Set Up & Run a Dev/Test NodeΒΆ

This page explains how to set up a minimal local BigchainDB node for development and testing purposes.

The BigchainDB core dev team develops BigchainDB on recent Ubuntu and Fedora distributions, so we recommend you use one of those. BigchainDB Server doesn’t work on Windows and Mac OS X (unless you use a VM or containers).

First, read through the BigchainDB CONTRIBUTING.md file. It outlines the steps to setup a machine for developing and testing BigchainDB.

Next, create a default BigchainDB config file (in $HOME/.bigchaindb):

bigchaindb -y configure

Note: The BigchainDB CLI and the BigchainDB Configuration Settings are documented elsewhere. (Click the links.)

Start RethinkDB using:

rethinkdb

You can verify that RethinkDB is running by opening the RethinkDB web interface in your web browser. It should be at http://localhost:8080/.

To run BigchainDB Server, do:

bigchaindb start

You can run all the unit tests to test your installation.

The BigchainDB CONTRIBUTING.md file has more details about how to contribute.