~/git cd ~/git git clone -b stable https://github.com/sigp/lighthouse.git cd lighthouse make ``` In case of compilation errors, run the following sequence. ```bash rustup update cargo clean make ``` Verify lighthouse was built properly by checking the version number. ``` lighthouse --version ``` Install the binary. ```bash sudo cp $HOME/.cargo/bin/lighthouse /usr/local/bin/lighthouse ```
### **3. Setup and configure systemd** Create a **systemd unit file** to define your `consensus.service` configuration. ```bash sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/consensus.service ``` Paste the following configuration into the file. ```shell [Unit] Description=Lighthouse Consensus Layer Client service for Hoodi Wants=network-online.target After=network-online.target Documentation=https://www.coincashew.com [Service] Type=simple User=consensus Group=consensus Restart=on-failure RestartSec=3 KillSignal=SIGINT TimeoutStopSec=900 ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/lighthouse bn \ --datadir /var/lib/lighthouse \ --network hoodi \ --staking \ --validator-monitor-auto \ --metrics \ --checkpoint-sync-url=https://hoodi.beaconstate.ethstaker.cc \ --port 9000 \ --quic-port 9001 \ --http-port 5052 \ --target-peers 100 \ --metrics-port 8008 \ --execution-endpoint http://127.0.0.1:8551 \ --execution-jwt /secrets/jwtsecret [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target ``` To exit and save, press `Ctrl` + `X`, then `Y`, then `Enter`. Run the following to enable auto-start at boot time. ```bash sudo systemctl daemon-reload sudo systemctl enable consensus ``` Finally, start your consensus layer client and check it's status. ```bash sudo systemctl start consensus sudo systemctl status consensus ``` Press `Ctrl` + `C` to exit the status. Check your logs to confirm that the consensus client is up and syncing. ```bash sudo journalctl -fu consensus | ccze ``` Press `Ctrl` + `C` to exit the logs. ### 4. Helpful consensus client commands {% tabs %} {% tab title="View Logs" %} ```bash sudo journalctl -fu consensus | ccze ``` **Example of Synced Lighthouse Consensus Client Logs** ```bash Feb 03 01:02:36.000 INFO New block received root: 0xb5ccb2f85d981ca9e1c0d904f967403ddf8c47532c195fe213c94a28ffaf6a2e, slot: 2138 Feb 03 01:02:42.000 INFO Synced slot: 2138, block: 0x1cb281a, epoch: 121, finalized_epoch: 120, finalized_root: 0x1dce0, exec_hash: 0x6827aeb (verified), peers: 50, service: slot_notifier ``` {% endtab %} {% tab title="Stop" %} ```bash sudo systemctl stop consensus ``` {% endtab %} {% tab title="Start" %} ```bash sudo systemctl start consensus ``` {% endtab %} {% tab title="View Status" %} ```bash sudo systemctl status consensus ``` {% endtab %} {% tab title="Reset Database" %} Common reasons to reset the database can include: * To reduce disk space usage * To recover from a corrupted database due to power outage or hardware failure * To upgrade to a new storage format ```bash sudo systemctl stop consensus sudo rm -rf /var/lib/lighthouse/beacon sudo systemctl restart consensus ``` With checkpoint sync enabled, time to re-sync the consensus client should take only a minute or two. {% endtab %} {% endtabs %} Now that your consensus client is configured and started, you have a full node. Proceed to the next step on setting up your validator client, which turns a full node into a staking node. {% hint style="info" %} If you wanted to setup a full node, not a staking node, stop here! Congrats on running your own full node! :tada: {% endhint %}