93 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
93 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Getting Started with Geth
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permalink: docs/getting-started
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sort_key: A
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---
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To use Geth, you need to install it first. You can install the geth software in a variety
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of ways. These include installing it via your favorite package manager; downloading a
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standalone pre-built binary; running as a docker container; or building it yourself.
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For this tutorial, we'll assume you are comfortable with downloading a pre-built binary.
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Head over to the [install and build](./install-and-build/installing-geth) section and
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follow the instructions for your operating system if you wish to use a different
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installation method.
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### Downloading Geth
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We distribute all our stable releases and development builds as standalone binaries. These
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are useful for scenarios where you'd like to: a) install a specific version of our code
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(e.g., for reproducible environments); b) install on machines without internet access
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(e.g., air gapped computers); or c) do not like automatic updates and would rather
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manually install software.
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To download Geth, go to the [Downloads page](https://geth.ethereum.org/downloads) and
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select the latest stable release matching your platform.
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We create the following archives:
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- 32bit, 64bit, ARMv5, ARMv6, ARMv7 and ARM64 archives (`.tar.gz`) on Linux
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- 64bit archives (`.tar.gz`) on macOS
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- 32bit and 64bit archives (`.zip`) and installers (`.exe`) on Windows
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For all binaries we provide two options, one containing only Geth, and another containing
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Geth along with all the developer tools from our repository (`abigen`, `bootnode`,
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`disasm`, `evm`, `rlpdump`). Read our
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[`README`](https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum#executables) for more information about
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these executables.
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### Creating an account
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Before starting Geth you first need to create an account that represents a key pair. Use
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the following command to create a new account and set a password for that account:
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```shell
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geth account new
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```
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_[Read this guide](./interface/managing-your-accounts) for more details on importing
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existing Ethereum accounts and other uses of the `account` command._
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### Sync modes
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Running Geth starts an Ethereum node that can join any existing network, or create a new
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one. You can start Geth in one of three different sync modes using the `--syncmode "{mode}"`
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argument that determines what sort of node it is in the network.
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These are:
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- **Full**: Downloads all blocks (including headers, transactions and receipts) and
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generates the state of the blockchain incrementally by executing every block.
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- **Fast** (Default): Downloads all blocks (including headers, transactions and
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receipts), verifies all headers, and downloads the state and verifies it against the
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headers.
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- **Light**: Downloads all block headers, block data, and verifies some randomly.
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For example:
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```shell
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geth --syncmode "light"
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```
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### Javascript Console
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Once you have an account and Geth is running, you can interact with it by opening another
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terminal and using the following command to open a JavaScript console:
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```shell
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geth attach
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```
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In the console you can issue any of the Geth commands, for example, to list all the
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accounts on the node, use:
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```js
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> eth.accounts
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```
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You can also enter the console directly when you start the node with the `console` command:
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```shell
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geth console --syncmode "light"
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```
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