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Join the Devnet
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Join the Devnet

Now that you have successfully installed the exrpd binary, it’s time to take the next steps and fully connect to the XRPL EVM Devnet. In this section, you’ll learn how to initialize your node configuration, download the correct genesis file, and set up peer connections so your node can begin synchronizing with the network.

By following these instructions, you will ensure that your node is properly configured and ready to start participating in the Devnet—verifying transactions, maintaining state, and providing the foundation you need for subsequent testing, development, and experimentation.

Prerequisites

Note: Make sure the exrpd is installed.

Configure the Node

Once you have the exrpd binary installed, you need to initialize and configure the node. This involves generating initial configuration files, downloading the appropriate genesis file, and establishing connections to network peers.

Initialize the node

Initializing your node creates the required configuration files, including validator keys and a default configuration structure. The <moniker> is a human-readable name you assign to your node (often the name of your organization or a recognizable identifier), and <chain-id> specifies the target network.

exrpd init <moniker> --chain-id <chain-id>

Replace <moniker> with a name for your node and <chain-id> with the correct chain ID for the network you are joining. After running this command, the necessary configuration and key files will be generated in the ~/.exrpd directory.

Download genesis file

The genesis.json file defines the initial state of the network. It’s critical that your node uses the same genesis file as the rest of the network to synchronize properly.

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Peersyst/xrp-evm-archive/main/poa-devnet/genesis.json -O ~/.exrpd/config/genesis.json
exrpd validate-genesis

If the validation succeeds without errors, your genesis file is correctly set up.

Add Peers

our node needs to connect to other nodes (peers) to synchronize and participate in the network. Persistent peers are nodes to which your instance will attempt to maintain ongoing connections.

  1. Retrieve a list of available peers from the XRPL EVM archive repository.
  2. Update the persistent_peers field in ~/.exrpd/config/config.toml:
PEERS=`curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Peersyst/xrp-evm-archive/main/poa-devnet/peers.txt | sort -R | head -n 10 | awk '{print $1}' | paste -s -d, -`
sed -i.bak -e "s/^persistent_peers *=.*/persistent_peers = \"$PEERS\"/" ~/.exrpd/config/config.toml
cat ~/.exrpd/config/config.toml | grep persistent_peers

Advanced Configuration Options

If you need to fine-tune your node beyond the basic setup (e.g., adjusting database backends, logging levels, or network timeouts), refer to the Advanced Configuration section. There, you’ll find detailed guidance on customizing your node’s behavior to better suit your infrastructure and operational requirements.

Synchronize the Node

To quickly get started, node operators can choose to sync by downloading a snapshot from a well-known contributor. For more advanced information on setting up a node, see the Sync Options section

Note: Make sure to set the --home flag when initializing and starting exrpd if mounting snapshot data externally.

Download the latest snapshot

Node Operators can decide how much of historical state they want to preserve by choosing between Pruned, Default, and Archive. See the Snapshots page for up-to-date snapshot sizes. In this example we are going to use Peersyst pruned snapshot.

sudo apt-get install wget lz4 -y

cd $HOME/.exrpd

wget https://evm-sidechain-snapshots-devnet.s3.amazonaws.com/exrpd.tar.lz4

tar -xI lz4 -f exrpd.tar.lz4
Start the node
exrpd start

After your node has started, you can track its synchronization status by examining the logs. To learn more, explore the following resources: