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Run a Nwaku Node

Nwaku is a lightweight and robust Nim client for running a Waku node, equipped with tools to monitor and maintain a running node. Nwaku is highly configurable, enabling operators to select the protocols they want to support based on their needs, motivations, and available resources.

waku architecture

This guide provides detailed steps to download, build, configure, and connect a nwaku node to the Waku Network. It also includes interacting with the node and finding its addresses.

info

We recommend running a nwaku node with at least 2GB of RAM, especially if WSS is enabled. If running just a Relay node, 0.5GB of RAM is sufficient.

Get the node binary​

To run a node, you must have the nwaku binary. Nwaku provides multiple options for running a node:

We recommend using Docker Compose to run a node because it's the simplest and fastest way to configure and run one:

DescriptionDocumentation
Docker ComposeRun a nwaku node with Docker ComposeRun Nwaku with Docker Compose
Docker ContainerRun a nwaku node in a Docker ContainerRun Nwaku in a Docker Container

Download the binary​

DescriptionDocumentation
Precompiled BinaryDownload a precompiled binary of the nwaku nodeDownload Nwaku Binary
Nightly ReleaseTry the latest nwaku updates without compiling the binariesDownload Nightly Release

Build the binary​

DescriptionDocumentation
Build from SourceBuild the node from the nwaku source codeBuild Nwaku from Source
tip

You can run the nwaku binaries and Docker images on cloud service providers like Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and DigitalOcean.

Run the node​

Once you have gotten the nwaku binary, run it using the default configuration:

# Run the Docker Compose
docker-compose up -d

# Run the standalone binary
./build/wakunode2
tip

To learn how to customise the configuration of a nwaku node, have a look at the Node Configuration Methods and Node Configuration Examples guides.

Bootstrap the node​

To join the Waku Network, nodes must bootstrap for an entry point before discovering more peers. Nwaku provides multiple peer discovery mechanisms:

DescriptionDocumentation
Static PeersConfigure the bootstrap nodes that nwaku should establish connections upon startupConfigure Static Peers
DNS DiscoveryEnable nwaku to bootstrap nodes using the DNS Discovery mechanismConfigure DNS Discovery
Discv5Enable nwaku to discover peers using the Discv5 mechanismConfigure Discv5
Peer ExchangeEnable Peer Exchange protocol for light nodes to request peers from your nwaku nodeConfigure Peer Exchange
tip

We suggest configuring WebSocket transport for your node to enable support and serving of browser peers using @waku/sdk.

Interact with the node​

You can interact with a running nwaku node through the REST API, such as querying the node information using the Get node info endpoint:

curl --location 'http://127.0.0.1:8645/debug/v1/info' \
--header 'Accept: application/json'
info

The listenAddresses field stores the node's listening addresses, while the enrUri field stores the discoverable ENR URI for peer discovery.

Check the node health status​

You can check the health status of the node by calling the Get node health status endpoint of the REST API:

curl --location 'http://127.0.0.1:8645/health' \
--header 'Accept: text/plain'
tip

If you encounter issues running your node or require assistance with anything, please visit the #node-help channel on our Discord.

Congratulations!

You have successfully started, configured, and connected a nwaku node to the Waku Network. Have a look at the Node Configuration Examples guide to learn how to configure nwaku for different use cases.