Prover node ​

This guide will help you configure your node as a prover node. Follow the steps below to set up your prover node.

Getting Started ​

Start by installing the Nimiq client. Follow the steps provided in the Nimiq Core GitHub Repository to install the client on your machine. Once the client is installed, proceed with the setup by starting the client with:

bash
cargo run --release --bin nimiq-client

Configuration ​

The next step is to configure your client to generate the configuration file. Follow the instructions provided in the configuration guide. This will walk you through the process of creating and setting up your node’s configuration file, which includes all necessary settings for your client.

Configuring Your Node ​

The configuration file is located at $HOME/.nimiq/client.toml or the specified path in your local machine as defined in the previous step.

To be eligible as a prover node, you must first set your node to operate in full sync mode. This ensures that the node has access to the blockchain data required for prover functionality. In the consensus section of the configuration file, set sync_mode to full as shown in the example below:

toml
[consensus]
sync_mode = "full"
info

Only nodes with sync_mode set to either full or history can become prover nodes. We recommend using full mode to ensure full prover functionality. History nodes require downloading the entire blockchain history, which is more resource-intensive.

Download the Proving Keys ​

Before enabling the ZK Prover in the configuration file, you need to download and place the proving keys. Follow these steps:

1. Download the Proving Keys ​

The proving keys are large (approximately 15 GB) and can be downloaded using IPFS or BitTorrent.

  • IPFS (InterPlanetary File System): IPFS is a decentralized file storage system that allows users to share and access files in a peer-to-peer network. You can use one of the following methods to download the keys from IPFS.
  • BitTorrent: Alternatively, you can download the proving keys via BitTorrent.
    bash
       magnet:?xt=urn:btih:2cc3ca7888b75f1c38f2c4013f6eb3631946e2e9&dn=nimiq-zkp-keys&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftorrent.nimiq.network%3A6969

2. Extract and Move the Proving Keys ​

After downloading the proving keys, extract the .zip file and move the extracted contents to the .zkp_mainnet folder.

Enable the ZK Prover ​

Once you have the proving keys in the .zkp_mainnet folder, you need to enable the prover node in your configuration file. In the same configuration file, locate the ZK Prover section and uncomment it, and then set the path to the proving keys.

##############################################################################
# ZK Prover configuration
#
# If the section header is uncommented, the prover is enabled.
##############################################################################
[zk-prover]

# The path for the proving keys folder.
# Default: ".zkp"
prover_keys_path = "~/.zkp_mainnet"

Restart the Client ​

After you’ve configured the ZK Prover and placed the proving keys, restart the client to apply the changes:

bash
cargo run --release --bin nimiq-client

Your node is now configured as a prover node and will be able to generate zk-SNARKS!