Here is a quick-start guide for setting up a TRON private network using Docker.
A private chain needs at least one fullnode run by a Super Representative (SR) to produce blocks, and any number of fullnodes to synchronize blocks and broadcast transactions.
- CPU with 8+ cores
- 32GB RAM
- 100GB free storage space
Please download and install the latest version of Docker from the official Docker website:
Then check the Docker resource settings to ensure it has at least 12GB of memory per TRON node.
Download the folder private_net from GitHub. Enter the directory and run the docker-composer.
cd ./private_net
docker-compose up -d
A TRON private network will be started with one SR and a normal FullNode.
Check the witness logs by running the command below:
docker exec -it tron_witness1 tail -f ./logs/tron.log
Normally, it should show the witness initializing the database and network, then starting to produce blocks every 3 seconds.
01:58:06.013 INFO [DPosMiner] [DB](Manager.java:1546) Generate block 1 begin.
01:58:06.158 INFO [DPosMiner] [DB](Manager.java:1669) Generate block 1 success, trxs:0, before pendingCount: 0, rePushCount: 0, from pending: 0, rePush: 0, after pendingCount: 0, rePushCount: 0, postponedCount: 0, blockSize: 175 B
01:58:06.162 INFO [DPosMiner] [net](AdvService.java:200) Ready to broadcast block Num:1,ID:00000000000001206a3e24f26aa0c31033349e2cffab07f741061728a79a55b3
01:58:06.183 INFO [DPosMiner] [DB](Manager.java:1233) Block num: 1, re-push-size: 0, pending-size: 0, block-tx-size: 0, verify-tx-size: 0
It also connects with the other full nodes with the log:
Peer stats: channels 1, activePeers 1, active 0, passive 1
Check the other fullnode logs by running the command below:
docker exec -it tron_node1 tail -f ./logs/tron.log
After initialization, it should show messages about syncing blocks, just following the SR.
What docker-compose do?
Check the docker-compose.yml, the two container services use the same TRON image with different configurations.
-
ports: Used in the tron_witness1 service are exposed for API requests to interact with the TRON private network. -
command: Used for java-tron image start-up arguments.-jvmis used for Java Virtual Machine parameters, which must be enclosed in double quotes and braces."{-Xmx16g -Xms12g}"sets the maximum heap size to 16GB.-cdefines the configuration file to use.-ddefines the database file to use. By mounting a local data directory, it ensures that the block data is persistent.-wmeans to start as a witness. You need to fill thelocalwitnessfield with private keys in the configuration file. Refer to Run as Witness.
If you want to add more witness or other syncing fullnodes, you need to make below minimum changes for docker-compose.yml and configuration files.
Add more services in docker-compose.yml
Inside the docker-compose.yml, refer to the commented containers tron_witness2 and tron_node2. Make sure the configuration files are changed accordingly, following the details below.
Common settings
For all configurations, you need to set node.p2p.version to the same value and node.discovery.enable = true.
node {
p2p {
version = 1 # 11111: mainnet; 20180622: nilenet; others for private networks.
}
...
}
node.discovery = {
enable = true # you should set this entry value with true if you want your node can be discovered by other node.
...
}
Witness setting
Make sure only one SR witness sets needSyncCheck = false, while the rest of the witnesses and other fullnodes set it to true. This ensures that there is only one source of truth for block data.
block = {
needSyncCheck = true # only one SR witness set false, the rest all false
...
}
If you want to add more witnesses:
- First, add the witness private key to the
localwitnessfield in the corresponding witness configuration file. If you don't want to use this way of specifying the private key in plain text, you can use the keystore + password method. - Then, add initial values to the
genesis.blockfor all configuration files. TRON will use this to initialize the genesis block, and nodes with different genesis blocks will be disconnected.
localwitness = [
# public address TCjptjyjenNKB2Y6EwyVT43DQyUUorxKWi
0ab0b4893c83102ed7be35eee6d50f081625ac75a07da6cb58b1ad2e9c18ce43 # you must enable this value and the witness address are match.
]
genesis.block {
assets = [ # set account initial balance
...
{
accountName = "TestE"
accountType = "AssetIssue"
address = "TCjptjyjenNKB2Y6EwyVT43DQyUUorxKWi"
balance = "1000000000000000"
}
]
witnesses = [ # set witness account initial vote count
...
{
address: TCjptjyjenNKB2Y6EwyVT43DQyUUorxKWi,
url = "http://example.com",
voteCount = 5000
}
]
P2P node discovery setting
In witness configure file, make sure node.listen.port is set for p2p peer discovery.
node {
listen.port = 18888
...
}
Then, in other configuration files, add witness container_name:port to connect to the newly added witness fullnodes.
seed.node = {
ip.list = [
# used for docker deployment, to connect containers in tron_witness defined in docker-compose.yml
"tron_witness1:18888",
"tron_witness2:18888",
...
]
}
Besides the above settings, there are many fields you can modify to customize the behavior of private networks. The configurations that you can change, though not exhaustively listed, include:
- Ethereum compatible virtual machine in
vm = {...} - Block settings
- Network details for node discovery and connections, HTTP and RPC services, etc.
- Enable or disable parts of committee-approved proposals
- Event subscription
- Database configuration
Notice: Make sure your changes are consistent among all configuration files, especially for the SRs, as inconsistencies may affect the block generation logic.
For example, you could change these block settings to smaller values to speed up maintenance or proposal logic changes:
block = {
maintenanceTimeInterval = 300000 # 5mins, default is 6 hours
proposalExpireTime = 600000 # 10mins, default is 3 days
}
You could also disable/enable the following committee-approved settings with 0 or 1:
committee = {
allowCreationOfContracts = 1
allowAdaptiveEnergy = 0
allowMultiSign = 1
allowDelegateResource = 1
allowSameTokenName = 0
allowTvmTransferTrc10 = 1
}
If you encounter any difficulties or need more customized operations, check the Troubleshooting section below.
java-tron supports application shutdown with kill -15, which sends a SIGTERM signal to the application, allowing it to gracefully shut down. java-tron is also compatible with force shutdown using kill -9, which sends a SIGKILL signal.
Thus, you can use the command docker-compose stop/down or docker-compose kill to stop or close all the services.
In docker-compose.yml, notice the ports mapping:
ports:
- "8090:8090" # for external HTTP API requests
- "50051:50051" # for external RPC API requests, for example through wallet-cli
After the network runs successfully, you can interact with it using the HTTP API or wallet-cli.
For example, a request to get genesis block info:
curl --location 'localhost:8090/wallet/getblock' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
"id_or_num": "0",
"detail": true
}'
It should return transactions with the type TransferContract for asset initialization set in the genesis.block in the configuration files. Notice the parentHash equals to the value you set in configure file.
{
"blockID": "0000000000000000ad12b5787243011231c77e867e36f54ecb20b4b38ac594b8",
"block_header": {
"raw_data": {
"txTrieRoot": "bf467bbfc436b1690f1c5d0d650ac4012fa2ff304f4e99bd487f90c8718e65ca",
"witness_address": "41206e65772073797374656d206d75737420616c6c6f77206578697374696e672073797374656d7320746f206265206c696e6b656420746f67657468657220776974686f757420726571756972696e6720616e792063656e7472616c20636f6e74726f6c206f7220636f6f7264696e6174696f6e",
"parentHash": "957dc2d350daecc7bb6a38f3938ebde0a0c1cedafe15f0edae4256a2907449f6"
}
},
"transactions": [
{
"txID": "6a617c0667fd3a710a95d78d212a6e72df3c005ff7d3f53d3765cc81156151ea",
"raw_data": {
"contract": [
{
"parameter": {
"value": {
"amount": 95000000000000000, // initial balance
"owner_address": "3078303030303030303030303030303030303030303030",
"to_address": "41928c9af0651632157ef27a2cf17ca72c575a4d21" // hex format = public address TPL66VK2gCXNCD7EJg9pgJRfqcRazjhUZY
},
"type_url": "type.googleapis.com/protocol.TransferContract"
},
"type": "TransferContract"
}
]
},
"raw_data_hex": "5a6f0801126b0a2d747970652e676f6f676c65617069732e636f6d2f70726f746f636f6c2e5472616e73666572436f6e7472616374123a0a173078303030303030303030303030303030303030303030121541928c9af0651632157ef27a2cf17ca72c575a4d21188080a6adf2bfe0a801"
},
...
]
If you request block info with a number greater than 0, it should return block_header only, as there are no transactions triggered.
For more API usage, please refer to the guidance.
As you could notice, for now the block produced by SR contains 0 transaction. To send a transaction on TRON network, the data must be signed. To easily trigger a transaction on the TRON network, wallet-cli is recommended. Refer to the installation guidance. Make sure you edit config.conf in src/main/resources as below:
fullnode = {
ip.list = [
"localhost:50051" # or any value private network hosted
]
}
Wallet-cli will connect to your local private network. After registering or importing a wallet, you can easily sign and broadcast transactions. Check wallet-cli API usage here.
If you encounter any difficulties, please refer to the Issue Work Flow, then raise an issue on GitHub. For general questions, please use Discord or Telegram.
To set up a private network natively, refer to the Deployment Guide. Make sure you set up all the configuration parameters correctly.