Host a Native Node

Prepare your configuration

After installation, you can create your configuration by:

rings init

This command will generate a configuration file named config.yaml for you. The default path is $HOME/.rings/config.yaml. You can also customize the path by using rings init --location <path>. Additionally, you can specify the key used by the Rings node by using rings init -k <your private key>. The generated file states every section explicitly, including a complete gateway: section with enabled: false, so it is the one place you edit; see Native Gateway.

By default, an ECDSA key pair will be automatically generated for you. The key pair in Rings Network is used for user identification and message signing. The key pair is utilized in various components of the network, so it is essential for users to ensure the security of their key pair. In the Native Node environment, since the private key is stored in plaintext, we strongly discourage the use of any asset-related key pair to host Rings Network.

More about config.yamlyou can find at:

config.yaml.md

Ready go!

Now you can start your rings-node by using the following command:

rings run

You can use rings run --help to check which settings are supported by the run command.

# rings run --help
Runs a foreground, composable Rings node.

Usage: rings run [OPTIONS]

Options:
      --gateway
          Start the native TUN gateway from the config's gateway section for this run; the section alone never starts it (rings init writes it with enabled: false) [env: GATEWAY=]
      --external-api-addr <EXTERNAL_API_ADDR>
          Rings node external api listen address. If not provided, use external_api_addr in config file or 127.0.0.1:50001 [env: EXTERNAL_API_ADDR=]
      --internal-api-port <INTERNAL_API_PORT>
          Rings node internal api listen port. If not provided, use internal_api_port in config file or 50000
      --api-token-path <API_TOKEN_PATH>
          API Bearer token file guarding the internal API and the external status and registry reads; the external handshake (nodeDid, answerOffer) is public. Relative paths are resolved next to the node config file [env: API_TOKEN_PATH=]
      --api-allowed-origin <API_ALLOWED_ORIGINS>
          Exact browser origin permitted to call the authenticated API; repeat as needed [env: API_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=]
      --allow-remote-external-api
          Explicitly permit external_api_addr to bind a non-loopback address [env: ALLOW_REMOTE_EXTERNAL_API=]
      --ice-servers <ICE_SERVERS>
          ICE server list. If not provided, use ice_servers in config file or stun://stun.l.google.com:19302 [env: ICE_SERVERS=]
      --stabilize-interval <STABILIZE_INTERVAL>
          Stabilization interval in seconds. If not provided, use stabilize_interval in config file or 15 [env: STABILIZE_INTERVAL=]
      --bootstrap-seed <BOOTSTRAP_SEED>
          Seed document URL (file:// or http(s)://) whose peers join the managed bootstrap targets of the config's bootstrap section; the run redials each target through its HTTP endpoint whenever it stops being reachable through the overlay [env: BOOTSTRAP_SEED=]
      --external-ip <EXTERNAL_IP>
          external ip address [env: EXTERNAL_IP=]
      --webrtc-udp-port-min <WEBRTC_UDP_PORT_MIN>
          Minimum UDP port used by native WebRTC ICE gathering. Must be paired with --webrtc-udp-port-max. [env: WEBRTC_UDP_PORT_MIN=]
      --webrtc-udp-port-max <WEBRTC_UDP_PORT_MAX>
          Maximum UDP port used by native WebRTC ICE gathering. Must be paired with --webrtc-udp-port-min. [env: WEBRTC_UDP_PORT_MAX=]
      --storage-path <STORAGE_PATH>
          Storage files location. If not provided, use storage.path in config file or ~/.local/share/rings [env: STORAGE_PATH=]
      --storage-capacity <STORAGE_CAPACITY>
          Storage capacity. If not provider, use storage.capacity in config file or 200000000 [env: STORAGE_CAPACITY=] [default: 200000000]
      --reassembly-profile <REASSEMBLY_PROFILE>
          Inbound chunk reassembly memory profile [env: REASSEMBLY_PROFILE=] [default: production] [possible values: production, constrained]
      --advertise-onion-relay
          Advertise this node as an onion relay in the online-node registry [env: ADVERTISE_ONION_RELAY=]
      --advertise-onion-exit
          Publish this node as an onion exit in the application-layer exit registry; requires --advertise-onion-relay [env: ADVERTISE_ONION_EXIT=]
      --onion-exit-service <ONION_EXIT_SERVICE>
          Onion exit service to serve: tcp or https. May be repeated. [env: ONION_EXIT_SERVICE=]
      --onion-exit-allow-target <ONION_EXIT_ALLOW_TARGET>
          Allow-list target for onion exit policy. May be repeated. [env: ONION_EXIT_ALLOW_TARGET=]
      --onion-exit-deny-target <ONION_EXIT_DENY_TARGET>
          Deny-list target for onion exit policy. May be repeated. [env: ONION_EXIT_DENY_TARGET=]
      --onion-exit-max-sessions <ONION_EXIT_MAX_SESSIONS>
          Maximum onion sessions this exit will serve [env: ONION_EXIT_MAX_SESSIONS=]
      --onion-exit-max-bytes-per-minute <ONION_EXIT_MAX_BYTES_PER_MINUTE>
          Maximum bytes per minute this exit will serve [env: ONION_EXIT_MAX_BYTES_PER_MINUTE=]
      --onion-exit-heartbeat-interval-secs <ONION_EXIT_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL_SECS>
          Onion-exit registry heartbeat interval in seconds [env: ONION_EXIT_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL_SECS=]
      --onion-exit-ttl-secs <ONION_EXIT_TTL_SECS>
          Onion-exit registry descriptor TTL in seconds [env: ONION_EXIT_TTL_SECS=]
      --onion-http-proxy-addr <ONION_HTTP_PROXY_ADDR>
          Bind a local HTTP CONNECT proxy that routes client TCP streams through onion exits, e.g. 127.0.0.1:18080 [env: ONION_HTTP_PROXY_ADDR=]
      --onion-http-proxy-header-timeout-secs <ONION_HTTP_PROXY_HEADER_TIMEOUT_SECS>
          Maximum seconds to wait for one HTTP CONNECT header [env: ONION_HTTP_PROXY_HEADER_TIMEOUT_SECS=]
      --onion-http-proxy-max-connections <ONION_HTTP_PROXY_MAX_CONNECTIONS>
          Maximum concurrent local HTTP CONNECT proxy connections [env: ONION_HTTP_PROXY_MAX_CONNECTIONS=]
  -c, --config <CONFIG>
          Config file location [env: CONFIG=] [default: ~/.rings/config.yaml]
  -h, --help
          Print help

With the rings run command, you can override the configurations specified in the config.yaml file using command-line arguments. Additionally, you can use the -c parameter to specify a different config file, which is particularly useful when you need to run multiple instances of the Rings Network.

Enable the native gateway

The generated gateway: section is disabled, so rings run creates no TUN device. To start the gateway for one run without editing the file:

rings run --gateway

To start it on every run, set enabled: true in the section. Either way the interface needs CAP_NET_ADMIN on Linux or the foreground helper; see Native Gateway.