An archive node synchronizes the blockchain by downloading the full chain from the genesis block to the current head block, executing all the transactions contained within. As the node crunches through the transactions, all past historical state is stored on disk, and can be queried for each and every block.

Initial processing required to execute all transactions may require non-negligible time and disk capacity required to store all past state may be non-insignificant. High end machines with SSD storage, modern CPUs and 8GB+ RAM are recommended.

To run an archive node, download rinkeby.json and start Geth with:

geth --datadir=$HOME/.rinkeby init rinkeby.json

geth --networkid=4 --datadir=$HOME/.rinkeby --cache=1024 --syncmode=full --ethstats='yournode:Respect my [email protected]' --bootnodes=enode://a24ac7c5484ef4ed0c5eb2d36620ba4e4aa13b8c84684e1b4aab0cebea2ae45cb[email protected]52.169.42.101:30303

You can download Geth from https://geth.ethereum.org/downloads/.

A full node synchronizes the blockchain by downloading the full chain from the genesis block to the current head block, but does not execute the transactions. Instead, it downloads all the transactions receipts along with the entire recent state. As the node downloads the recent state directly, historical data can only be queried from that block onward.

Initial processing required to synchronize is more bandwidth intensive, but is light on the CPU and has significantly reduced disk requirements. Mid range machines with HDD storage, decent CPUs and 4GB+ RAM should be enough.

To run a full node, download rinkeby.json and start Geth with:

geth --datadir=$HOME/.rinkeby init rinkeby.json

geth --networkid=4 --datadir=$HOME/.rinkeby --cache=512 --ethstats='yournode:Respect my [email protected]' --bootnodes=enode://a24ac7c5484ef4ed0c5eb2d36620ba4e4aa13b8c84684e1b4aab0cebea2ae45cb[email protected]52.169.42.101:30303

You can download Geth from https://geth.ethereum.org/downloads/.

A light node synchronizes the blockchain by downloading and verifying only the chain of headers from the genesis block to the current head, without executing any transactions or retrieving any associated state. As no state is available locally, any interaction with the blockchain relies on on-demand data retrievals from remote nodes.

Initial processing required to synchronize is light, as it only verifies the validity of the headers; similarly required disk capacity is small, tallying around 500 bytes per header. Low end machines with arbitrary storage, weak CPUs and 512MB+ RAM should cope well.

To run a light node, download rinkeby.json and start Geth with:

geth --datadir=$HOME/.rinkeby init rinkeby.json

geth --networkid=4 --datadir=$HOME/.rinkeby --syncmode=light --ethstats='yournode:Respect my [email protected]' --bootnodes=enode://a24ac7c5484ef4ed0c5eb2d36620ba4e4aa13b8c84684e1b4aab0cebea2ae45cb[email protected]52.169.42.101:30303

You can download Geth from https://geth.ethereum.org/downloads/.

An embedded node is a variation of the light node with configuration parameters tuned towards low memory footprint. As such, it may sacrifice processing and disk IO performance to conserve memory. It should be considered an experimental direction for now without hard guarantees or bounds on the resources used.

Initial processing required to synchronize is light, as it only verifies the validity of the headers; similarly required disk capacity is small, tallying around 500 bytes per header. Embedded machines with arbitrary storage, low power CPUs and 128MB+ RAM may work.

To run an embedded node, download rinkeby.json and start Geth with:

geth --datadir=$HOME/.rinkeby init rinkeby.json

geth --networkid=4 --datadir=$HOME/.rinkeby --cache=16 --ethash.cachesinmem=1 --syncmode=light --ethstats='yournode:Respect my [email protected]' --bootnodes=enode://a24ac7c5484ef4ed0c5eb2d36620ba4e4aa13b8c84684e1b4aab0cebea2ae45cb[email protected]52.169.42.101:30303

You can download Geth from https://geth.ethereum.org/downloads/.

Starting with the 1.5 release of go-ethereum, we've transitioned away from shipping only full blown Ethereum clients and started focusing on releasing the code as reusable packages initially for Go projects, then later for Java based Android projects too. Mobile support is still evolving, hence is bound to change often and hard, but the Ethereum network can nonetheless be accessed from Android too.

Under the hood the Android library is backed by a go-ethereum light node, meaning that given a not-too-old Android device, you should be able to join the network without significant issues. Certain functionality is not yet available and rough edges are bound to appear here and there, please report issues if you find any.

The stable Android archives are distributed via Maven Central, and the develop snapshots via the Sonatype repositories. Before proceeding, please ensure you have a recent version configured in your Android project. You can find details in Mobile: Introduction – Android archive.

Before connecting to the Ethereum network, download the rinkeby.json genesis json file and either store it in your Android project as a resource file you can access, or save it as a string in a variable. You're going to need to initialize your client.

Inside your Java code you can now import the geth archive and connect to Ethereum:

import org.ethereum.geth.*;

Enodes bootnodes = new Enodes();
bootnodes.append(new Enode("enode://a24ac7c5484ef4ed0c5eb2d36620ba4e4aa13b8c84684e1b4aab0cebea2ae45cb[email protected]52.169.42.101:30303"));

NodeConfig config = new NodeConfig();
config.setBootstrapNodes(bootnodes);
config.setEthereumNetworkID(4);
config.setEthereumGenesis(genesis);
config.setEthereumNetStats("yournode:Respect my [email protected]");

Node node = new Node(getFilesDir() + "/.rinkeby", config);
node.start();

Starting with the 1.5 release of go-ethereum, we've transitioned away from shipping only full blown Ethereum clients and started focusing on releasing the code as reusable packages initially for Go projects, then later for ObjC/Swift based iOS projects too. Mobile support is still evolving, hence is bound to change often and hard, but the Ethereum network can nonetheless be accessed from iOS too.

Under the hood the iOS library is backed by a go-ethereum light node, meaning that given a not-too-old Apple device, you should be able to join the network without significant issues. Certain functionality is not yet available and rough edges are bound to appear here and there, please report issues if you find any.

Both stable and develop builds of the iOS framework are available via CocoaPods. Before proceeding, please ensure you have a recent version configured in your iOS project. You can find details in Mobile: Introduction – iOS framework.

Before connecting to the Ethereum network, download the rinkeby.json genesis json file and either store it in your iOS project as a resource file you can access, or save it as a string in a variable. You're going to need to initialize your client.

Inside your Swift code you can now import the geth framework and connect to Ethereum (ObjC should be analogous):

import Geth

var error: NSError?

let bootnodes = GethNewEnodesEmpty()
bootnodes?.append(GethNewEnode("enode://a24ac7c5484ef4ed0c5eb2d36620ba4e4aa13b8c84684e1b4aab0cebea2ae45cb[email protected]52.169.42.101:30303", &error))

let config = GethNewNodeConfig()
config?.setBootstrapNodes(bootnodes)
config?.setEthereumNetworkID(4)
config?.setEthereumGenesis(genesis)
config?.setEthereumNetStats("yournode:Respect my [email protected]")

let datadir = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.documentDirectory, .userDomainMask, true)[0]
let node = GethNewNode(datadir + "/.rinkeby", config, &error);
try! node?.start();