nockchain

Nockchain

Nockchain is a lightweight blockchain for heavyweight verifiable applications.

We believe the future of blockchains is lightweight trustless settlement of heavyweight verifiable computation. The only way to get there is by replacing verifiability-via-public-replication with verifiability-via-private-proving. Proving happens off-chain; verification is on-chain.

Nockchain is entirely experimental and many parts are unaudited. We make no representations or guarantees as to the behavior of this software.

Setup

Install rustup by following their instructions at: https://rustup.rs/

Ensure you have these dependencies installed if running on Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install clang llvm-dev libclang-dev

Copy the example environment file and rename it to .env:

cp .env_example .env

Install hoonc, the Hoon compiler:

make install-hoonc

To build the Nockchain and the wallet binaries and their required assets:

make build

Install Wallet

After you've run the setup and build commands, install the wallet:

make install-nockchain-wallet

See the nockchain-wallet README for more information.

Install Nockchain

After you've run the setup and build commands, install Nockchain:

make install-nockchain

Setup Keys

To generate a new key pair:

nockchain-wallet keygen

This will print a new public/private key pair + chain code to the console, as well as the seed phrase for the private key.

Now, copy the public key to the .env file:

MINING_PUBKEY=<public-key>

Backup Keys

To backup your keys, run:

nockchain-wallet export-keys

This will save your keys to a file called keys.export in the current directory.

They can be imported later with:

nockchain-wallet import-keys --input keys.export

Running Nodes

To run a Nockchain node without mining:

nockchain

To run a Nockchain node and mine to a pubkey:

nockchain --mining_pubkey <your_pubkey> --mine

For launch, make sure you run in a fresh working directory that does not include a .data.nockchain file from testing.

FAQ

Can I use same pubkey if running multiple miners?

Yes, you can use the same pubkey if running multiple miners.

How do I change the mining pubkey?

Run nockchain-wallet keygen to generate a new key pair and copy the new public key to the .env file.

How do I import an existing key that I generated with a different tool?

If you have a base58 encoded public key AND a base58 encoded chain code, you can import it with:

nockchain-wallet import-master-pubkey --key <base58-encoded-public-key> --chain-code <base58-encoded-chain-code>

But you really should use the nockchain-wallet keygen command to generate a new key pair and use that instead.