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Desktop (Manual method)

Please Note

The following process is for running a Minima node manually. You must leave your desktop running at all times for Minima to continue running and must update your node manually when new versions become available.

Start a new Minima node​

Before starting, ensure you have the latest version of Java installed from https://java.com/en/

  1. Download and save the latest minima.jar file from Github here

  2. Open your command line interface
    Windows: Click on Start, search for command prompt then right click to Open as administrator
    Mac: Open the Terminal app from the Utilities folder in Applications

  3. Type the following command all on one line, replacing INSERTUSERNAME with the username for your files:

Tip: To avoid typing in the folder path, you can drag and drop the downloaded minima.jar file into the command line window.

Windows​

java -jar C:\Users\INSERTUSERNAME\Downloads\minima.jar -mdsenable

Mac​

sudo java -jar /Users/INSERTUSERNAME/Downloads/minima.jar -mdsenable

Linux​

sudo java -jar /home/INSERTUSERNAME/minima.jar -mdsenable

Optional start up parameters​

Expand to see full list of start up parameters

The following start up parameters can optionally be specified when starting your node.

To add/remove parameters after a node has been started, you must quit the node and restart it, adding/removing the required parameters.

[] square brackets indicate where an input is required, the brackets should not be included.

General​

  • -clean : CAREFUL! Clears existing data, starts a new fresh node. All coins will be lost.
  • -port [port] : specify the initial port for Minima to use. Range used will be the specified port +4. Default is 9001-9005.
  • -host [ipaddress] : specify the host IP
  • -dbpassword [yourdbpassword] : Main Wallet / SQL AES password - MUST be specified on first launch. CANNOT be changed later.
  • -allowallip : Allow all IPs for Maxima / Networking. Local IPs won't be allowed otherwise.
  • -archive : Run an Archive node - store all archive data / the cascade to allow for resyncs from this node
  • -daemon : Run in daemon mode with no stdin input (if running Minima as a background service)
  • -isclient : Tells the P2P System that this node can't accept incoming connections
  • -server : Use Server settings - this node can accept incoming connections
  • -desktop : Use Desktop settings - this node can't accept incoming connections

Folders​

  • -data [foldername/path] : the data folder where all the config files for this node are stored. Default is a hidden .minima folder under the user's home directory. If you want to specify a folder not in the user's home directory, you must use the complete path.
  • -basefolder [foldername/path] : specify a default file creation / backup / restore folder. Default is the user's home directory. Can be the same as the data folder provided.

MiniDapp System (mds)​

  • -mdsenable : enable the MiniDapp System (default port 9003)
  • -mdspassword [yourmdspassword] : specify the mds login password
  • -mdsinit [foldername/path] : specify a folder of miniDAPPs
  • -mdswrite [minidapp] : give an initial miniDAPP WRITE access

RPC​

  • -rpcenable : enable remote procedure call
  • -rpcssl : use Self Signed SSL cert to run RPC
  • -rpcpassword [yourrpcpassword] : set Basic Auth password for RPC calls ( Use with SSL / stunnel ). Only secure if used with SSL.
  • -rpcclrf : use CRLF at the end of the RPC headers (NodeJS)

Test nodes​

  • -genesis : start the node from the genesis block (automatically uses -clean)
  • -test : uses test parameters e.g. faster block times
  • -connect [ip:port,ip:port] : Disable the automatic P2P system and create your own network by manually connecting to this list of host:port
  • -nop2p : Disable the automatic P2P system
  • -noconnect : Stops the P2P system from connecting to other nodes until it has been connected to
  • -nosyncibd : Do not sync IBD (for testing)

Mobile​

  • -mobile : Sets this device to a mobile device - used for metrics only
  • -limitbandwidth : Limit the amount sent for archive sync
  • -noshutdownhook : Do not use the shutdown hook (Android)

Debugging​

  • -p2p-log-level-info : Set the P2P log level to info
  • -p2p-log-level-debug : Set the P2P log level to debug

Help​

  • -showparams : Show relevant startup params on launch
  • -help : print help for the start up parameters

  1. Hit the Enter key

  2. Avoid

  • Closing the Command Prompt/Terminal
  • Allowing your PC to go to sleep
  • Turning your PC off

If any of the above happen, your Minima node will stop running and you will need to repeat step 3 to start it again.

Minima is now started, your output should look similar to the below and you should start to see the logs running.

Minima @ 14/03/2022 17:32:30 [5.1 MB] : **********************************************
Minima @ 14/03/2022 17:32:30 [5.1 MB] : *  __  __  ____  _  _  ____  __  __    __    *
Minima @ 14/03/2022 17:32:30 [5.1 MB] : * (  \/  )(_  _)( \( )(_  _)(  \/  )  /__\   *
Minima @ 14/03/2022 17:32:30 [5.1 MB] : *  )    (  _)(_  )  (  _)(_  )    (  /(__)\  *
Minima @ 14/03/2022 17:32:30 [5.1 MB] : * (_/\/\_)(____)(_)\_)(____)(_/\/\_)(__)(__) *
Minima @ 14/03/2022 17:32:30 [5.1 MB] : *                                            *
Minima @ 14/03/2022 17:32:30 [5.1 MB] : **********************************************

Congratulations - your node is now installed & running!

You can type status to show the status of your Minima node, or help to show the full list of commands.

Secure your node​

Before using your node for the first time, you must:

  1. Write down your Seed Phrase
  2. Take a backup
  3. Set a Vault password to encrypt your Keys (optional)

Please visit the Secure your Node page to learn how.

Access your MiniDapp Hub​

The first time accessing your MiniDapp hub, you may need to pass through the security warning - see below - as the MiniDapp system currently uses self-signed certificates.

custom ports

Note that 9003 is the default port for accessing your MiniDapp system - if you installed Minima on custom ports, you will need to use your custom base port + 2. E.g. If you installed Minima on 8001, you will need to use https://127.0.0.1:8003/

Windows/Linux Desktop

  • Go to https://127.0.0.1:9003/ in your web browser (Firefox is not supported)
  • Click on Advanced, then Proceed. Or in Google Chrome, you may have to click anywhere on the page and type thisisunsafe to proceed. Details for other browsers can be found here.

Mac

You will see your MiniDapp System (MDS) login page.

mds_login

  1. To get your password - return to your desktop command line/terminal where the Minima logs are running and enter 
mds

You should see an output similar to below:

mds
{
  "command":"mds",
  "status":true,
  "response":{
    "password":"1SV0-F0WN-K367",
    "minidapps":[]
  }
}
  1. Copy and Paste your password into the field and click Enter
  2. You will see your MiniDapp hub!

Using the MiniDapp hub​

By default, all MiniDapps will be given READ permission when you install them.

When a MiniDapp with READ permission attempts to run a command which would make changes to your node or require access to your funds, a PENDING command will be created which you will need to accept.

warning

You should only give WRITE permissions to MiniDapps that you trust.
Only the Terminal MiniDapp will need WRITE permission so you can approve/deny transactions.

Setting the Terminal permissions to WRITE​

  1. Login to your MiniDapp hub and install the Terminal MiniDapp from the MiniDapp site.
  2. Return to your desktop command line/terminal and run the mds command again (see above) to list your MiniDapps and check their existing permissions
  3. You will see the Terminal MiniDapp listed, copy the uid from YOUR node
    {
      "uid":"0xB4C47D4AD267C3D2D4EF6E086FD12845",
      "conf":{
        "name":"Terminal",
        "icon":"terminal.png",
        "version":"1.91",
        "description":"Terminal CLI for Minima",
        "permission":"write",
        "browser":"internal"
      }
    },
  1. Run the following command in the Command line/Terminal where the Minima logs are running, pasting in YOUR uid:

Windows/Mac/Linux Desktop

mds action:permission uid:0x02FA22EF2A2A3B0FA01D688A902779E5 trust:write

You may now use the Terminal MiniDapp to execute all commands - you will no longer need to use your desktop command line interface/Terminal.

How to check the Status of your node​

You can use the Terminal MiniDapp to interact with your node, for example to check your node version, status, balance, password, Incentive Program setup or to create a backup.

The status command will show details of your node including version, last block and chain details.

  1. Type status into the command line/Terminal.
  2. Check block and time, this is your tip block and the time of that block, time should be within a few minutes of the current time.

Desktop_manualstatus

checking your node is in sync

Having a recent block time is not a guarantee that you are on the right chain.
Consider cross checking your latest block with another node or checking the samechain response of your Maxima Contacts by running the maxcontacts command.

warning

If the time shown is significantly behind, you should restart your node to resync to the chain.
If you have been offline for a long time or do not have a recent backup you may need to perform a chain resync from an Archive node.

Other useful commands:
mds - find the password for your node
help - show all commands

How to update your node​

  1. Type quit into the Command prompt/Terminal window where the Minima logs are running
  2. Download and save the latest minima.jar file from Github here.
  3. Replace your existing minima.jar file with the latest version
  4. Restart Minima using the command in step 3 in Start a new Minima node.
Starting a Clean node

To create a fresh install of a node -clean can be added on to the end of the start up command
DO NOT use -clean if you are simply restarting your node, your coins will be wiped and you will only be able to recover them from a backup!
e.g. java -jar C:\Users\Username\Downloads\minima.jar -mdsenable -clean

How to take a backup of your node​

Before backing up your node, consider encrypting your private keys. For more information, see Vault.

  1. Login to your Minima Hub
  2. Open the Terminal MiniDapp
  3. Enter the backup command with a password containing uppercase, lowercase letters and numbers only
backup password:

Auto backups​

You can create automatic backups every 24 hours however these backups cannot be password protected so we recommend encrypting your private keys before enabling auto backups.

backup auto:true

Your backups will go to your default home directory.

backup parameters

password: set a password for your backup uppercase, lowercase letters and numbers only, this will be required when restoring it

file: (optional) backup name

auto: (optional) true or false. Will set the backup to repeat every 24 hours.

How to restore your node from a backup​

  1. Login to your Minima Hub
  2. Open the Terminal MiniDapp
  3. Enter the restore or restoresync command, completing the parameters

The restore command will restore your backup and then attempt to catch up to the top block by syncing from your peers. If your backup is older than 1 month, we recommend using restoresync instead. 

restore file: password:

The restoresync command will restore your backup and then attempt to catch up to the top block by syncing from a default archive node. If your backup is not recent, restoresync may be more effective for ensuring your node returns to the top block.

restoresync file: password:
restore parameters

file: the name and file path of the backup to restore, e.g. C:\Users\Minima\mybackup.bak

password: (optional) the password of the backup. Can be left blank if restoring an auto backup or non password protected backup.

If successful, you will need to log out/log in from your Minima hub for the restore to take effect.

warning

If you encrypted your private keys before taking the backup that you are now restoring, your private keys will still be encrypted and you will be required to decrypt them or enter your Vault password when sending funds

How to remove your node​

important

Removing a node without taking a backup will delete all your coins! Only remove a node if you have taken a backup or are running a test node.

  1. Type quit into the Command prompt/Terminal window where the Minima logs are running
  2. Delete the minima.jar file you downloaded
  3. (Optional) Remove the minima database files located in your home directory (you may need to show hidden files)

Next Steps​

Once your node running, see Using MiniDapps to start using Minima's decentralized applications!

Learn more:

What are MiniDapps?
Download the latest MiniDapps