Running a Node

Complete operational guide for running Orbinum nodes in development, testnet, and production modes.

Prerequisites

Make sure you've completed the Installation before continuing.

Node Modes Overview

Mode	Use Case	Data Persistence	Consensus	Pre-funded Accounts
Development	Local testing	Temporal (with `--tmp`)	Instant seal	Alice, Bob, Charlie
Testnet	Integration testing	Persistent	Multi-validator	No (requires faucet)
Production	Mainnet	Persistent	Multi-validator	No

Development Mode

Mode for local development with instant seal (produces blocks without consensus).

Basic Development Node

./target/release/orbinum-node --dev --tmp

Flags:

--dev: Activates development chain spec with pre-funded accounts
--tmp: Stores data in temporary directory (cleared on restart)

Features:

Produces blocks instantly (doesn't wait for consensus)
Clean chain state on each start
Ideal for quick testing

Pre-funded Development Accounts

Account	Substrate Address	Balance Inicial
Alice	`5GrwvaEF...`	1,000,000 ORB
Bob	`5FHneW46...`	1,000,000 ORB
Charlie	`5FLSigC9...`	1,000,000 ORB

With Persistent Data

To maintain state between restarts:

./target/release/orbinum-node --dev --base-path ./data

Enable External RPC Access

To connect from Polkadot.js Apps or external wallets:

./target/release/orbinum-node \
    --dev \
    --tmp \
    --rpc-cors all \
    --rpc-methods Unsafe \
    --rpc-external

Development Only

--rpc-methods Unsafe enables dangerous methods. Never use this in production.

With Ethereum RPC APIs

For EVM development (MetaMask, Hardhat, etc.):

./target/release/orbinum-node \
    --dev \
    --tmp \
    --rpc-cors all \
    --rpc-external \
    --ethapi=debug,trace,txpool

Available endpoints:

Substrate RPC: ws://127.0.0.1:9944
Ethereum RPC: http://127.0.0.1:9944 (JSON-RPC compatible)

Testnet Mode

Docker Deployment (Recommended)

The simplest way to run a testnet node:

cd docker/testnet
docker-compose up -d

Container management:

# View logs in real-time
docker-compose logs -f

# Stop node
docker-compose down

# Restart node
docker-compose restart

# View status
docker-compose ps

Configuration: The docker-compose.yml file includes pre-configured testnet settings.

Join Existing Testnet (Binary)

If you compiled from source:

./target/release/orbinum-node \
    --chain testnet \
    --name "MyNode" \
    --base-path /data/orbinum \
    --rpc-cors all

Local Multi-Node Testnet

To simulate a multi-node network locally:

Node 1 (Alice - Bootnode):

./target/release/orbinum-node \
    --chain local \
    --alice \
    --base-path /tmp/alice \
    --port 30333 \
    --rpc-port 9944

Copy the Local node identity from the output (format: 12D3KooW...).

Node 2 (Bob):

./target/release/orbinum-node \
    --chain local \
    --bob \
    --base-path /tmp/bob \
    --port 30334 \
    --rpc-port 9945 \
    --bootnodes /ip4/127.0.0.1/tcp/30333/p2p/<ALICE_PEER_ID>

Replace <ALICE_PEER_ID> with Alice's node identity.

Production Mode

Mainnet Status

Orbinum mainnet is not yet in production (Q1 2026: MVP/Testnet). This section is for future reference.

Validator Node

Validator node with staking:

./target/release/orbinum-node \
    --chain mainnet \
    --validator \
    --name "MyValidator" \
    --base-path /data/orbinum \
    --rpc-methods Safe \
    --rpc-cors all \
    --state-pruning 256

Requirements:

Minimum stake (TBD)
Session keys configured
99%+ uptime

Archive Node

Stores complete blockchain history:

./target/release/orbinum-node \
    --chain mainnet \
    --pruning archive \
    --base-path /data/orbinum-archive \
    --db-cache 4096

Requirements: 200+ GB storage, grows continuously.

Public RPC Node

Public RPC endpoint for dApps:

./target/release/orbinum-node \
    --chain mainnet \
    --rpc-external \
    --rpc-cors all \
    --rpc-methods Safe \
    --rpc-max-connections 1000

Configuration Reference

Essential Flags

Flag	Description	Default
`--chain`	Chain specification	`dev`
`--base-path`	Data directory	Platform-specific
`--port`	P2P port	30333
`--rpc-port`	RPC port	9944
`--ws-port`	WebSocket port	9944
`--validator`	Enable validation	false
`--pruning`	State pruning mode	256 blocks
`--name`	Node name	Random

RPC Configuration

Flag	Description
`--rpc-external`	Listen on all interfaces
`--rpc-cors`	CORS origins (use `all` for dev)
`--rpc-methods`	`Safe`, `Unsafe`, or `Auto`
`--rpc-max-connections`	Max concurrent connections

Logging

# Increase verbosity
RUST_LOG=debug ./target/release/orbinum-node --dev

# Specific module logging
RUST_LOG=pallet_shielded_pool=trace ./target/release/orbinum-node --dev

# Log to file
./target/release/orbinum-node --dev 2>&1 | tee node.log

Systemd Service

For production deployments:

# /etc/systemd/system/orbinum.service
[Unit]
Description=Orbinum Node
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=orbinum
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/orbinum-node \
    --chain mainnet \
    --base-path /data/orbinum \
    --validator \
    --name "MyValidator"
Restart=always
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start:

sudo systemctl enable orbinum
sudo systemctl start orbinum
sudo systemctl status orbinum

Monitoring and Observability

Prometheus Metrics

Enable metrics endpoint:

./target/release/orbinum-node \
    --dev \
    --prometheus-port 9615 \
    --prometheus-external

Access: http://localhost:9615/metrics

Available metrics:

Block height, finalization lag
Transaction pool size
Peer connections
Memory usage, CPU

RPC Health Check

curl -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{"id":1, "jsonrpc":"2.0", "method": "system_health", "params":[]}' \
    http://localhost:9944

Response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "result": {
        "peers": 5,
        "isSyncing": false,
        "shouldHavePeers": true
    },
    "id": 1
}

Advanced Topics

Custom Chain Spec

To create a custom chain spec:

# Generate spec in JSON format
./target/release/orbinum-node build-spec --chain local > custom-spec.json

# Convert to raw format
./target/release/orbinum-node build-spec --chain custom-spec.json --raw > custom-spec-raw.json

# Use the spec
./target/release/orbinum-node --chain custom-spec-raw.json

Database Backend

Orbinum uses RocksDB by default. To change:

# Use ParityDB (experimental)
./target/release/orbinum-node --dev --database paritydb

Telemetry

Send telemetry to public server:

./target/release/orbinum-node \
    --chain mainnet \
    --name "MyNode" \
    --telemetry-url "wss://telemetry.polkadot.io/submit/ 0"

Next Steps

Quick Start - Perform your first transaction
Wallet CLI - Use the command-line wallet

Node Modes Overview​

Development Mode​

Basic Development Node​

Pre-funded Development Accounts​

With Persistent Data​

Enable External RPC Access​

With Ethereum RPC APIs​

Testnet Mode​

Docker Deployment (Recommended)​

Join Existing Testnet (Binary)​

Local Multi-Node Testnet​

Production Mode​

Validator Node​

Archive Node​

Public RPC Node​

Configuration Reference​

Essential Flags​

RPC Configuration​

Logging​

Systemd Service​

Monitoring and Observability​

Prometheus Metrics​

RPC Health Check​

Advanced Topics​

Custom Chain Spec​

Database Backend​

Telemetry​

Next Steps​