Set Up a Full Node

To download system updates and install curl, jq, and lz4, run the following commands:

sudo apt-get -y update
sudo apt-get install -y curl jq lz4

To install Go, run the following commands using the latest version of Go:

The protocol requires Go 1.25.9 or newer (see the go directive in protocol/go.mod). An older toolchain will refuse to build.

# Example for AMD64 architecture and Go version 1.25.12
wget https://golang.org/dl/go1.25.12.linux-amd64.tar.gz # Download the compressed file
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.25.12.linux-amd64.tar.gz # Extract the file to /usr/local
rm go1.25.12.linux-amd64.tar.gz # Delete the installer package

Add the Go directory to your system $PATH:

echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin:$HOME/go/bin' >> $HOME/.bashrc # Write to your .bashrc profile

Cosmovisor is a process manager for Cosmos SDK-based blockchains that enables automatic binary updates without downtime. To install the latest version of Cosmovisor, run the following command:

go install cosmossdk.io/tools/cosmovisor/cmd/cosmovisor@latest

To create data directories for Cosmovisor, run the following commands:

mkdir -p $HOME/.ritbit/cosmovisor/genesis/bin
mkdir -p $HOME/.ritbit/cosmovisor/upgrades

The ritbitd binary contains the software you need to operate a full node. You must use the same version of the software as the network to which you want to connect. To find the version the network currently runs:

curl -s https://rest.mainnet.rubin.trade/cosmos/base/tendermint/v1beta1/node_info | jq -r '.application_version.version'

Builds are published per version. Browse the available versions at storage.yandexcloud.net/ritbit-upgrade, then download the one matching the network, replacing v27.5 as needed:

# Example for version v27.5 on AMD64 architecture
curl -L -O https://storage.yandexcloud.net/ritbit-upgrade/v27.5/ritbitd-v27.5-linux-amd64.tar.gz

Each version directory also contains upgrade-info.txt with the SHA-256 checksum. Verify the archive before using it:

curl -s https://storage.yandexcloud.net/ritbit-upgrade/v27.5/upgrade-info.txt
sha256sum ritbitd-v27.5-linux-amd64.tar.gz

After you download the binary, moving ritbitd into your Cosmovisor data directory allows you to use Cosmovisor for no-downtime binary upgrades. To extract, rename, and move the file to your Cosmovisor data directory, run the following commands:

The archive contains a single bin/ritbitd.

# Example for version v27.5 on AMD64 architecture
tar -xzvf ritbitd-v27.5-linux-amd64.tar.gz # Extract the file, creates ./bin/ritbitd
mv ./bin/ritbitd $HOME/.ritbit/cosmovisor/genesis/bin/ritbitd # Move it into the Cosmovisor genesis directory
chmod +x $HOME/.ritbit/cosmovisor/genesis/bin/ritbitd # Make it executable
rm ritbitd-v27.5-linux-amd64.tar.gz # Delete the archive
rm -rf bin # Delete the now-empty /bin directory

Add the ritbitd directory to your system $PATH:

echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.ritbit/cosmovisor/genesis/bin' >> $HOME/.bashrc # Write to your .bashrc profile

To initialize your node, provide the ID of the chain to which you want to connect and create a name for your node. The Rubin home directory is created in $HOME/.ritbit by default. Replace the example values ritbit-mainnet and my-node with your own and run the following command:

# Example for RIT token holders on mainnet
ritbitd init --chain-id=ritbit-mainnet my-node

When you initialize your node, ritbitd returns your default node configuration in JSON.

A seed node acts as an address book and helps your node join the network. To update config.toml with a list of seed nodes, run the following command:

# mainnet (ritbit-mainnet)
PEERS="f907537d0ea47759e369f7bac5cb2c22be5e3c93@213.165.223.41:26656"
 
sed -i 's/^persistent_peers = ""/persistent_peers = "'"$PEERS"'"/' $HOME/.ritbit/config/config.toml

The preceding command updates the persistent_peers variable of config.toml with the list you provide.

Using snapshots to restore or sync your full node's state saves time and effort. Using a snapshot avoids replaying all the blocks from genesis and does not require multiple binary versions for network upgrades. Instead, your node uses the snapshot as its initial state.

Clear your data directory

If you already have a data directory at $HOME/.ritbit/data, you must clear it before installing a snapshot, which comes with its own data directory. To clear your data directory while retaining files you need, follow these steps:

First, make a backup copy of priv_validator_state.json in your .ritbit directory by running the following command:

# Make a copy of priv_validator_state.json and append .backup
cp $HOME/.ritbit/data/priv_validator_state.json $HOME/.ritbit/priv_validator_state.json.backup

Next, confirm the following:

• A backup file, priv_validator_state.json.backup, exists in your current directory.
• The original priv_validator_state.json exists in the /data directory to be deleted.
• No other files exist in the /data directory to be deleted.

ls $HOME/.ritbit # Confirm that the backup exists in /.ritbit
ls $HOME/.ritbit/data # Confirm that only priv_validator_state.json exists in /data

Finally, to clear the data directory, removing it and all files inside, run the following command:

# WARNING: This command recursively deletes files and directories in the ritbit /data directory. Make sure you know what you are deleting before running the command.
rm -rf $HOME/.ritbit/data

Installing a snapshot will create a new /data directory.

Install the Snapshot

To download and extract the snapshot contents to the default ritbit home directory, first change directories into /.ritbit. To change directories, run the following command:

cd $HOME/.ritbit

Snapshots are published to a public bucket and refreshed regularly. File names follow the pattern ritbit-mainnet_<timestamp>_block-<height>.tar.lz4.

To find and download the most recent snapshot:

BUCKET=https://storage.yandexcloud.net/ritbit-mainnet-snapshot
LATEST=$(curl -s "$BUCKET/?list-type=2" | grep -oE '<Key>[^<]+</Key>' | sed 's/<[^>]*>//g' | sort | tail -1)
echo "Downloading $LATEST"
curl -L -O "$BUCKET/$LATEST"

Next, run the following command in your $HOME/.ritbit directory, replacing the example value your-snapshot-filename:

lz4 -dc < your-snapshot-filename.tar.lz4 | tar xf -

Extracting the snapshot creates a new /data folder in your current directory, .ritbit.

Next, use the backup file priv_validator_state.json.backup you created to reinstate /data/priv_validator_state.json with the following command:

mv $HOME/.ritbit/priv_validator_state.json.backup $HOME/.ritbit/data/priv_validator_state.json

Finally, change directories back to your $HOME directory for the rest of the procedure. Run the following command:

cd $HOME

When you start your full node, it will automatically use the snapshot in your data directory to begin syncing your full node's state with the network.

To create a systemd service that starts your full node automatically, run the following commands:

sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/ritbitd.service > /dev/null << EOF
[Unit]
Description=ritbit node service
After=network-online.target
 
[Service]
User=$USER
ExecStart=/$HOME/go/bin/cosmovisor run start --non-validating-full-node=true
WorkingDirectory=$HOME/.ritbit
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
LimitNOFILE=4096
Environment="DAEMON_HOME=$HOME/.ritbit"
Environment="DAEMON_NAME=ritbitd"
Environment="DAEMON_ALLOW_DOWNLOAD_BINARIES=false"
Environment="DAEMON_RESTART_AFTER_UPGRADE=true"
Environment="UNSAFE_SKIP_BACKUP=true"
 
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF
 
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable ritbitd

The system service definition above holds environment variables. When you start it, the service will run the command /$HOME/go/bin/cosmovisor run start --non-validating-full-node=true.

The flag --non-validating-full-node is required. It disables the functionality intended for validator nodes and enables additional logic for reading data.

To start your node using the systemd service that you created, run the following command:

sudo systemctl start ritbitd

When you want to stop the service, run the following command:

sudo systemctl stop ritbitd

When you start your full node it must sync with the history of the network. If you initialized your full node using a snapshot, your node must update its state only with blocks created after the snapshot was taken. If your node's state is empty, it must sync with the entire history of the network.

sudo journalctl -u ritbitd -f

If your system service ritbitd is running, the preceding command streams updates from your node to your command line. Press Ctrl + C to stop viewing updates.

Finally, confirm that your full node is properly synchronized by comparing its current block to the network.

The network's current block, from a public node:

curl -s https://rpc.mainnet.rubin.trade/status | jq -r '.result.sync_info.latest_block_height'

Your own node's height:

curl localhost:26657/status

When your full node's latest block is the same as the network's latest block, your full node is ready to participate in the network.