CARV Node Setup on Linux VPS (Alphanet)

5 min readJul 2, 2024

This guide will walk you through the process of setting up a CARV Verifier Node on a Linux system. Please note that these instructions are provided for informational purposes only. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, no guarantees are made regarding the completeness or reliability of the information. Use this guide at your own risk, and be sure to back up your data before proceeding. For detailed support, refer to the official CARV Checker Node documentation or contact CARV support.

Disclaimer

By using this guide, you acknowledge and agree that the author shall not be held liable for any errors, omissions, or damages of any kind arising from the use or inability to use this document. This includes, but is not limited to, any damage to your software, hardware, data, or other property.

Video Guide

Minimum Hardware requirements:
Minimum:

CPU with 1+ cores
2GB RAM
4 MBit/sec download Internet service

Recommended:

Fast CPU with 2+ cores
4GB+ RAM
8+ MBit/sec download Internet service

VPS Setup

My recommended VPS setup (sign-up using my referral link)
https://tidd.ly/3L9RiMw

Steps to Set Up Your CARV Verifier Node

1. Update Ubuntu OS

First, update your Ubuntu system to the latest packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Preview (prior to command execution)

2. Install Required Applications

Install the necessary applications: `screen`, `git`, and `make`:

sudo apt install screen -y && \
sudo apt install make -y && \
sudo apt install git -y

3. Install Go

Download and install Go:

cd $HOME
ver="1.21.3"
wget "https://golang.org/dl/go$ver.linux-amd64.tar.gz"
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf "go$ver.linux-amd64.tar.gz"
rm "go$ver.linux-amd64.tar.gz"
echo "export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin:$HOME/go/bin" >> $HOME/.bash_profile
source $HOME/.bash_profile
go version

Preview (after command execution)

4. Clone the CARV Source Code

Clone the CARV Verifier repository and build the source code:

git clone https://github.com/carv-protocol/verifier.git && \
cd verifier && \
git checkout verifier-alphanet && \
make build

Preview after command execution

5. Navigate to the Bin Folder

Change into the `bin` folder where the keystone generator and files to start the CARV node application:

cd bin

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6. Create a Screen Session

Create a screen session called CARV:

screen -S carv

Preview after command execution

7. Generate a random burner wallet

Go to the https://chaintool.tech/generateWallet/evmWallet and generate a random wallet by clicking on create

You can either copy the address, mnemonic and pri-key to a text editor or export the generated wallet by clicking on download

8. Delegate Your Node

Go to the [CARV Alphanet Explorer](https://alphanet-explorer.carv.io/verifiers), connect your wallet, and delegate your node to the generated wallet address.

9. Start the Verifier Node

Start the verifier node using the following command:

./verifier -private-key <Your Private Key> -reward-address <Your Reward Address> -commission-rate <Your Commission Rate>

Replace the placeholders with your specific details:

- <Path to keystore file>: The file path generated during the keystore creation.

- <keystore password>: The password you used for the keystore.

- <Your Reward Address>: The wallet address for your commission rewards.

- <Your Commission Rate>: Your commission rate (0–100). This rate determines the percentage of CARV rewards you want to receive from those who delegate their node to you. The commission rate can be set between 0 and 100, where 0 means you don’t take any commission from delegators, and 100 means you take all the rewards.

Important: remove the first 0x from your private key, for example if your generated private key is 0x4190ae49dcb5ca5dd4eda9db6f4ab6d7b73ec790afb921c64bfba026895e9e69, just put in 4190ae49dcb5ca5dd4eda9db6f4ab6d7b73ec790afb921c64bfba026895e9e69 in the section private key

Example of how the command should look like

./verifier -private-key 4190ae49dcb5ca5dd4eda9db6f4ab6d7b73ec790afb921c64bfba026895e9e69 -reward-address eb4d75edb0dca607c9bb0a1388f1f0461f0ba045 -commission-rate 5

If you get the error below with GaslessService failed Sytem is busy due to high volume, just reenter the command several times till it goes through