AvalancheGo Config and Flags

You can specify the configuration of a node with the arguments below.

Config File

`--config-file` (string):

Path to a JSON file that specifies this node's configuration. Command line arguments will override arguments set in the config file. This flag is ignored if --config-file-content is specified.

Example JSON config file:

{
    "log-level": "debug"
}

`--config-file-content` (string):

As an alternative to --config-file, it allows specifying base64 encoded config content. Must be used in conjunction with --config-file-content-type.

`--config-file-content-type` (string):

Specifies the format of the base64 encoded config content. JSON, TOML, YAML are among currently supported file format (see here for full list). Required if --config-file-content is set.

APIs

`--api-admin-enabled` (boolean):

If set to false, this node will not expose the Admin API. Defaults to false. See here for more information.

`--api-auth-required` (boolean):

If set to true, API calls require an authorization token. Defaults to false. See here for more information.

`--api-auth-password` (string):

The password needed to create/revoke authorization tokens. If --api-auth-required=true, must be specified; otherwise ignored. See here for more information.

`--api-health-enabled` (boolean):

If set to true, this node will expose the Health API. Defaults to true. See here for more information.

`--index-enabled` (boolean):

If false, this node will not enable the indexer and the Index API will not be available. Defaults to false. See here for more information.

`--api-info-enabled` (boolean):

If set to true, this node will expose the Info API. Defaults to true. See here for more information.

`--api-ipcs-enabled` (boolean):

If set to true, this node will expose the IPCs API. Defaults to false. See here for more information.

`--api-keystore-enabled` (boolean):

If set to false, this node will not expose the Keystore API. Defaults to true. See here for more information.

`--api-metrics-enabled` (boolean):

If set to false, this node will not expose the Metrics API. Defaults to true. See here for more information.

`--http-shutdown-wait` (duration):

Duration to wait after receiving SIGTERM or SIGINT before initiating shutdown. The /health endpoint will return unhealthy during this duration (if the Health API is enabled.) Defaults to 0.

`--http-shutdown-timeout` (duration):

Maximum duration to wait for existing connections to complete during node shutdown. Defaults to 10 seconds.

Assertions

`--assertions-enabled` (boolean):

When set to true, assertions will execute at runtime throughout the codebase. This is intended for use in debugging, as we may get a more specific error message. Defaults to true.

Bootstrapping

`--bootstrap-beacon-connection-timeout` (duration):

Timeout when attempting to connect to bootstrapping beacons. Defaults to 1m.

`--bootstrap-ids` (string):

Bootstrap IDs is an array of validator IDs. These IDs will be used to authenticate bootstrapping peers. An example setting of this field would be --bootstrap-ids="NodeID-7Xhw2mDxuDS44j42TCB6U5579esbSt3Lg,NodeID-MFrZFVCXPv5iCn6M9K6XduxGTYp891xXZ". The default value depends on the network ID.

`--bootstrap-ips` (string):

Bootstrap IPs is an array of IPv4:port pairs. These IP Addresses will be used to bootstrap the current Avalanche state. An example setting of this field would be --bootstrap-ips="127.0.0.1:12345,1.2.3.4:5678". The default value depends on the network ID.

`--bootstrap-retry-enabled` (boolean):

If true, will retry bootstrapping if it fails.

`--bootstrap-retry-max-attempts` (uint):

Max number of times to retry bootstrapping after a failure.

`--bootstrap-ancestors-max-containers-sent` (uint)

Max number of containers in an Ancestors message sent by this node. Defaults to 2000.

`--bootstrap-ancestors-max-containers-received` (unit)

This node reads at most this many containers from an incoming Ancestors message. Defaults to 2000.

Chain Configs

Some chains allow the node operator to provide a custom configuration. AvalancheGo can read chain configurations from files and pass them to the corresponding chains on initialization.

AvalancheGo looks for these files in the directory specified by --chain-config-dir. This directory can have sub-directories whose names are chain IDs or chain aliases. Each sub-directory contains the configuration for the chain specified in the directory name. Each sub-directory should contain a file named config, whose value is passed in when the corresponding chain is initialized (see below for extension). For example, the config for the C-Chain should be at: {chain-config-dir}/C/config.json.

The filename extension that these files should have, and the contents of these files, is VM-dependent. For example, some chains may expect config.txt while others expect config.json. If multiple files are provided with the same name but different extensions (e.g. config.json and config.txt) in the same sub-directory, AvalancheGo will exit with an error.

For a given chain, AvalancheGo will look first for a config sub-directory whose name is the chain ID. If it isn't found, it looks for a config sub-directory whose name is the chain's primary alias. If it's not found, it looks for a config sub-directory whose name is another alias for the chain. All folder and file names are case sensitive.

It is not required to provide these custom configurations. If they are not provided, a VM-specific default config will be used.

`--chain-config-dir` (string):

Specifies the directory that contains chain configs, as described above. Defaults to $HOME/.avalanchego/configs/chains. If this flag is not provided and the default directory does not exist, AvalancheGo will not exit since custom configs are optional. However, if the flag is set, the specified folder must exist, or AvalancheGo will exit with an error. This flag is ignored if --chain-config-content is specified.

`--chain-config-content` (string):

As an alternative to --chain-config-dir, chains custom configurations can be loaded altogether from command line via --chain-config-content flag. Content must be base64 encoded.

C-Chain Configs

In order to specify a config for the C-Chain, a JSON config file should be placed at {chain-config-dir}/C/config.json.

For example if chain-config-dir has the default value which is $HOME/.avalanchego/configs/chains, then config.json can be placed at $HOME/.avalanchego/configs/chains/C/config.json.

The C-Chain config options described below.

The default C-Chain config is:

{
  "snowman-api-enabled": false,
  "coreth-admin-api-enabled": false,
  "coreth-admin-api-dir": "",
  "eth-apis": [
    "public-eth",
    "public-eth-filter",
    "net",
    "web3",
    "internal-public-eth",
    "internal-public-blockchain",
    "internal-public-transaction-pool",
    "internal-public-account"
  ],
  "continuous-profiler-dir": "",
  "continuous-profiler-frequency": 900000000000,
  "continuous-profiler-max-files": 5,
  "rpc-gas-cap": 50000000,
  "rpc-tx-fee-cap": 100,
  "preimages-enabled": false,
  "pruning-enabled": true,
  "snapshot-async": true,
  "snapshot-verification-enabled": false,
  "metrics-enabled": false,
  "metrics-expensive-enabled": false,
  "local-txs-enabled": false,
  "api-max-duration": 0, // Default to no maximum
  "ws-cpu-refill-rate": 0,
  "ws-cpu-max-stored": 0,
  "api-max-blocks-per-request": 0, // Default to no maximum
  "allow-unfinalized-queries": false,
  "allow-unprotected-txs": false,
  "keystore-directory": "",
  "keystore-external-signer": "",
  "keystore-insecure-unlock-allowed": false,
  "remote-tx-gossip-only-enabled": false,
  "tx-regossip-frequency": 60000000000,
  "tx-regossip-max-size": 15,
  "log-level": "debug",
  "offline-pruning-enabled": false,
  "offline-pruning-bloom-filter-size": 512, // MB
  "offline-pruning-data-directory": ""
}

Default values are overridden only if specified in the given config.

Continuous Profiling

`continuous-profiler-dir` (string):

Enables the continuous profiler (captures a CPU/Memory/Lock profile at a specified interval). Defaults to "". If a non-empty string is provided, it enables the continuous profiler and specifies the directory to place the profiles in.

`continuous-profiler-frequency` (duration):

Specifies the frequency to run the continuous profiler. Defaults to 15 minutes.

`continuous-profiler-max-files` (int):

Specifies the maximum number of profiles to keep before removing the oldest.

Enabling Avalanche Specific APIs

`snowman-api-enabled` (boolean):

Enables the Snowman API. Defaults to false.

`coreth-admin-api-enabled` (boolean):

Enables the Admin API. Defaults to false.

`coreth-admin-api-dir` (string):

Specifies the directory for the Admin API to use to store CPU/Mem/Lock Profiles. Defaults to "".

Enabling EVM APIs

`eth-apis` ([]string):

Use the eth-apis field to specify the exact set of below services to enable on your node. If this field is not set, then the default list will be: ["public-eth","public-eth-filter","net","web3","internal-public-eth","internal-public-blockchain","internal-public-transaction-pool"].

Note: if you populate this field, it will override the defaults so you must include every service you wish to enable.

`public-eth`:

Adds the following RPC calls to the eth_* namespace. Defaults to true.

eth_coinbase eth_etherbase

`public-eth-filter`:

Enables the public filter API for the eth_* namespace. Defaults to true.

Adds the following RPC calls (see https://eth.wiki/json-rpc/API for complete documentation):

eth_newPendingTransactionFilter
eth_newPendingTransactions
eth_newAcceptedTransactions
eth_newBlockFilter
eth_newHeads
eth_logs
eth_newFilter
eth_getLogs
eth_uninstallFilter
eth_getFilterLogs
eth_getFilterChanges

`private-admin`:

Adds the following RPC calls to the admin_* namespace. Defaults to false.

admin_importChain
admin_exportChain

`public-debug`:

Adds the following RPC calls to the debug_* namespace. Defaults to false.

debug_dumpBlock
debug_accountRange

`private-debug`:

Adds the following RPC calls to the debug_* namespace. Defaults to false.

debug_preimage
debug_getBadBlocks
debug_storageRangeAt
debug_getModifiedAccountsByNumber
debug_getModifiedAccountsByHash
debug_getAccessibleState

`net`:

Adds the following RPC calls to the net_* namespace. Defaults to true.

net_listening
net_peerCount
net_version

Note: Coreth is a virtual machine and does not have direct access to the networking layer, so net_listening always returns true and net_peerCount always returns 0. For accurate metrics on the network layer, users should use the AvalancheGo APIs.

`debug-tracer`:

Adds the following RPC calls to the debug_* namespace. Defaults to false.

debug_traceChain
debug_traceBlockByNumber
debug_traceBlockByHash
debug_traceBlock
debug_traceBadBlock
debug_intermediateRoots
debug_traceTransaction
debug_traceCall

`web3`:

Adds the following RPC calls to the web3_* namespace. Defaults to true.

web3_clientVersion
web3_sha3

`internal-public-eth`:

Adds the following RPC calls to the eth_* namespace. Defaults to true.

eth_gasPrice
eth_baseFee
eth_maxPriorityFeePerGas
eth_feeHistory

`internal-public-blockchain`:

Adds the following RPC calls to the eth_* namespace. Defaults to true.

eth_chainId
eth_blockNumber
eth_getBalance
eth_getAssetBalance
eth_getProof
eth_getHeaderByNumber
eth_getHeaderByHash
eth_getBlockByNumber
eth_getBlockByHash
eth_getUncleBlockByNumberAndIndex
eth_getUncleBlockByBlockHashAndIndex
eth_getUncleCountByBlockNumber
eth_getUncleCountByBlockHash
eth_getCode
eth_getStorageAt
eth_call
eth_estimateGas
eth_createAccessList

`internal-public-transaction-pool`:

Adds the following RPC calls to the eth_* namespace. Defaults to true.

eth_getBlockTransactionCountByNumber
eth_getBlockTransactionCountByHash
eth_getTransactionByBlockNumberAndIndex
eth_getTransactionByBlockHashAndIndex
eth_getRawTransactionByBlockNumberAndIndex
eth_getRawTransactionByBlockHashAndIndex
eth_getTransactionCount
eth_getTransactionByHash
eth_getRawTransactionByHash
eth_getTransactionReceipt
eth_sendTransaction
eth_fillTransaction
eth_sendRawTransaction
eth_sign
eth_signTransaction
eth_pendingTransactions
eth_resend

`internal-public-tx-pool`:

Adds the following RPC calls to the txpool_* namespace. Defaults to false.

txpool_content
txpool_contentFrom
txpool_status
txpool_inspect

`internal-public-debug`:

Adds the following RPC calls to the debug_* namespace. Defaults to false.

debug_getHeaderRlp
debug_getBlockRlp
debug_printBlock

`internal-private-debug`:

Adds the following RPC calls to the debug_* namespace. Defaults to false.

debug_chaindbProperty
debug_chaindbCompact

`internal-public-account`:

Adds the following RPC calls to the eth_* namespace. Defaults to true.

eth_accounts

`internal-private-personal`:

Adds the following RPC calls to the personal_* namespace. Defaults to false.

personal_listAccounts
personal_listWallets
personal_openWallet
personal_deriveAccount
personal_newAccount
personal_importRawKey
personal_unlockAccount
personal_lockAccount
personal_sendTransaction
personal_signTransaction
personal_sign
personal_ecRecover
personal_signAndSendTransaction
personal_initializeWallet
personal_unpair

API Configuration

`rpc-gas-cap` (int):

The maximum gas to be consumed by an RPC Call (used in eth_estimateGas and eth_call). Defaults to 50,000,000.

`rpc-tx-fee-cap` (int):

Global transaction fee (price * gaslimit) cap (measured in AVAX) for send-transaction variants. Defaults to 100.

`api-max-duration` (duration):

Maximum API call duration. If API calls exceed this duration, they will time out. Defaults to 0 (no maximum).

`api-max-blocks-per-request` (int):

Maximum number of blocks to serve per getLogs request. Defaults to 0 (no maximum).

`ws-cpu-refill-rate` (duration):

The refill rate specifies the maximum amount of CPU time to allot a single connection per second. Defaults to no maximum (0).

`ws-cpu-max-stored` (duration):

Specifies the maximum amount of CPU time that can be stored for a single WS connection. Defaults to no maximum (0).

`allow-unfinalized-queries` (boolean):

Allows queries for unfinalized (not yet accepted) blocks/transactions. Defaults to false.

Transaction Pool

`local-txs-enabled` (boolean):

Enables local transaction handling (prioritizes transactions submitted through this node). Defaults to false.

`allow-unprotected-txs` (boolean):

If true, the APIs will allow transactions that are not replay protected (EIP-155) to be issued through this node. Defaults to false.

`remote-tx-gossip-only-enabled` (boolean):

If true, the node will only gossip remote transactions to prevent transactions issued through this node from being broadcast to the network. Defaults to false.

`tx-regossip-frequency` (duration):

Amount of time that should elapse before we attempt to re-gossip a transaction that was already gossiped once. Defaults to 1 minute.

`tx-regossip-max-size` (int):

Maximum number of transactions to re-gossip at once. Defaults to 15.

Metrics

`metrics-enabled` (boolean):

Enables metrics. Defaults to false.

`metrics-expensive-enabled` (boolean):

Enables expensive metrics. Defaults to false.

Database

`pruning-enabled` (boolean):

If true, database pruning of obsolete historical data will be enabled. Should be disabled for nodes that need access to all data at historical roots. Pruning will be done only for new data. Defaults to false in v1.4.9, and true in subsequent versions.

`preimages-enabled` (boolean):

If true, enables preimages. Defaults to false.

`offline-pruning-enabled` (boolean):

If true, offline pruning will run on startup and block until it completes (approximately one hour on mainnet). This will reduce the size of the database by deleting old trie nodes. While performing offline pruning, your node will not be able to process blocks and will be considered offline. While ongoing, the pruning process consumes a small amount of additional disk space (for deletion markers and the bloom filter). For more information see here.

Since offline pruning deletes old state data, this should not be run on nodes that need to support archival API requests.

This is meant to be run manually, so after running with this flag once, it must be toggled back to false before running the node again. Therefore, you should run with this flag set to true and then set it to false on the subsequent run.

`offline-pruning-bloom-filter-size` (int):

This flag sets the size of the bloom filter to use in offline pruning (denominated in MB and defaulting to 512 MB). The bloom filter is kept in memory for efficient checks during pruning and is also written to disk to allow pruning to resume withou re-generating the bloom filter.

The active state is added to the bloom filter before iterating the DB to find trie nodes that can be safely deleted, any trie nodes not in the bloom filter are considered safe for deletion. The size of the bloom filter may impact its false positive rate, which can impact the results of offline pruning. This is an advanced parameter that has been tuned to 512 MB and should not be changed without thoughtful consideration.

`offline-pruning-data-directory` (string):

This flag must be set when offline pruning is enabled and sets the directory that offline pruning will use to write its bloom filter to disk. This directory should not be changed in between runs until offline pruning has completed.

Snapshots

`snapshot-async` (boolean):

If true, allows snapshot generation to be executed asynchronously. Defaults to true.

`snapshot-verification-enabled` (boolean):

If true, verifies the complete snapshot after it has been generated. Defaults to false.

Log Level

`log-level` (string):

Defines the log level. Must be one of "trace", "debug", "info", "warn", "error", "crit". Defaults to "debug".

Keystore Settings

`keystore-directory` (string):

The directory that contains private keys. Can be given as a relative path. If empty, uses a temporary directory at coreth-keystore. Defaults to empty string.

`keystore-external-signer` (string):

Specifies an external URI for a clef-type signer. Defaults to the empty string (not enabled).

`keystore-insecure-unlock-allowed` (bool):

If true, allow users to unlock accounts in unsafe HTTP environment. Defaults to false.

X-Chain Configs

In order to specify a config for the X-Chain, a JSON config file should be placed at {chain-config-dir}/X/config.json.

For example if chain-config-dir has the default value which is $HOME/.avalanchego/configs/chains, then config.json can be placed at $HOME/.avalanchego/configs/chains/X/config.json.

This allows you to specify a config to be passed into the X-Chain. The default values for this config are:

{
  "index-transactions": false,
  "index-allow-incomplete": false
}

Default values are overridden only if explicitly specified in the config.

The parameters are as follows:

Transaction Indexing

`index-transactions` (boolean):

Enables AVM transaction indexing if set to true. Default value is false. When set to true, AVM transactions are indexed against the address and assetID involved. This data is available via avm.getAddressTxs API.

Please note that if index-transactions is set to true, it must always be set to true for the node's lifetime. If set to false after having been set to true, the node will refuse to start unless index-allow-incomplete is also set to true (see below).

`index-allow-incomplete` (boolean):

Allows incomplete indices. Default value is false.

This config value is ignored if there is no X-Chain indexed data in the DB and index-transactions is set to false.

Database

`--db-dir` (string, file path):

Specifies the directory to which the database is persisted. Defaults to "$HOME/.avalanchego/db".

`--db-type` (string):

Specifies the type of database to use. Must be one of leveldb, rocksdb, memdb. memdb is an in-memory, non-persisted database.

Note that when running with leveldb, the node can't read data that was persisted when running with rocksdb, and vice-versa.

Two important notes about RocksDB: First, RocksDB does not work on all computers. Second, RocksDB is not built by default and is not included in publicly released binaries. To build AvalancheGo with RocksDB, run export ROCKSDBALLOWED=1 in your terminal and then scripts/build.sh. You must do this before you can use --db-type=rocksdb.

Database Config

`--db-config-file` (string):

Path to the database config file. Ignored if --config-file-content is specified.

`--db-config-file-content` (string):

As an alternative to --db-config-file, it allows specifying base64 encoded database config content.

LevelDB Config

A LevelDB config file must be JSON and may have these keys. Any keys not given will receive the default value.

{
    // BlockSize is the minimum uncompressed size in bytes of each 'sorted
    // table' block.
    "blockCacheCapacity": int
    // BlockSize is the minimum uncompressed size in bytes of each 'sorted
    // table' block.
    "blockSize": int
    // CompactionExpandLimitFactor limits compaction size after expanded.  This
    // will be multiplied by table size limit at compaction target level.
    "compactionExpandLimitFactor": int
    // CompactionGPOverlapsFactor limits overlaps in grandparent (Level + 2)
    // that a single 'sorted table' generates.  This will be multiplied by
    // table size limit at grandparent level.
    "compactionGPOverlapsFactor": int
    // CompactionL0Trigger defines number of 'sorted table' at level-0 that will
    // trigger compaction.
    "compactionL0Trigger": int
    // CompactionSourceLimitFactor limits compaction source size. This doesn't
    // apply to level-0.  This will be multiplied by table size limit at
    // compaction target level.
    "compactionSourceLimitFactor": int
    // CompactionTableSize limits size of 'sorted table' that compaction
    // generates.  The limits for each level will be calculated as:
    //   CompactionTableSize * (CompactionTableSizeMultiplier ^ Level)
    // The multiplier for each level can also fine-tuned using
    // CompactionTableSizeMultiplierPerLevel.
    "compactionTableSize": int
    // CompactionTableSizeMultiplier defines multiplier for CompactionTableSize.
    "compactionTableSizeMultiplier": float
    "compactionTableSizeMultiplierPerLevel": []float
    // CompactionTotalSizeMultiplier defines multiplier for CompactionTotalSize.
    "compactionTotalSizeMultiplier": float64
    // OpenFilesCacheCapacity defines the capacity of the open files caching.
    "openFilesCacheCapacity": int
    // There are two buffers of size WriteBuffer used.
    "writeBuffer": int
    "filterBitsPerKey": int
}

RocksDB Config File

Custom config is not yet supported for RocksDB.

Genesis

`--genesis` (string):

Path to a JSON file containing the genesis data to use. Ignored when running standard networks (Mainnet, Fuji Testnet), or when --genesis-content is specified. If not given, uses default genesis data. For an example of a JSON representation of genesis data, see here.

`--genesis-content` (string):

As an alternative to --genesis, it allows specifying base64 encoded genesis data to use.

HTTP Server

`--http-host` (string):

The address that HTTP APIs listen on. Defaults to 127.0.0.1. This means that by default, your node can only handle API calls made from the same machine. To allow API calls from other machines, use --http-host=. You can also enter domain names as parameter.

`--http-port` (int):

Each node runs an HTTP server that provides the APIs for interacting with the node and the Avalanche network. This argument specifies the port that the HTTP server will listen on. The default value is 9650.

`--http-tls-cert-file` (string, file path):

This argument specifies the location of the TLS certificate used by the node for the HTTPS server. This must be specified when --http-tls-enabled=true. There is no default value. This flag is ignored if --http-tls-cert-file-content is specified.

`--http-tls-cert-file-content` (string):

As an alternative to --http-tls-cert-file, it allows specifying base64 encoded content of the TLS certificate used by the node for the HTTPS server. Note that full certificate content, with the leading and trailing header, must be base64 encoded. This must be specified when --http-tls-enabled=true.

`--http-tls-enabled` (boolean):

If set to true, this flag will attempt to upgrade the server to use HTTPS. Defaults to false.

`--http-tls-key-file` (string, file path):

This argument specifies the location of the TLS private key used by the node for the HTTPS server. This must be specified when --http-tls-enabled=true. There is no default value. This flag is ignored if --http-tls-key-file-content is specified.

`--http-tls-key-file-content` (string):

As an alternative to --http-tls-key-file, it allows specifying base64 encoded content of the TLS private key used by the node for the HTTPS server. Note that full private key content, with the leading and trailing header, must be base64 encoded. This must be specified when --http-tls-enabled=true.

IPCS

`--ipcs-chain-ids` (string)

Comma separated list of chain ids to connect to (e.g. 11111111111111111111111111111111LpoYY,4R5p2RXDGLqaifZE4hHWH9owe34pfoBULn1DrQTWivjg8o4aH). There is no default value.

`--ipcs-path` (string)

The directory (Unix) or named pipe prefix (Windows) for IPC sockets. Defaults to /tmp.

File Descriptor Limit

`--fd-limit` (int)

Attempts to raise the process file descriptor limit to at least this value. Defaults to 32768

Logging

`--log-level` (string, `{Off, Fatal, Error, Warn, Info, Debug, Verbo}`):

The log level determines which events to log. There are 7 different levels, in order from highest priority to lowest.

Off: No logs have this level of logging.
Fatal: Fatal errors that are not recoverable.
Error: Errors that the node encounters, these errors were able to be recovered.
Warn: A Warning that might be indicative of a spurious byzantine node, or potential future error.
Info: Useful descriptions of node status updates.
Debug: Debug logging is useful when attempting to understand possible bugs in the code. More information that would be typically desired for normal usage will be displayed.
Verbo: Tracks extensive amounts of information the node is processing. This includes message contents and binary dumps of data for extremely low level protocol analysis.

When specifying a log level note that all logs with the specified priority or higher will be tracked. Defaults to Info.

`--log-display-level` (string, `{Off, Fatal, Error, Warn, Info, Debug, Verbo}`):

The log level determines which events to display to the screen. If left blank, will default to the value provided to --log-level.

`--log-display-highlight` (string, `{auto, plain, colors}`):

Whether to color/highlight display logs. Default highlights when the output is a terminal. Otherwise, should be one of {auto, plain, colors}

`--log-dir` (string, file path):

Specifies the directory in which system logs are kept. Defaults to "$HOME/.avalanchego/logs".

Network ID

`--network-id` (string):

The identity of the network the node should connect to. Can be one of:

--network-id=mainnet -> Connect to Mainnet (default).
--network-id=fuji -> Connect to the Fuji test-network.
--network-id=testnet -> Connect to the current test-network. (Right now, this is Fuji.)
--network-id=local -> Connect to a local test-network.
--network-id=network-{id} -> Connect to the network with the given ID. id must be in the range [0, 2^32).

Public IP

`--public-ip` (string):

Validators must know their public facing IP addresses so they can let other nodes know how to connect to them. If this argument is not provided, the node will attempt to perform NAT traversal to get the node’s public IP. Should be set to 127.0.0.1 to create a local network. If not set, attempts to learn IP using NAT traversal.

`--dynamic-public-ip` (string):

Valid values if param is present: opendns, ifconfigco or ifconfigme. This overrides --public-ip. If set, will poll the remote service every --dynamic-update-duration and update the node’s public IP address.

--dynamic-update-duration (duration):

The time between poll events for --dynamic-public-ip or NAT traversal. The recommended minimum is 1 minute. Defaults to 5m.

Signature Verification

`--signature-verification-enabled` (boolean):

Enables signature verification. When set to false, signatures won’t be checked in VMs that allow signatures to be disabled. Defaults to true.

Staking

`--staking-port` (int):

The port through which the staking server will connect to the Avalanche network externally. Defaults to 9651.

`--staking-enabled` (boolean):

Avalanche uses Proof of Stake (PoS) as Sybil resistance to make it prohibitively expensive to attack the network. If false, sybil resistance is disabled and all peers will be sampled during consensus. Defaults to true. Note that this can not be specified on public networks (Fuji and Mainnet).

Setting this flag to false does not mean "this node is not a validator." It means that this node will sample all nodes, not just validators. You should not set this flag to false unless you understand what you are doing.

`--staking-tls-cert-file` (string, file path):

Avalanche uses two-way authenticated TLS connections to securely connect nodes. This argument specifies the location of the TLS certificate used by the node. By default, the node expects the TLS certificate to be at $HOME/.avalanchego/staking/staker.crt. This flag is ignored if --staking-tls-cert-file-content is specified.

`--staking-tls-cert-file-content` (string):

As an alternative to --staking-tls-cert-file, it allows specifying base64 encoded content of the TLS certificate used by the node. Note that full certificate content, with the leading and trailing header, must be base64 encoded.

`--staking-tls-key-file` (string, file path):

Avalanche uses two-way authenticated TLS connections to securely connect nodes. This argument specifies the location of the TLS private key used by the node. By default, the node expects the TLS private key to be at $HOME/.avalanchego/staking/staker.key. This flag is ignored if --staking-tls-key-file-content is specified.

`--staking-tls-key-file-content` (string):

As an alternative to --staking-tls-key-file, it allows specifying base64 encoded content of the TLS private key used by the node. Note that full private key content, with the leading and trailing header, must be base64 encoded.

`--staking-disabled-weight` (int):

Weight to provide to each peer when staking is disabled. Defaults to 1.

Version

`--version` (boolean)

If this is true, print the version and quit. Defaults to false.

Advanced Options

The following options may affect the correctness of a node. Only power users should change these.

App Gossiping

`--consensus-app-gossip-non-validator-size` (uint):

Number of peers (which may or may not be validators) to gossip an AppGossip message to. Defaults to 0.

`--consensus-app-gossip-validator-size` (uint):

Number of validators to gossip an AppGossip message to. Defaults to 10.

Benchlist

`--benchlist-duration` (duration):

Maximum amount of time a peer is benchlisted after surpassing --benchlist-fail-threshold. Defaults to 15m.

`--benchlist-fail-threshold` (int):

Number of consecutive failed queries to a node before benching it (assuming all queries to it will fail). Defaults to 10.

`--benchlist-peer-summary-enabled` (boolean):

Enables peer specific query latency metrics. Defaults to false.

`--benchlist-min-failing-duration` (duration):

Minimum amount of time queries to a peer must be failing before the peer is benched. Defaults to 150s.

Build Directory

`--build-dir` (string):

Specifies where to find AvalancheGo & plugin binaries. Defaults to the path of executed AvalancheGo binary. The structure of this directory must be as follows:

build-dir
|_avalanchego
    |_plugins
      |_evm

Consensus Parameters

`--consensus-gossip-frequency` (duration):

Time between gossiping accepted frontiers. Defaults to 10s.

`--consensus-shutdown-timeout` (duration):

Timeout before killing an unresponsive chain. Defaults to 5s.

`--creation-tx-fee` (int):

Transaction fee, in nAVAX, for transactions that create new state. Defaults to 1000000 nAVAX (.001 AVAX) per transaction.

`--min-delegator-stake` (int):

The minimum stake, in nAVAX, that can be delegated to a validator of the Primary Network.

Defaults to 25000000000 (25 AVAX) on Mainnet. Defaults to 5000000 (.005 AVAX) on Test Net.

`--min-delegation-fee` (int):

The minimum delegation fee that can be charged for delegation on the Primary Network, multiplied by 10,000 . Must be in the range [0, 1000000]. Defaults to 20000 (2%) on Mainnet.

`--min-stake-duration` (duration):

Minimum staking duration. The Default on Mainnet is 336h (two weeks.)

`--min-validator-stake` (int):

The minimum stake, in nAVAX, required to validate the Primary Network.

Defaults to 2000000000000 (2,000 AVAX) on Mainnet. Defaults to 5000000 (.005 AVAX) on Test Net.

`--max-stake-duration` (duration):

The maximum staking duration, in hours. Defaults to 8760h (365 days) on Mainnet.

`--max-validator-stake` (int):

The maximum stake, in nAVAX, that can be placed on a validator on the primary network. Defaults to 3000000000000000 (3,000,000 AVAX) on Mainnet. This includes stake provided by both the validator and by delegators to the validator.

`--stake-minting-period` (duration):

Consumption period of the staking function, in hours. The Default on Mainnet is 8760h (365 days).

`--stake-max-consumption-rate` (uint):

The maximum percentage of the consumption rate for the remaining token supply in the minting period, which is 1 year on Mainnet. Defaults to 120,000 which is 12% per years.

`--stake-min-consumption-rate` (uint):

The minimum percentage of the consumption rate for the remaining token supply in the minting period, which is 1 year on Mainnet. Defaults to 100,000 which is 10% per years.

`--stake-supply-cap` (uint):

The maximum stake supply, in nAVAX, that can be placed on a validator. Defaults to 720,000,000,000,000,000 nAVAX.

`--tx-fee` (int):

The required amount of nAVAX to be burned for a transaction to be valid on the X-Chain, and for import/export transactions on the P-Chain. This parameter requires network agreement in its current form. Changing this value from the default should only be done on private networks. Defaults to 1,000,000 nAVAX per transaction.

`--uptime-requirement` (float):

Fraction of time a validator must be online to receive rewards. Defaults to 0.8.

Snow Parameters

`--snow-avalanche-batch-size` (int):

DAG implementations of Snow consensus define b as the number of transactions a vertex should include. Increasing b will, theoretically, increase throughput while increasing latency. The node will wait for at most 1 second to collect a batch, and will then issue the entire batch at once. The value must be at least 1. Defaults to 30.

`--snow-avalanche-num-parents` (int):

DAG implementations of Snow consensus define p as the number of parents a vertex should include. Increasing p will improve the amortization of network queries. However, by increasing the connectivity of the graph, the complexity of the graph traversals is increased. The value must be at least 2. Defaults to 5.

`--snow-concurrent-repolls` (int):

Snow consensus requires repolling transactions that are issued during low time of network usage. This parameter lets one define how aggressive the client will be in finalizing these pending transactions. This should only be changed after careful consideration of the tradeoffs of Snow consensus. The value must be at least 1 and at most --snow-rogue-commit-threshold. Defaults to 4.

`--snow-sample-size` (int):

Snow consensus defines k as the number of validators that are sampled during each network poll. This parameter lets one define the k value used for consensus. This should only be changed after careful consideration of the tradeoffs of Snow consensus. The value must be at least 1. Defaults to 20.

`--snow-quorum-size` (int):

Snow consensus defines alpha as the number of validators that must prefer a transaction during each network poll to increase the confidence in the transaction. This parameter lets us define the alpha value used for consensus. This should only be changed after careful consideration of the tradeoffs of Snow consensus. The value must be at greater than k/2. Defaults to 14.

`--snow-virtuous-commit-threshold` (int):

Snow consensus defines beta1 as the number of consecutive polls that a virtuous transaction must increase its confidence for it to be accepted. This parameter lets us define the beta1 value used for consensus. This should only be changed after careful consideration of the tradeoffs of Snow consensus. The value must be at least 1. Defaults to 15.

`--snow-rogue-commit-threshold` (int):

Snow consensus defines beta2 as the number of consecutive polls that a rogue transaction must increase its confidence for it to be accepted. This parameter lets us define the beta2 value used for consensus. This should only be changed after careful consideration of the tradeoffs of Snow consensus. The value must be at least beta1. Defaults to 30.

Continuous Profiling

You can configure your node to continuously run memory/CPU profiles and save the most recent ones. Continuous memory/CPU profiling is enabled if --profile-continuous-enabled is set.

`--profile-continuous-enabled` (boolean):

Whether the app should continuously produce performance profiles. Defaults to the false (not enabled).

`--profile-dir` (string):

If profiling enabled, node continuously runs memory/CPU profiles and puts them at this directory. Defaults to the $HOME/.avalanchego/profiles/.

`--profile-continuous-freq` (duration):

How often a new CPU/memory profile is created. Defaults to 15m.

`--profile-continuous-max-files` (int):

Maximum number of CPU/memory profiles files to keep. Defaults to 5.

Health

`--health-check-frequency` (duration):

Health check runs with this freqency. Defaults to 30s.

`--health-check-averager-halflife` (duration):

Halflife of averagers used in health checks (to measure the rate of message failures, for example.) Larger value --> less volatile calculation of averages. Defaults to 10s.

Network

`--network-allow-private-ips` (bool):

Allows the node to connect peers with private IPs. Defaults to true.

`--network-compression-enabled` (bool):

If true, compress certain messages sent to peers to reduce bandwidth usage.

`--network-initial-timeout` (duration):

Initial timeout value of the adaptive timeout manager, in nanoseconds. Defaults to 5s.

`--network-initial-reconnect-delay` (duration):

Initial delay duration must be waited before attempting to reconnect a peer. Defaults to 1s.

`--network-max-reconnect-delay` (duration):

Maximum delay duration must be waited before attempting to reconnect a peer. Defaults to 1h.

`--network-minimum-timeout` (duration):

Minimum timeout value of the adaptive timeout manager, in nanoseconds. Defaults to 2s.

`--network-maximum-timeout` (duration):

Maximum timeout value of the adaptive timeout manager, in nanoseconds. Defaults to 10s.

`--network-maximum-inbound-timeout` (duration):

Maximum timeout value of an inbound message. Defines duration within which an incoming message must be fulfilled. Incoming messages containing deadline higher than this value will be overridden with this value. Defaults to 10s.

`--network-timeout-halflife` (duration):

Halflife used when calculating average network latency. Larger value --> less volatile network latency calculation. Defaults to 5m.

`--network-timeout-coefficient` (duration):

Requests to peers will time out after [network-timeout-coefficient] * [average request latency]. Defaults to 2.

`--network-get-version-timeout` (duration):

Timeout for waiting GetVersion response from peers in handshake. Defaults to 10s.

`--network-read-handshake-timeout` (duration):

Timeout value for reading handshake messages. Defaults to 15s.

`--network-ping-timeout` (duration):

Timeout value for Ping-Pong with a peer. Defaults to 30s.

`--network-ping-frequency` (duration):

Frequency of pinging other peers. Defaults to 22.5s.

`--network-health-min-conn-peers` (uint):

Node will report unhealthy if connected to less than this many peers. Defaults to 1.

`--network-health-max-time-since-msg-received` (duration):

Node will report unhealthy if it hasn't received a message for this amount of time. Defaults to 1m.

`--network-health-max-time-since-no-requests` (duration):

Node will report unhealthy if it hasn't received a message for this amount of time. Defaults to 1m.

`--network-health-max-portion-send-queue-full` (float):

Node will report unhealthy if its send queue is more than this portion full. Must be in [0,1]. Defaults to 0.9.

`--network-health-max-send-fail-rate` (float):

Node will report unhealthy if more than this portion of message sends fail. Must be in [0,1]. Defaults to 0.25.

`--network-max-clock-difference` (duration):

Max allowed clock difference value between this node and peers. Defaults to 1m.

`--network-require-validator-to-connect` (bool):

If true, this node will only maintain a connection with another node if this node is a validator, the other node is a validator, or the other node is a beacon.

`--outbound-connection-timeout` (duration):

Timeout while dialing a peer.

Message Rate-Limiting

These flags govern rate-limiting of inbound and outbound messages. For more information on rate-limiting and the flags below, see package throttling in AvalancheGo.

`--throttler-inbound-bandwidth-refill-rate` (uint):

Max average inbound bandwidth usage of a peer, in bytes per second. See interface throttling.BandwidthThrottler. Defaults to 512.

`--throttler-inbound-bandwidth-max-burst-size` (uint):

Max inbound bandwidth a node can use at once. See interface throttling.BandwidthThrottler. Defaults to 2 MiB.

`--throttler-inbound-at-large-alloc-size` (uint):

Size, in bytes, of at-large allocation in the inbound message throttler. Defaults to 6291456 (6 MiB).

`--throttler-inbound-validator-alloc-size` (uint):

Size, in bytes, of validator allocation in the inbound message throttler. Defaults to 33554432 (32 MiB).

`--throttler-inbound-node-max-at-large-bytes` (uint):

Maximum number of bytes a node can take from the at-large allocation of the inbound message throttler. Defaults to 2097152 (2 MiB).

`--throttler-inbound-node-max-processing-msgs` (uint):

Node will stop reading messages from a peer when it is processing this many messages from the peer. Will resume reading messages from the peer when it is processing less than this many messages. Defaults to 1024.

`--throttler-outbound-at-large-alloc-size` (uint):

Size, in bytes, of at-large allocation in the outbound message throttler. Defaults to 6291456 (6 MiB).

`--throttler-outbound-validator-alloc-size` (uint):

Size, in bytes, of validator allocation in the outbound message throttler. Defaults to 33554432 (32 MiB).

`--throttler-outbound-node-max-at-large-bytes` (uint):

Maximum number of bytes a node can take from the at-large allocation of the outbound message throttler. Defaults to 2097152 (2 MiB).

Connection Rate-Limiting

`--inbound-connection-throttling-cooldown` (duration):

Node will upgrade an inbound connection from a given IP at most once within this duration. Defaults to 10s. If 0 or negative, will not consider recency of last upgrade when deciding whether to upgrade.

`--inbound-connection-throttling-max-conns-per-sec` (uint):

Node will accept at most this many inbound connections per second. Defaults to 512.

`--inbound-connection-throttling-max-recent` (uint):

Deprecated. Ignored as of AvalancheGo v1.6.0.

`--outbound-connection-throttling-rps` (uint):

Node makes at most this many outgoing peer connection attempts per second. Defaults to 50.

Peer List Gossiping

Nodes gossip peers to each other so that each node can have an up-to-date peer list. A node gossips --network-peer-list-size peers to --network-peer-list-gossip-size of its peers every --network-peer-list-gossip-frequency.

`--network-peer-list-gossip-frequency` (duration):

Defaults to 1m.

`--network-peer-list-gossip-size` (int):

Defaults to 50.

`--network-peer-list-size` (int):

Defaults to 20.

`--network-peer-list-staker-gossip-fraction` (uint):

1 of each network-peer-list-staker-gossip-fraction peer list messages gossiped will sent to a validator.

Defaults to 2.

Plugin Mode

`--plugin-mode-enabled` (bool):

If true, runs the node as a plugin. Defaults to false.

Subnets

Whitelist

`--whitelisted-subnets` (string):

Comma separated list of subnets that this node would validate if added to. Defaults to empty (will only validate the Primary Network).

Subnet Configs

It is possible to provide parameters for subnets. Parameters here apply to all chains in the specified subnets. Parameters must be specified with a {subnetID}.json config file under --subnet-config-dir. AvalancheGo loads configs for subnets specified in --whitelisted-subnet parameter.

`--subnet-config-dir` (string):

Specifies the directory that contains subnet configs, as described above. Defaults to $HOME/.avalanchego/configs/subnets. If the flag is set explicitly, the specified folder must exist, or AvalancheGo will exit with an error. This flag is ignored if --subnet-config-content is specified.

Example: Let's say we have a subnet with ID p4jUwqZsA2LuSftroCd3zb4ytH8W99oXKuKVZdsty7eQ3rXD6. We can create a config file under the default subnet-config-dir at $HOME/.avalanchego/configs/subnets/p4jUwqZsA2LuSftroCd3zb4ytH8W99oXKuKVZdsty7eQ3rXD6.json. An example config file is:

{
  "validatorOnly": false,
  "consensusParameters": {
    "k": 25,
    "alpha": 18
  }
}

`--subnet-config-content` (string):

As an alternative to --subnet-config-dir, it allows specifying base64 encoded parameters for subnets.

Validator Only

`validatorOnly` (bool):

If true this node does not expose subnet blockchain contents to non-validators via P2P messages. Defaults to false. For more information see here.

Consensus Parameters

Subnet configs supports loading new consensus parameters. JSON keys are different than their matching CLI keys.

CLI Key	JSON Key
--snow-sample-size	k
--snow-quorum-size	alpha
--snow-virtuous-commit-threshold	betaVirtuous
--snow-rogue-commit-threshold	betaRogue
--snow-concurrent-repolls	concurrentRepolls
--snow-optimal-processing	optimalProcessing
--snow-max-processing	maxOutstandingItems
--snow-max-time-processing	maxItemProcessingTime
--snow-avalanche-batch-size	batchSize
--snow-avalanche-num-parents	parentSize

The consensus parameters of a subnet default to the same values used for the Primary Network, which are given here.

Virtual Machine (VM) Configs

`--vm-aliases-file` (string):

Path to JSON file that defines aliases for Virtual Machine IDs. Defaults to ~/.avalanchego/configs/vms/aliases.json. This flag is ignored if --vm-aliases-file-content is specified. Example content:

{
  "tGas3T58KzdjLHhBDMnH2TvrddhqTji5iZAMZ3RXs2NLpSnhH": [
    "timestampvm",
    "timerpc"
  ]
}

The above example aliases the VM whose ID is "tGas3T58KzdjLHhBDMnH2TvrddhqTji5iZAMZ3RXs2NLpSnhH" to "timestampvm" and "timerpc".

--vm-aliases-file-content (string):

As an alternative to --vm-aliases-file, it allows specifying base64 encoded aliases for Virtual Machine IDs.

AvalancheGo Config and Flags

Config File​

--config-file (string):​

--config-file-content (string):​

--config-file-content-type (string):​

APIs​

--api-admin-enabled (boolean):​

--api-auth-required (boolean):​

--api-auth-password (string):​

--api-health-enabled (boolean):​

--index-enabled (boolean):​

--api-info-enabled (boolean):​

--api-ipcs-enabled (boolean):​

--api-keystore-enabled (boolean):​

--api-metrics-enabled (boolean):​

--http-shutdown-wait (duration):​

--http-shutdown-timeout (duration):​

Assertions​

--assertions-enabled (boolean):​

Bootstrapping​

--bootstrap-beacon-connection-timeout (duration):​

--bootstrap-ids (string):​

--bootstrap-ips (string):​

--bootstrap-retry-enabled (boolean):​

--bootstrap-retry-max-attempts (uint):​

--bootstrap-ancestors-max-containers-sent (uint)​

--bootstrap-ancestors-max-containers-received (unit)​

Chain Configs​

--chain-config-dir (string):​

--chain-config-content (string):​

C-Chain Configs​

Continuous Profiling​

continuous-profiler-dir (string):​

continuous-profiler-frequency (duration):​

continuous-profiler-max-files (int):​

Enabling Avalanche Specific APIs​

snowman-api-enabled (boolean):​

coreth-admin-api-enabled (boolean):​

coreth-admin-api-dir (string):​

Enabling EVM APIs​

eth-apis ([]string):​

public-eth:​

public-eth-filter:​

private-admin:​

public-debug:​

private-debug:​

net:​

debug-tracer:​

web3:​

internal-public-eth:​

internal-public-blockchain:​

internal-public-transaction-pool:​

internal-public-tx-pool:​

internal-public-debug:​

internal-private-debug:​

internal-public-account:​

internal-private-personal:​

API Configuration​

rpc-gas-cap (int):​

rpc-tx-fee-cap (int):​

api-max-duration (duration):​

api-max-blocks-per-request (int):​

ws-cpu-refill-rate (duration):​

ws-cpu-max-stored (duration):​

allow-unfinalized-queries (boolean):​

Transaction Pool​

local-txs-enabled (boolean):​

allow-unprotected-txs (boolean):​

remote-tx-gossip-only-enabled (boolean):​

tx-regossip-frequency (duration):​

tx-regossip-max-size (int):​

Metrics​

metrics-enabled (boolean):​

metrics-expensive-enabled (boolean):​

Database​

pruning-enabled (boolean):​

preimages-enabled (boolean):​

offline-pruning-enabled (boolean):​

offline-pruning-bloom-filter-size (int):​

offline-pruning-data-directory (string):​

Config File

`--config-file` (string):

`--config-file-content` (string):

`--config-file-content-type` (string):

APIs

`--api-admin-enabled` (boolean):

`--api-auth-required` (boolean):

`--api-auth-password` (string):

`--api-health-enabled` (boolean):

`--index-enabled` (boolean):

`--api-info-enabled` (boolean):

`--api-ipcs-enabled` (boolean):

`--api-keystore-enabled` (boolean):

`--api-metrics-enabled` (boolean):

`--http-shutdown-wait` (duration):

`--http-shutdown-timeout` (duration):

Assertions

`--assertions-enabled` (boolean):

Bootstrapping

`--bootstrap-beacon-connection-timeout` (duration):

`--bootstrap-ids` (string):

`--bootstrap-ips` (string):

`--bootstrap-retry-enabled` (boolean):

`--bootstrap-retry-max-attempts` (uint):

`--bootstrap-ancestors-max-containers-sent` (uint)

`--bootstrap-ancestors-max-containers-received` (unit)

Chain Configs

`--chain-config-dir` (string):

`--chain-config-content` (string):

C-Chain Configs

Continuous Profiling

`continuous-profiler-dir` (string):

`continuous-profiler-frequency` (duration):

`continuous-profiler-max-files` (int):

Enabling Avalanche Specific APIs

`snowman-api-enabled` (boolean):

`coreth-admin-api-enabled` (boolean):

`coreth-admin-api-dir` (string):

Enabling EVM APIs

`eth-apis` ([]string):

`public-eth`:

`public-eth-filter`:

`private-admin`:

`public-debug`:

`private-debug`:

`net`:

`debug-tracer`:

`web3`:

`internal-public-eth`:

`internal-public-blockchain`:

`internal-public-transaction-pool`:

`internal-public-tx-pool`:

`internal-public-debug`:

`internal-private-debug`:

`internal-public-account`:

`internal-private-personal`:

API Configuration

`rpc-gas-cap` (int):

`rpc-tx-fee-cap` (int):

`api-max-duration` (duration):

`api-max-blocks-per-request` (int):

`ws-cpu-refill-rate` (duration):

`ws-cpu-max-stored` (duration):

`allow-unfinalized-queries` (boolean):

Transaction Pool

`local-txs-enabled` (boolean):

`allow-unprotected-txs` (boolean):

`remote-tx-gossip-only-enabled` (boolean):

`tx-regossip-frequency` (duration):

`tx-regossip-max-size` (int):

Metrics

`metrics-enabled` (boolean):

`metrics-expensive-enabled` (boolean):

Database

`pruning-enabled` (boolean):

`preimages-enabled` (boolean):

`offline-pruning-enabled` (boolean):

`offline-pruning-bloom-filter-size` (int):

`offline-pruning-data-directory` (string):

Snapshots