Instructions for Command Line Node

Running a node

• Node binaries for Windows, Mac and Linux can be downloaded from the Beam website (http://beam.mw/downloads) or GitHub (https://github.com/BeamMW/beam/releases/tag/testnet2).
• Node parameters can be either passed through command line or specified in the configuration file called beam-node.cfg and located in the same folder the node resides in.
• For every parameter, the value in the command line prevails over configuration file.
• The log files are located in the logs folder, which in turn resides in the node folder.
• Once started, the node will create a node.db file in the same folder it is located. This file will store an internal state of the node.
• Upon the first launch, the node will download current blockchain history in batch mode as a single large macroblock. After the initial sync is complete, the node will continue to sync blocks and individual transactions from the current blockchain Tip (height) and onwards. This can be seen in the log entry: My Tip: 24704-f2ab414ba6430d85.

Command line execution example:

./beam-node --peer 104.248.159.154:8100 --wallet_phrases memory;cancel;brave;play;power;tomorrow;drama;paddle;city;prize;edit;cube; --mining_threads 1 --file_log_level debug

Node command line parameters explained:

Name	Description
peer	Specifies a comma-separated list of peers the node will initially connect to. After the connection is established, the node will get an updated list of peers from other nodes, along with peer ratings and from that moment the node will manage its connections on its own.
wallet_seed	A secret key for the wallet that will connect to this node to collect mining rewards (if the node is mining
wallet_phrases	Phrases to generate secret key according to BIP-39. wallet_seed option will be ignored.
mining_treads	Specifies the number of CPU cores utilized for mining. If set to 0, node acts as a validating node only.
file_log_level	Allows to raise the debug level when a deeper investigation is required.

Config file example:

# port to start server on
port=10000

# secret key generation seed.
wallet_phrases=memory;cancel;brave;play;power;tomorrow;drama;paddle;city;prize;edit;cube;

# number of mining threads(there is no mining if 0)
mining_threads=1

# peers
peer=104.248.159.154:8100

The full list of options supported by the node

General options:

Name	Description
h or help	list of all options
p arg or port arg (=10000)	port to start the server on
wallet_seed arg	secret key generation seed
wallet_phrases arg	phrases to generate secret key according to BIP-39, wallet_seed option will be ignored
log_level arg	log level `[info
file_log_level arg	file log level `[info
v or version	return project version
git_commit_hash	return commit hash

Node options:

Name	Description
storage arg (=node.db)	node storage path
history_dir arg (=./)	directory for compressed history
temp_dir arg (=/tmp/)	temp directory for compressed history, must be on the same volume
miner_type arg (=cpu)	miner type `[cpu
mining_threads arg (=0)	number of mining threads(there is no mining if 0)
verification_threads arg (=-1)	number of threads for cryptographic verifications (0 = single thread, -1 = auto)
miner_id arg (=0)	seed for miner nonce generation
peer arg	nodes to connect to
import arg (=0)	specify the blockchain height to import, the compressed history is assumed to be downloaded to the specified directory

Rules configuration:

Name	Description
CoinbaseEmission arg (=80000000)	coinbase emission in a single block
MaturityCoinbase arg (=60)	Number of blocks before coinbase UTXO can be spent
MaturityStd arg (=0)	Number of blocks before non-coinbase UTXO can be spent
MaxBodySize arg (=1048576)	Max block body size in [bytes]
DesiredRate_s arg (=60)	Desired rate of generated blocks in [seconds]
DifficultyReviewCycle arg (=1440)	Number of blocks after which the mining difficulty can be adjusted
MaxDifficultyChange arg (=2)	Max difficulty change after each cycle (each step is roughly x2 complexity)
TimestampAheadThreshold_s arg (=7200)	Block timestamp tolerance in [seconds]
WindowForMedian arg (=25)	How many blocks are considered in calculating the timestamp median
AllowPublicUtxos arg (=0)	Set to allow regular (non-coinbase) UTXO to have non-confidential signature
FakePoW arg (=0)	Don't verify PoW. Mining is simulated by the timer. For tests only