Running a Validator Node on Shardeum: A Comprehensive Guide

Shardeum is an innovative, Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) based, auto-scaling blockchain platform designed for scalability, security, and efficiency. Its open-source nature and community-driven approach make it an attractive option for developers looking to build and deploy decentralized applications (dApps) (GitHub) (Shardeum).

Getting Started with Shardeum

To begin, you need to set up your local development environment. Shardeum uses Node.js and Rust to optimize performance and ensure compatibility. Follow these steps to configure your environment:

Installing Node.js and npm

Shardeum requires Node.js version 18.16.1 and npm version 9.5.1. Using Node Version Manager (NVM) is recommended for managing multiple Node.js versions:

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curl -o- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.7/install.sh> | bash
export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \\. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/bash_completion" ] && \\. "$NVM_DIR/bash_completion"

Install the required Node.js version:

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nvm install 18.16.1
nvm use 18.16.1

Verify the installations:

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node --version
# Should output 18.16.1
npm --version
# Should output 9.5.1

Installing Rust

The networking code for Shardeum's validator is implemented in Rust. Install Rust using the following command:

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curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf <https://sh.rustup.rs> | sh
source "$HOME/.cargo/env"
rustup install 1.74.1
rustup default 1.74.1

Cloning the Shardeum Repository

Clone the Shardeum repository and switch to the development branch:

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git clone <https://github.com/shardeum/shardeum.git>
cd shardeum
git switch dev

Install the necessary npm dependencies:

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npm ci

Initialize the project: