# Installation ### Create Aliases These aliases make interacting with `Geth` on the command line easier. {% code fullWidth="true" %} ```bash echo "alias geth-log='journalctl -f -u geth.service -o cat | ccze -A'" >> ~/.bashrc echo "alias geth-start='sudo systemctl start geth.service'" >> ~/.bashrc echo "alias geth-stop='sudo systemctl stop geth.service'" >> ~/.bashrc echo "alias geth-restart='sudo systemctl restart geth.service'" >> ~/.bashrc echo "alias geth-status='sudo systemctl status geth.service'" >> ~/.bashrc echo "alias geth-version='sudo /usr/local/bin/geth --version'" >> ~/.bashrc echo "alias geth-config='sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/geth.service'" >> ~/.bashrc echo "alias geth-enable='sudo systemctl enable geth.service'" >> ~/.bashrc echo "alias geth-disable='sudo systemctl disable geth.service'" >> ~/.bashrc echo "alias geth-delete-data='sudo rm -rf /var/lib/goethereum/geth'" >> ~/.bashrc echo "alias geth-update='~/geth-update.sh'" >> ~/.bashrc echo "alias geth-attach='sudo geth attach --preload ~/geth-console-script.js /var/lib/goethereum/geth.ipc'" >> ~/.bashrc echo "alias geth-blockNumber='sudo geth --exec \"eth.blockNumber\" attach /var/lib/goethereum/geth.ipc'" >> ~/.bashrc echo "alias geth-peerCount='sudo geth --exec \"net.peerCount\" attach /var/lib/goethereum/geth.ipc'" >> ~/.bashrc echo "alias geth-nodeInfo='sudo geth --exec \"admin.nodeInfo\" attach /var/lib/goethereum/geth.ipc'" >> ~/.bashrc source ~/.bashrc ``` {% endcode %} ### Firewall Configuration Configure the firewall using generic Execution client UFW settings:[Execution Clients](/ethereum-dev/infrastructure/client-software/execution-clients.md#ufw) ### Go - Install Find the latest version of `Go` here: ```bash GO_LATEST_VERSION= # Add the latest Go version here cd ~/ wget https://go.dev/dl/go${GO_LATEST_VERSION}.linux-amd64.tar.gz sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go && sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go${GO_LATEST_VERSION}.linux-amd64.tar.gz export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin echo 'PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin"' >> ~/.profile ``` ### Geth - Install Build the latest version of `Geth`. ```bash GETH_VERSION_COMMIT_HASH= # e.g.3f907d6 cd ~ git clone https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum.git cd go-ethereum git checkout ${GETH_VERSION_COMMIT_HASH} make geth ``` Move the compiled `Geth` build to a new directory. ```bash sudo cp ~/go-ethereum/build/bin/geth /usr/local/bin ``` Create `Geth` user and directory. ```bash sudo useradd --no-create-home --shell /bin/false goeth sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/goethereum ``` JWT Secret is now shared between all clients on the same machine:[Execution Clients](/ethereum-dev/infrastructure/client-software/execution-clients.md#create-jwt-secret) ### Geth - Configure Service Set permissions. ```bash sudo chown -R goeth:goeth /var/lib/goethereum ``` Configure [Execution Clients](/ethereum-dev/infrastructure/client-software/execution-clients.md#execution-service-environment-variables). Configure `Geth` service using the command line flags. ```bash sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/geth.service ``` {% tabs %} {% tab title="/etc/systemd/system/geth.service" %} {% code title="/etc/systemd/system/geth.service" %} ```bash [Unit] Description=Go Ethereum Client (Geth) - Execution Node After=network.target Wants=network.target [Service] User=goeth Group=goeth Type=simple Restart=always RestartSec=5 TimeoutStopSec=1200 EnvironmentFile=/etc/default/execution-variables.env ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/geth \ --${NETWORK} \ --syncmode=snap \ --port ${EXECUTION_P2P_PORT} \ --discovery.port ${EXECUTION_P2P_PORT} \ --datadir /var/lib/goethereum \ \ --pprof \ --metrics \ --metrics.expensive \ --metrics.addr ${EXECUTION_METRICS_ADDR} \ --metrics.port ${EXECUTION_METRICS_PORT} \ \ --authrpc.jwtsecret=/var/lib/jwtsecret \ --maxpeers ${EXECUTION_MAX_PEERS} \ \ --ws \ --ws.origins '*' \ --ws.port ${EXECUTION_WS_PORT} \ --ws.addr ${EXECUTION_WS_ADDR} \ \ --http \ --http.api "db,eth,net,engine,rpc,web3" \ --http.vhosts "*" \ --http.corsdomain "*" \ --http.addr ${EXECUTION_RPC_ADDR} \ --http.port ${EXECUTION_RPC_PORT} [Install] WantedBy=default.target ``` {% endcode %} {% endtab %} {% tab title="Geth Flags Explained" %}
FlagDescription
/usr/local/bin/gethStarts Geth.
--mainnetSpecifies mainnet as the target network.
--syncmode
  • full very/impossibly slow on Mainnet due to Shanghai DDOS attacks.
  • fast used to be the best option, but is now slower than snap.
  • snap the current fastest way to sync.
--portNetwork listening port (TCP).
--discovery.portUDP port for P2P discovery.
--httpEnable the HTTP-RPC server.
--datadirData directory for the databases and keystore.
--metricsEnable metrics collection and reporting.
--metrics.expensiveEnable expensive metrics collection and reporting.
--pprof

Enable the pprof HTTP server.

Required for metrics to work properly.

--http.apiAPI's offered over the HTTP-RPC interface.
--authrpc.jwtsecret
--maxpeers

Maximum number of network peers.

  • Network disabled if set to 0.
  • Default: 50.
--cache

Megabytes of memory allocated to internal caching.

  • Default = 4096 mainnet full node and 128 light mode.
--bootnodes

Comma separated enode URLs for P2P discovery bootstrap.

{% endtab %} {% endtabs %} Start the service and check it's working as expected. ### Geth - Command Aliases ```bash daemon-reload # Reload any changes made to the geth.service geth-enable # Enable the geth.service geth-start # Start the geth.service geth-status # View the status of the geth.service geth-log # View the geth.service logs ``` ### Geth - Update Scripts Create `Geth` update script. ```bash vim ~/geth-update.sh ``` {% code title="\~/geth-update.sh" %} ```bash #!/bin/bash set -e while true; do read -p "Are you sure you want to update Geth? (Y/N) " yn case $yn in [Yy]* ) break;; [Nn]* ) exit;; * ) echo "Please answer Y or N.";; esac done cd ~/go-ethereum read -p "Enter the commit hash you want to checkout: " commit_hash git fetch git checkout $commit_hash echo echo "**************" echo "Making Geth..." echo "**************" make geth # Check if geth.service is running service_was_running=0 if sudo systemctl is-active --quiet geth.service; then service_was_running=1 echo "****************" echo "Stopping Geth..." sudo systemctl stop geth.service fi echo "Replacing previous version..." sudo rm -rf /usr/local/bin/geth sudo cp ~/go-ethereum/build/bin/geth /usr/local/bin # Only start geth.service if it was running originally if [ $service_was_running -eq 1 ]; then echo "Restarting Geth..." echo "******************" sudo systemctl start geth.service fi ``` {% endcode %} Make the script executable. ```bash chmod u+x ~/geth-update.sh ``` ### Geth - Configure JavaScript Console Use `--preload` to load pre-written commands and functions stored in a script file. ```bash vim ~/geth-console-script.js ``` {% code title="\~/geth-console-script.js" %} ```bash function blockInfo() { var blockInfo; web3.eth.getBlock(eth.blockNumber, function(e, r) { blockInfo = r; }); return blockInfo; } ``` {% endcode %} Check `Geth` details by attaching to the JavaScript console ```bash geth-attach ``` `Geth` JavaScript console commands. ```bash eth.syncing net.peerCount ``` --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.eridian.xyz/ethereum-dev/infrastructure/client-software/execution-clients/geth/installation.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.