Implementation of a https://polkadot.network node in Rust based on the Substrate framework.
NOTE: In 2018, we split our implementation of "Polkadot" from its development framework "Substrate". See the Substrate repo for git history prior to 2018.
This repo contains runtimes for the Polkadot, Kusama, and Westend networks. The README provides
information about installing the polkadot binary and developing on the codebase. For more
specific guides, like how to be a validator, see the
Polkadot Wiki.
If you just wish to run a Polkadot node without compiling it yourself, you may either run the latest binary from our releases page, or install Polkadot from one of our package repositories.
Installation from the Debian repository will create a systemd
service that can be used to run a Polkadot node. This is disabled by default,
and can be started by running systemctl start polkadot on demand (use
systemctl enable polkadot to make it auto-start after reboot). By default, it
will run as the polkadot user. Command-line flags passed to the binary can
be customized by editing /etc/default/polkadot. This file will not be
overwritten on updating polkadot. You may also just run the node directly from
the command-line.
Currently supports Debian 10 (Buster) and Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal), and
derivatives. Run the following commands as the root user.
# Import the security@parity.io GPG key
gpg --recv-keys --keyserver hkps://keys.mailvelope.com 9D4B2B6EB8F97156D19669A9FF0812D491B96798
gpg --export 9D4B2B6EB8F97156D19669A9FF0812D491B96798 > /usr/share/keyrings/parity.gpg
# Add the Parity repository and update the package index
echo 'deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/parity.gpg] https://releases.parity.io/deb release main' > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/parity.list
apt update
# Install the `parity-keyring` package - This will ensure the GPG key
# used by APT remains up-to-date
apt install parity-keyring
# Install polkadot
apt install polkadot
Make sure you have the support software installed from the Build from Source section below this section.
If you want to install Polkadot in your PATH, you can do so with:
cargo install --git https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot --tag <version> polkadot --lockedIf you'd like to build from source, first install Rust. You may need to add Cargo's bin directory to your PATH environment variable. Restarting your computer will do this for you automatically.
curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | shIf you already have Rust installed, make sure you're using the latest version by running:
rustup updateOnce done, finish installing the support software:
sudo apt install build-essential git clang libclang-dev pkg-config libssl-dev protobuf-compilerBuild the client by cloning this repository and running the following commands from the root directory of the repo:
git checkout <latest tagged release>
./scripts/init.sh
cargo build --releaseNote: compilation is a memory intensive process. We recommend having 4 GiB of physical RAM or swap available (keep in mind that if a build hits swap it tends to be very slow).
Note: if you want to move the built polkadot binary somewhere (e.g. into $PATH) you will also need to move polkadot-execute-worker and polkadot-prepare-worker. You can let cargo do all this for you by running:
cargo install --path . --lockedYou can also build from source using Parity CI docker image:
git checkout <latest tagged release>
docker run --rm -it -w /shellhere/polkadot \
-v $(pwd):/shellhere/polkadot \
paritytech/ci-linux:production cargo build --release
sudo chown -R $(id -u):$(id -g) target/If you want to reproduce other steps of CI process you can use the following guide.
This repo supports runtimes for Polkadot, Kusama, and Westend.
Connect to the global Polkadot Mainnet network by running:
./target/release/polkadot --chain=polkadotYou can see your node on telemetry (set a custom name with --name "my custom name").
Connect to the global Kusama canary network by running:
./target/release/polkadot --chain=kusamaYou can see your node on telemetry (set a custom name with --name "my custom name").
Connect to the global Westend testnet by running:
./target/release/polkadot --chain=westendYou can see your node on telemetry (set a custom name with --name "my custom name").
If you want to do anything on Polkadot, Kusama, or Westend, then you'll need to get an account and some DOT, KSM, or WND tokens, respectively. See the claims instructions for Polkadot if you have DOTs to claim. For Westend's WND tokens, see the faucet instructions on the Wiki.
If you'd actually like to hack on Polkadot, you can grab the source code and build it. Ensure you have Rust and the support software installed. This script will install or update Rust and install the required dependencies (this may take up to 30 minutes on Mac machines):
curl https://getsubstrate.io -sSf | bash -s -- --fastThen, grab the Polkadot source code:
git clone https://github.com/paritytech/polkadot.git
cd polkadotThen build the code. You will need to build in release mode (--release) to start a network. Only
use debug mode for development (faster compile times for development and testing).
./scripts/init.sh # Install WebAssembly. Update Rust
cargo build # Builds all native codeYou can run the tests if you like:
cargo test --workspace --releaseYou can start a development chain with:
cargo build
cargo run -- --devDetailed logs may be shown by running the node with the following environment variables set:
RUST_LOG=debug RUST_BACKTRACE=1 cargo run -- --devYou can run a simple single-node development "network" on your machine by running:
polkadot --devYou can muck around by heading to https://polkadot.js.org/apps and choose "Local Node" from the Settings menu.
If you want to see the multi-node consensus algorithm in action locally, then you can create a local testnet. You'll need two terminals open. In one, run:
polkadot --chain=polkadot-local --alice -d /tmp/aliceAnd in the other, run:
polkadot --chain=polkadot-local --bob -d /tmp/bob --port 30334 --bootnodes '/ip4/127.0.0.1/tcp/30333/p2p/ALICE_BOOTNODE_ID_HERE'Ensure you replace ALICE_BOOTNODE_ID_HERE with the node ID from the output of the first terminal.
Once you set this up you can take a look at the Polkadot Grafana dashboards that we currently maintain.
Polkadot is GPL 3.0 licensed.