Getting Started With Prysm
If you're a developer interested in helping out, check out our Contribution Guidelines and join our active chat room on Discord or Gitter below:
You can either choose to run our system via:
Our latest release (Easiest)
Using Docker (Recommended)
Using Our Build Tool, Bazel
Docker is also a convenient way to run Prysm, as all you need to do is fetch the latest images:
docker pull gcr.io/prysmaticlabs/prysm/validator:sapphiredocker pull gcr.io/prysmaticlabs/prysm/beacon-chain:sapphire
First, clone our repository:
git clone https://github.com/prysmaticlabs/prysm
Download the Bazel build tool by Google here and ensure it works by typing:
bazel version
Bazel manages all of the dependencies for you (including go and necessary compilers) so you are all set to build prysm.
Then, build both parts of our system: a beacon chain node implementation, and a validator client:
bazel build //beacon-chain:beacon-chainbazel build //validator:validator
Prysm ships with two important components: a beacon node and a validator client. The beacon node is the server that performs the heavy lifting of Ethereum 2.0., A validator client is another piece of software that securely connects to the beacon node and allows you to stake 3.2 Goerli ETH in order to secure the network. You'll be mostly interacting with the validator client to manage your stake.
Another critical component of Ethereum 2.0 is the Validator Deposit Contract, which is a smart contract deployed on the Ethereum 1.0 chain which can be used for current holders of ETH to do a one-way transfer into Ethereum 2.0.
With docker:
docker run -v /tmp/prysm-data:/data -p 4000:4000 \gcr.io/prysmaticlabs/prysm/beacon-chain:latest \--datadir=/data--clear-db
To start your beacon node with bazel:
bazel run //beacon-chain -- --clear-db --datadir=/tmp/prysm-data
This will sync you up with the latest head block in the network, and then you'll have a ready beacon node.
The chain will then be waiting for you to deposit 3.2 Goerli ETH into the Validator Deposit Contract before your validator can become active! Now, you'll need to create a validator client to connect to this node and stake 3.2 Goerli ETH to participate as a validator in Ethereum 2.0's Proof of Stake system.
Once your beacon node is up, you'll need to attach a validator client as a separate process. Each validator represents 3.2 Goerli ETH being staked in the system, so you can spin up as many as you want to have more at stake in the network
Using your validator deposit data from the previous step, use the instructions in https://prylabs.net/participate to deposit.
It'll take a while for the nodes in the network to process your deposit, but once you're active, your validator will begin doing its responsibility! In your validator client, you'll be able to frequently see your validator balance as it goes up. If you ever go offline for a while, you'll start gradually losing your deposit until you get kicked out of the system. Congratulations, you are now running Ethereum 2.0 Phase 0 :).
