Install Options
Binaries
Binaries can be downloaded from the Lodestar release page under the Assets section.
Run the following command to install the latest version
curl -fsSL https://chainsafe.github.io/lodestar/install | bash
Docker Installation
The chainsafe/lodestar Docker Hub repository is maintained actively. It contains the lodestar CLI preinstalled.
The Docker Hub image tagged as chainsafe/lodestar:next is run on CI every commit on our unstable branch.
For stable releases, the image is tagged as chainsafe/lodestar:latest.
Ensure you have Docker installed by issuing the command:
docker -v
It should return a non error message such as Docker version xxxx, build xxxx.
Pull, run the image and Lodestar should now be ready to use
docker pull chainsafe/lodestar
docker run chainsafe/lodestar --help
Docker is the recommended setup for Lodestar. Use our Lodestar Quickstart scripts with Docker for detailed instructions.
Build from Source
Prerequisites
Make sure to have Yarn installed. It is also recommended to install NVM (Node Version Manager) and use the LTS version (currently v22) of NodeJS.
NodeJS versions older than the current LTS are not supported by Lodestar. We recommend running the latest Node LTS.
It is important to make sure the NodeJS version is not changed after reboot by setting a default nvm alias default <version> && nvm use default.
Node Version Manager (NVM) will only install NodeJS for use with the active user. If you intend on setting up Lodestar to run under another user, we recommend using NodeSource's source for NodeJS so you can install NodeJS globally.
Clone repository
Clone the repository locally and build from the stable release branch.
git clone -b stable https://github.com/chainsafe/lodestar.git
Switch to created directory.
cd lodestar
Install packages
Install across all packages. Lodestar follows a monorepo structure, so all commands below must be run in the project root.
yarn install
Build source code
Build across all packages.
yarn run build
Lodestar CLI
Lodestar should now be ready for use.
./lodestar --help
See Command Line Reference for further information.
Known Issues
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'distutils'
If you stump upon this issue while running Yarn, it's because Python 3.12 had removed distutils package. That package is required for node build tool. You can install it with following command.
pip3 install setuptools --force-reinstall --user
Install from NPM [not recommended]
For mainnet (production) usage, we only recommend installing with Docker, using binaries or building from source due to NPM supply chain attacks. Until a safer installation method has been found, do not use this install method except for experimental purposes only.