What is Starknet?

StarkNet is a permissionless decentralized zk (zero-knowledge) rollup that offers scalable solutions for users within a secure Ethereum-like state. It fundamentally operates as an L2 (layer-2) network over the Ethereum blockchain and allows any DApp (decentralized application) to achieve unlimited scale for its computation without compromising security and composability.

Why would you want to run a node on Starknet?

Well, running a node on the Starknet mainnet comes with several benefits. Firstly, as a node operator, you actively contribute to the network's decentralization and security. Your node helps validate transactions, maintain consensus, and propagate information across the network, thereby strengthening the overall infrastructure.

Secondly, running a Starknet node can also qualify you for the potential $STARK airdrop. Depending on the network's governance model, node operators may be rewarded with a $STARK airdrop for their contributions. This allows you to potentially earn passive income by simply operating a node and supporting the Starknet ecosystem. However, there is no official confirmation on it, which means it’s purely speculative at the moment.

Now that we understand the significance of Starknet and the motivations behind running a node, let's dive into the practical aspects of setting up a node on the Starknet mainnet using a Virtual Private Server (VPS).

To run a node, we can divide the whole process into 2 parts:

1. Buy a VPS

2. Run Node

1. Buy a VPS:

You can buy a VPS server from any service provider. But in this tutorial, we are using, PQ Hosting.

• First, create an account: Here

• Once registered, go to “Products/Services” > “Virtual private servers”

• Now click on “Order” 👇🏻

• 
  

• Now select any country.

• Due to higher demand, some countries may take several hours to days to activate. If you face this issue, contact the support team, and they will help you out.

• Select “Palladium, vCore x4, 8 GB RAM ECC, 80 GB SSD NVME” 👇🏻

• 
  

• Select “Ubuntu 22.04” as the operating system and click on “Add to cart” 👇🏻

• 
  

• Finally, make the payment. You can pay using different options which include crypto as well 👇🏻

• 
  

• Once you made the payment, go to the “Products/Services” > “Virtual private servers” section.

• There you’ll first see “Activation in progress” 👇🏻

• 
  

• After 5-10 minutes, it will change to “Active” 👇🏻

• 
  

• If it’s more than an hour or so, and the status is still showing “Activation in progress”, contact support. They will help you out.

• Once activated, open the server details by double-clicking on the server name 👇🏻

• 
  

• Now copy the IP Address and Password and save it securely.

2. Run Node:

Now it’s time to run the node. For this, we will use the “PuTTY” software. You can download it here:

Download PuTTY - a free SSH and telnet client for Windows

https://www.putty.org/

• Once downloaded, install and open the software.

• Paste the IP Address of your VPS 👇🏻

• 
  

• Then go to “Connections” >

• In the field beside Seconds between keepalives, enter 5 >

• Check to Enable TCP Keepalives (SO_KEEPALIVE option) and click on “Open” 👇🏻

• 
  

• Now a new window will open

• Here, login as “root” 👇

• 
  

• And paste the password (which you saved from your VPS details)

• Keep in mind, to paste any text within the PuTTY terminal, you just need to right-click and press “Enter” on your keyboard.

• Once you enter the password correctly, you will see a window like this 👇🏻

• 
  

Now go to Alchemy:

Alchemy - the web3 development platform

https://www.alchemy.com/

https://www.alchemy.com/

Sign in or Sign up if you don’t have an account already.

And click on “CREATE APP” 👇

Name: Set any random name (does not matter)

Chain: Ethereum

Network: Ethereum Mainnet

And create the app.

Now click on “View Key” 👇

And copy the HTTPS link 👇

Now replace “YOUR_ALCHEMY_HTTP_ADDRESS” with your HTTPS link on the below code 👇

ALCHEMY=YOUR_ALCHEMY_HTTP_ADDRESSecho 'export ALCHEMY='$ALCHEMY >> $HOME/.bash_profile

For example:

ALCHEMY=https://eth-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

echo 'export ALCHEMY='$ALCHEMY >> $HOME/.bash_profile

Now open PuTTY and paste the above code 👇

Now paste this code and hit enter:

wget -O starknet.sh https://api.nodes.guru/starknet.sh && chmod +x starknet.sh &&./starknet.sh

The installation will start and you’ll see a window like this 👇

If you see any error like this 👇

Just put “1” and hit enter.

Expect the entire process to take up to 15-45 minutes or even more to complete.

Once completed, you will see a page like this

If you can see this page, congratulation, you’ve successfully set up a node on Starknet. 🎉

A few questions you may ask:

❓ Is it a confirmed airdrop for node runners?

No! There is no official announcement of airdrop to node runners. But this is the beauty of such mega airdrops 😁

❓ How to claim the airdrop as there is no wallet address involved?

There is no announcement yet, but if they do reward the node runners, most likely they will provide a way to connect our VPS with our wallet in future. So we will need to keep the VPS running till the airdrop is announced.

❓ Can we run this node with the same VPS we run for other nodes?

No. Have to set up a brand new VPS.