Nimbus
Overview
Official Links
Documentation
1. Initial configuration
Create a service user for the consensus service, create data directory and assign ownership.
sudo adduser --system --no-create-home --group consensus
sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/nimbus
sudo chown -R consensus:consensus /var/lib/nimbus
Install dependencies.
sudo apt install curl libsnappy-dev libc6-dev jq libc6 unzip ccze -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).
3. Setup and configure systemd
Create a systemd unit file to define your consensus.service
configuration.
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/consensus.service
Paste the following configuration into the file.
[Unit]
Description=Nimbus Consensus Layer Client service for Holesky
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/nimbus_beacon_node \
--network=holesky \
--data-dir=/var/lib/nimbus \
--tcp-port=9000 \
--udp-port=9000 \
--max-peers=100 \
--rest-port=5052 \
--enr-auto-update=true \
--non-interactive \
--status-bar=false \
--in-process-validators=false \
--web3-url=http://127.0.0.1:8551 \
--rest \
--metrics \
--metrics-port=8008 \
--jwt-secret="/secrets/jwtsecret" \
--suggested-fee-recipient=<0x_CHANGE_THIS_TO_MY_ETH_FEE_RECIPIENT_ADDRESS>
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
Replace
<0x_CHANGE_THIS_TO_MY_ETH_FEE_RECIPIENT_ADDRESS>
with your own Ethereum address that you control. Tips are sent to this address and are immediately spendable.Not staking? If you only want a full node, use the Standalone Beacon Node configuration and delete the whole line beginning with
--suggested-fee-recipient
To exit and save, press Ctrl
+ X
, then Y
, then Enter
.
Run the following to quickly sync with Checkpoint Sync.
sudo -u consensus /usr/local/bin/nimbus_beacon_node trustedNodeSync \
--network=holesky \
--trusted-node-url=https://holesky.beaconstate.ethstaker.cc \
--data-dir=/var/lib/nimbus \
--backfill=false
When the checkpoint sync is complete, you'll see the following message:
Done, your beacon node is ready to serve you! Don't forget to check that you're on the canonical chain by comparing the checkpoint root with other online sources. See https://nimbus.guide/trusted-node-sync.html for more information.
Run the following to enable auto-start at boot time.
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable consensus
Finally, start your consensus layer client and check it's status.
sudo systemctl start consensus
sudo systemctl status consensus
Press Ctrl
+ C
to exit the status.
Check your logs to confirm that the consensus clients are up and syncing.
sudo journalctl -fu consensus | ccze
Example of Synced Consensus Client Logs
nimbus_beacon_node[292966]: INF 2023-02-05 01:20:00.000+00:00 Slot start topics="beacnde" slot=31205 epoch=903 sync=synced peers=80 head=13a131:31204 finalized=1111:cdba33411 delay=69us850ns
nimbus_beacon_node[292966]: INF 2023-02-05 01:20:08.000+00:00 Slot end topics="beacnde" slot=31205 nextActionWait=7m27s985ms126us530ns nextAttestationSlot=31235 nextProposalSlot=-1 syncCommitteeDuties=none head=13a131:31204
4. Helpful consensus client commands
sudo journalctl -fu consensus | ccze
Example of Synced Nimbus Consensus Client Logs
nimbus_beacon_node[292966]: INF 2023-02-05 01:20:00.000+00:00 Slot start topics="beacnde" slot=31205 epoch=903 sync=synced peers=80 head=13a131:31204 finalized=1111:cdba33411 delay=69us850ns
nimbus_beacon_node[292966]: INF 2023-02-05 01:20:08.000+00:00 Slot end topics="beacnde" slot=31205 nextActionWait=7m27s985ms126us530ns nextAttestationSlot=31235 nextProposalSlot=-1 syncCommitteeDuties=none head=13a131:31204
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.