Prerequisites

1. Rust and cargo
2. SQLite 3
3. Bitcoin-core (modified)

Setup

1. Build the code

In this step, we'll:

• Install sqlite3 if not present
• Install rust if not present
• Build orca_node

Run the orcanet-rust/build.sh script (run as superuser if on linux):

sh ./build.sh

The binary will be present in orcanet-rust/target/release.

2. Setup bitcoin

Install

You can install in 2 ways:

• Install bitcoin-core manually by following Bitcoin-core setup.
• Use the setup-btc-core command like this:

  ./orca_node setup-btc-core

Verify the installation

The installation step will install the bitcoind and bitcoin-cli binaries in the appropriate location. Follow Step 5 from Bitcoin-core setup to test the installation.

Create wallet and BTC address

We need a wallet and a BTC address to start using the blockchain. We need a BTC address that we can use to receive BTC for coinbase transactions and from other users. The wallet manages our BTC addresses and their associated transactions.

Follow Step 6 from Bitcoin-core setup to create a new wallet and a new BTC address. Note these down as we need it for the next step.

Note: We currently don't have user account and login features. If we add it in the future, then wallet and BTC address creation/configuration will be moved to the UI.

3. Setup database and config file

Use the setup-node command to set up the database and config file that are needed for the node to work. For now, use the binary directly from orcanet-rust/target/release for the setup-node command as this command uses some relative paths.

• Use the wallet name and BTC address that you generated in step 2.
• DB_PATH and APP_DATA_PATH must be a path in an existing directory. The file/dir will be created if not be present.
• SECRET_KEY_SEED should be some positive integer (It SHOULD NOT be 0 as it is reserved for the relay server). It is Optional to provide this.

./orca_node setup-node --db-path DB_PATH \
 --app-data-path APP_DATA_PATH \
 --btc-address BTC_ADDRESS \
 --btc-wallet-name WALLET_NAME \
 --secret-key-seed SECRET_KEY_SEED # Optional: A random number will be used if not provided

You can use -h to get help about the setup-node command:

./orca_node setup-node -h

Verify the config file

The config file can be found in ~/.orcanet/config. Verify that the file is present and has the values you gave for the setup command. It should be something like this:

{
  "AppDataPath": "APP_DATA_PATH",
  "BTCAddress": "BTC_ADDRESS",
  "DBPath": "DB_PATH",
  "FileFeeRatePerKB": 0.0025,
  "ProxyFeeRatePerKB": 0.0025,
  "NetworkType": "MainNet",
  "ProxyConfig": null,
  "RunHTTPServer": true,
  "SecretKeySeed": 1234
}

You can modify these as per your needs.

4. Run the node

Use the start-node command to start the node.

RUST_LOG=info ./orca_node start-node

To stop the node, type exit in the terminal where the node is running.

Doc links

1. Backend design HLD
2. Bitcoin core manual setup