Downloading, building, and running the node from source code

Table of Contents

Introduction

If you want to go through the advanced way of building sources, this manual will help you do this.

Step 1: Install Erlang

You can install Erlang either using the package manager, or using kerl.

Install Erlang using the package manager

If you use the recommended Ubuntu version (22.04.1), you can install Erlang using the package manager. To do this, run the following command:

apt install cmake clang gcc git curl libssl-dev build-essential automake autoconf libncurses5-dev elixir erlang

note

If you use another version of Ubuntu (20.04, for instance), refer to the section below to install Erlang using kerl.

Install Erlang using `kerl`

To install erlang using kerl:

Install the software you need to seamlessly install Erlang:

apt install cmake clang gcc git curl libssl-dev build-essential automake autoconf libncurses5-dev elixir erlang-base erlang-public-key erlang-asn1 erlang-ssl erlang-dev erlang-inets erlang-eunit

Create a directory, where Erlang will be installed to:
```
mkdir /opt/erlang
```
Create a directory, where you will work with your node:
```
mkdir /opt/<your_node>
```
Go to /opt/erlang directory:
```
cd /opt/erlang
```
Install Erlang. To do this, download the kerl script:
```
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kerl/kerl/master/kerl
```
Hint

If you already have Erlang installed on your machine, we strongly recommend deleting it before the new installation, using the following command:
```
apt purge erlang*
```
Change script mode to executable by using the following command:
```
chmod a+x kerl
```
Update the list of Erlang releases using the following command:
```
./kerl update releases
```
Build the release 24.3 using the following command:
```
./kerl build 24.3
```
After installation is complete, you will see the following message in the console:
```
Erlang/OTP 24.3 (24.3) has been successfully built
```
Create a new subdirectory in erlang:
```
mkdir /opt/erlang/<your_directory_name>
```
Install Erlang to the subdirectory you've created on step 10 using the following command:
```
./kerl install 24.3 /opt/erlang/<your_directory_name>
```
Run the following command to activate the Erlang installation:
```
source /opt/erlang/<your_directory_name>/activate
```

note

If your Erlang installation is not activated, you will NOT be able to run the Tea Ceremony and build the node.

Step 2: Download and build the node

note

Choose a project folder to clone your project into. Use this folder to build the node.

Download the node sources from Github into your working directory (your_node, for instance), using the following command:
```
git clone https://github.com/thepower/tpnode.git -b e24
```
Go to tpnode directory, using the command:
```
cd tpnode
```
Check and download the dependencies using the command:
```
./rebar3 get-deps
```
Compile the node source by running the following command:
```
./rebar3 compile
```
Build the release by running the following command:
```
./rebar3 release
```
Copy the node directory from _build/default/rel/thepower to /opt by running the following command:
```
cp -r _build/default/rel/thepower /opt
```

Step 3: Create directories and place the files

Hint

You can create an additional directory named thepower, for example, and place db and log as subdirectories there.

To create directories for files:

Go to your working directory using the following command:
```
cd /opt/thepower
```
Create db and log directories in your working directory (/opt/thepower, for instance) using the following command:
```
mkdir {db,log}
```

Place genesis.txt and node.config near these directories using the following commands:

cp ~/tea_ceremony_directory/node.config /opt/thepower/node.config

cp ~/tea_ceremony_directory/genesis.txt /opt/thepower/genesis.txt

warning

The private key you get with the node.config file cannot be restored, if you lose it. Please, store it securely: place a backup onto your local machine.

Step 4: Start the node

Start the node using systemd. To do this:

Create a file tpnode.service under /etc/systemd/system directory.

The file must contain the following:

[Unit]
Description=tpnode service
Requires=network.target
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=forking
ExecStart=/opt/thepower/bin/thepower start
ExecStop=/opt/thepower/bin/thepower stop
User=root
Group=root
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Run the following command to rerun all generators , reload all unit files, and recreate the entire dependency tree. While the daemon is being reloaded, all sockets systemd listens on behalf of user configuration will stay accessible:
```
systemctl daemon-reload
```
Run the following command to enable the service after reboot:
```
systemctl enable tpnode.service
```
Start the node using the following command:
```
systemctl start tpnode.service
```

How to stop the node?

To stop the node, run:

systemctl stop tpnode.service

Step 5: Get the certificate

Obtain the SSL certificate for your node and place it into the db directory.

How to check, if my node works?

To check, if your node works, run:

curl http://your_node.example.com:1080/api/node/status | jq

where:

your_node.example.com — your node address;
1080 — port, that your node uses for api.

Replace the example parameters with the ones you need.

What do I need to do if something goes wrong?

caution

If something goes wrong, go to the log folder, and read the logs. If there are errors, write to Power Ecosystem Telegram chat: https://t.me/thepower_chat.

Troubleshooting

You get the following error:

===> Failed to boot tpnode for reason {{{badmatch,undefined},
[{nodekey,get_priv,0,
[{file,
"/home/thepower/tpnode/apps/tpnode/src/nodekey.erl"},
{line,26}]},
{tpic2,certificate,0,
[{file,
"/home/thepower/tpnode/apps/tpic2/src/tpic2.erl"},
{line,196}]},
{tpic2,
'-childspec/0-fun-0-',2,
[{file,
"/home/thepower/tpnode/apps/tpic2/src/tpic2.erl"},
{line,217}]},
{tpic2,childspec,0,
[{file,
"/home/thepower/tpnode/apps/tpic2/src/tpic2.erl"},
{line,229}]},
{tpnode_sup,init,1,
[{file,
"/home/thepower/tpnode/apps/tpnode/src/tpnode_sup.erl"},
{line,88}]},
{supervisor,init,1,
[{file,"supervisor.erl"},
{line,295}]},
{gen_server,init_it,2,
[{file,"gen_server.erl"},
{line,374}]},
{gen_server,init_it,6,
[{file,"gen_server.erl"},
{line,342}]}]},
{tpnode,start,[normal,[]]}}

Reason

You don't have genesis.txt and node.config files.

Solution

Start the Tea Ceremony client BEFORE starting the node. It will get proper genesis.txt and node.config.

You get the following error when starting the Tea Ceremony client:
```
 ~/tpnode# ./teaclient DEE570BD76F3
 -bash: ./teaclient: Permission denied
```
Reason

Probably, you haven't changed teaclient file mode to executable.

Solution

Change teaclient file mode to executable by running the following command:
```
chmod +x tea*
```
You get the following error when starting the Tea Ceremony client:
```
~# ./teaclient -n demonode05 DEE570BD76F3
ceremony client connecting to tea.thepower.io:443
Server rejects connection, reason: bad_token
```
Reason

Token DEE570BD76F3 has been used by another user.

Solution

Get the new token from the Telegram bot.

You get the following error when starting the Tea Ceremony client:

ceremony client connecting to knuth.cleverfox.ru:1436
=WARNING REPORT==== 19-Oct-2022::14:32:54.056133 ===
Description: "Authenticity is not established by certificate path validation"
Reason: "Option {verify, verify_peer} and cacertfile/cacerts is missing"

Server rejects connection, reason: you_are_late

Reason

You are late for the tea ceremony.

Solution

Stick to the bot recommendations and don't be late.

You see different ports displayed in server control panel and written in firewall rules.

Reason

Problems with ports.

Solution

Check your iptables rules:
```
iptables -L -nv
```
Find the rules for all three ports among the entries:
1. If the rules are absent, please contact or tech support in our Telegram chat.
2. If you've found a corrupted port, try to recreate rule using the server control panel.
warning
The Power Ecosystem is not responsible for the result of actions described below! These actions can lead to loss of access to the server.

Another way of addressing the problem is to:
1. Save the rules into a file using the following command:
```
iptables-save -f iptables.save
```
2. Edit the corrupted port:
```
vim iptables.save
```
3. Restore the rules from the file:
```
iptables-restore iptables.save
```

Downloading, building, and running the node from source code

Introduction​

Step 1: Install Erlang​

Install Erlang using the package manager​

Install Erlang using kerl​

Step 2: Download and build the node​

Step 3: Create directories and place the files​

Step 4: Start the node​

How to stop the node?​

Step 5: Get the certificate​

How to check, if my node works?​

What do I need to do if something goes wrong?​

Troubleshooting​

Introduction

Step 1: Install Erlang

Install Erlang using the package manager

Install Erlang using `kerl`

Step 2: Download and build the node

Step 3: Create directories and place the files

Step 4: Start the node

How to stop the node?

Step 5: Get the certificate

How to check, if my node works?

What do I need to do if something goes wrong?

Troubleshooting