# Set up `palomad`

palomad is the command-line interface and daemon that connects to Paloma and enables you to interact with the Paloma blockchain. Paloma is the official Golang reference implementation of the Paloma node software.

# Install from binary

The easiest way to install palomad and Paloma is by downloading a pre-built binary for your operating system. You can find the binaries on the releases (opens new window) page.

# Mainnet

On mainnet tumbler the latest tag is v1.15.4

wget -O - https://github.com/palomachain/paloma/releases/download/v1.15.4/paloma_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz  | \
sudo tar -C /usr/local/bin -xvzf - palomad
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/palomad

sudo wget -P /usr/lib

# Testnet

On testnet paloma-testnet-16 the latest tag is v1.15.4

wget -O - https://github.com/palomachain/paloma/releases/download/v1.15.4/paloma_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz  | \
sudo tar -C /usr/local/bin -xvzf - palomad
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/palomad

sudo wget -P /usr/lib https://github.com/CosmWasm/wasmvm/releases/download/v1.5.2/libwasmvm.x86_64.so

# Install from source

# 1. Get the Paloma source code

Use git to retrieve Paloma (opens new window), and check out the correct tag depending on your network Github (opens new window).

git clone https://github.com/palomachain/paloma.git
cd paloma
git checkout [tag]

Example: git checkout v0.4.0-alpha

# 2. Build Paloma from source

Build Paloma, and install the palomad executable to your GOPATH environment variable.

go build ./cmd/palomad

# 3. Verify your Paloma installation

Verify that Paloma is installed correctly.

palomad version --long

The following example shows version information when Paloma is installed correctly:

 name: paloma
 server_name: palomad
 version: v.0.9.1
 commit: 0f7194bc7f75283630f5239976c6d7cf2b41a47c
 build_tags: ""
 go: go version go1.18.3 linux/amd64

 # followed by many build dependenecies (build_deps)

TIP

If the palomad: command not found error message is returned, confirm that the Go binary path is correctly configured by running the following command:

export PATH=$PATH:$(go env GOPATH)/bin

# Initialize and configure moniker

Initialize the node with a human-readable name. This will populate a ~/.paloma/ directory.

MONIKER=<your_custom_moniker> # e.g. validator-joes-node
palomad init $MONIKER

Moniker characters

Monikers can only contain ASCII characters; using Unicode characters will render your node unreachable by other peers in the network.

You can update your node's moniker by editing the moniker field in ~/.paloma/config/config.toml

# Add or import your Keys

VALIDATOR=<choose a name>

If you want to create a new key:

palomad keys add "$VALIDATOR"

If you have a mnemonic already, you can recover the keys with:

palomad keys add "$VALIDATOR" --recover

# Join or start a network

For more details on this step see Join or start a network.

# Run the server as a daemon

palomad must be running at all times. It is recommended that you register palomad as a systemd service so that it will be started automatically when the system reboots.

# Register `palomad` as a service

Create a service definition file in /etc/systemd/system/palomad.service.

Example:

cat << EOT > /etc/systemd/system/palomad.service
[Unit]
Description=Paloma Blockchain
After=network.target
ConditionPathExists=/usr/local/bin/palomad

[Service]
Type=simple
User=<your palomad user>
LimitNOFILE=65535
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
WorkingDirectory=~
ExecStartPre=
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/palomad start
Environment=PIGEON_HEALTHCHECK_PORT=5757
ExecReload=

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOT

Modify the Service section according to your environment:

Enter the user (likely your username, unless you created a user specifically for palomad)

Run systemctl daemon-reload followed by systemctl enable palomad. This will register palomad as a system service and turn it on upon startup.

Now start the serivce with systemctl start palomad.

# Controlling the service

Use systemd to start, stop, and restart the service:

# Check health
systemctl status palomad
# Start
systemctl start palomad
# Stop
systemctl stop palomad
# Restart
systemctl restart palomad

# Access logs

Use journalctl -t to access entire logs, entire logs in reverse, and the latest and continuous log.

# Entire log reversed
journalctl -t palomad -r
# Entire log
journalctl -t palomad
# Latest and continuous
journalctl -t palomad -f

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