How To: Build R5 From Source

Difficulty Level: Professional

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Clone The Source

Clone the source code from the canonical repository using the following command:

git clone https://github.com/r5-labs/r5-core.git

After cloning, navigate to the source code folder using:

cd r5-core

Pre-Requisites

You will need to have Python 3, Golang 1.19, and a C compiler (such as gcc, for example) to build the core binary, and additional Python dependencies when building the full set of protocol tools.

The install.py script installs all required dependencies automatically, but if you are running Windows, you might need to install a C compiler separately, even after running the install script.

You can run:

python3 install.py

Or, if on Windows:

python install.py

!! IMPORTANT !!

If your system restricts system-wide package installing - eg. Ubuntu Desktop 24.04 - you may have to take some extra steps to install all dependencies before building the package.

The build.py script will automatically detect most of such limitations and do all the work for you, however, if after installing all dependencies you face issues with building the code from source, please follow the steps below.

First, make sure you have golang-1.19/stable installed. If you're using Ubuntu, you can install it via snap with the following command:

sudo snap install go --channel=1.19/stable --classic

To install the python dependencies, you will need to create a virtual environment to separate the program packages from your system packages. First, install v-env with the following command:

sudo apt install python3.12-venv

Then, create the virtual environment (named r5-venv in this example):

python3 -m venv r5-venv

Enter the virtual environment you have just created with:

source r5-venv/bin/activate

Now you can install the python dependencies with:

pip install .

And follow the instructions below to build the binaries. Please be aware that you still need to have your virtual environment active to be able to build the SDK tools, otherwise, you will only be able to build the main node binary using the build.py script with the --coreonly flag.

Building R5

You can build the binaries by running the build.py script. To compile only the core node binary, run the script with the --coreonly flag. If no flag is provided, the script will build the full R5 Protocol with all its tools.

Run on Linux/macOS:

python3 build.py

Or on Windows:

python build.py

Full Protocol Build

This build compiles all the tools included with the R5 Protocol, giving you a fully functioning node in your /build folder. The main r5 binary is the custom node relayer, and inside the /build/bin folder you will find:

File	Description
cliwallet	A CLI wallet module that can generate wallet addresses, send transactions, and perform other wallet functions.
node	The core binary of the R5 node. It can be executed separately and accepts flags, though we recommend starting the node via the provided relayer.
proxy	A native SSL proxy for RPC operators. It accepts the --gencert flag to generate self-signed certificates and can serve requests via the SSL port.
console	R5's custom CLI console module, offering a user-friendly interface even for beginners.
scdev	SCdev is a powerful smart contract interface that allows you to compile, deploy, and interact with smart contracts, as well as manage accounts.

Folder Structure

The /build folder should contain the following subdirectories:

Subdirectory	Description
/bin	Contains the main binaries and their dependencies, including configuration files and tools.
/config	Contains configuration files for R5 networks.
/genesis	Contains genesis files for testnet, devnet, and local networks.

Additional directories, such as the main data storage folder, will be created when the node starts.

Core Binary Build

If you prefer to build only the core protocol binary, run:

python3 build.py --coreonly

After building, the binary will be located in the /build folder. Note that this build does not utilise the r5 node relayer and will require the standard Geth flag structure. It does not offer ready-support for running testnet or devnet nodes, so we do not recommend this method unless you are very familiar with Geth.

Running Your Node

After building, start your node using the r5 Relayer with the desired configuration. For example, to start a mainnet RPC archive node with mining enabled, run:

./r5 --network mainnet --rpc --node archive --miner coinbase=0xABC... threads=1

You may also configure initialisation parameters using the node.ini file for a more streamlined deployment.