README.md
1# Aleth – Ethereum C++ client, tools and libraries
2
3> The collection of C++ libraries and tools for Ethereum,
4> formerly known as _cpp-ethereum_ project.
5> This includes the full Ethereum client **aleth**.
6
7
8## Contact
9
10[](https://gitter.im/ethereum/aleth)
11[](https://github.com/ethereum/aleth/issues)
12
13- Chat in [aleth channel on Gitter](https://gitter.im/ethereum/aleth).
14- Report bugs, issues or feature requests using [GitHub issues](https://github.com/ethereum/aleth/issues/new).
15
16
17## Usage
18
19The Ethereum Documentation site hosts the **[aleth homepage](http://cpp-ethereum.org)**, which
20has a Quick Start section.
21
22
23Operating system | Status
24---------------- | ----------
25Ubuntu and macOS | [](https://travis-ci.org/ethereum/aleth)
26Windows | [](https://ci.appveyor.com/project/ethereum/cpp-ethereum)
27
28
29## Install
30
31### Download release binaries
32
33https://github.com/ethereum/aleth/releases
34
35### Using docker images
36
37Aleth:
38```bash
39docker run ethereum/aleth --help
40```
41
42Testeth:
43```bash
44docker run ethereum/testeth --help
45```
46
47### Building from source
48
49#### Get the source code
50
51Git and GitHub are used to maintain the source code. Clone the repository by:
52
53```shell
54git clone --recursive https://github.com/ethereum/aleth.git
55cd aleth
56```
57
58The `--recursive` option is important. It orders git to clone additional
59submodules to build the project.
60If you missed `--recursive` option, you are able to correct your mistake with command
61`git submodule update --init`.
62
63#### Install CMake
64
65CMake is used to control the build configuration of the project. Latest version of CMake is required
66(at the time of writing [3.9.3 is the minimum](CMakeLists.txt#L5)).
67We strongly recommend you to install CMake by downloading and unpacking the binary
68distribution of the latest version available on the
69[**CMake download page**](https://cmake.org/download/).
70
71The CMake package available in your operating system can also be installed
72and used if it meets the minimum version requirement.
73
74> **Alternative method**
75>
76> The repository contains the
77[scripts/install_cmake.sh](scripts/install_cmake.sh) script that downloads
78> a fixed version of CMake and unpacks it to the given directory prefix.
79> Example usage: `scripts/install_cmake.sh --prefix /usr/local`.
80
81#### Build
82
83Configure the project build with the following command to create the
84`build` directory with the configuration.
85
86```shell
87mkdir build; cd build # Create a build directory.
88cmake .. # Configure the project.
89cmake --build . # Build all default targets.
90```
91
92On **Windows** we support Visual Studio 2017, and 2019. You should generate a Visual Studio solution file (`.sln`) for the 64-bit architecture via the following command:
93
94* **Visual Studio 2017**: `cmake .. -G "Visual Studio 15 2017 Win64"`
95* **Visual Studio 2019**: `cmake .. -G "Visual Studio 16 2019" -A x64`
96
97After the necessary dependencies have been downloaded and built and the solution has been generated, `aleth.sln` can be found in the
98`build` directory.
99
100#### Common Issues Building on Windows
101##### LINK : fatal error LNK1158: cannot run 'rc.exe'
102Rc.exe is the [Microsoft Resource Compiler](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/menurc/resource-compiler). It's distributed with the [Windows SDK](https://developer.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/windows-10-sdk) and is required for generating the Visual Studio solution file. It can be found in the following directory: ```%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Windows Kits\<OS major version>\bin\<OS full version>\<arch>\```
103
104If you hit this error, adding the directory to your path (and launching a new command prompt) should fix the issue.
105
106## Contribute
107
108[](https://github.com/ethereum/aleth/graphs/contributors)
109[](https://gitter.im/ethereum/aleth)
110[](https://github.com/ethereum/aleth/labels/help%20wanted)
111
112The current codebase is the work of many, many hands, with over 100
113[individual contributors](https://github.com/ethereum/aleth/graphs/contributors) over the course of its development.
114
115Our day-to-day development chat happens on the
116[aleth](https://gitter.im/ethereum/aleth) Gitter channel.
117
118All contributions are welcome! We try to keep a list of tasks that are suitable
119for newcomers under the tag
120[help wanted](https://github.com/ethereum/aleth/labels/help%20wanted).
121If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask us about more information.
122
123Please read [CONTRIBUTING](CONTRIBUTING.md) and [CODING_STYLE](CODING_STYLE.md)
124thoroughly before making alterations to the code base.
125
126All development goes in develop branch.
127
128## Usage
129*Note: The following is the output of ```./aleth -h [--help]``` on Linux*
130
131```
132NAME:
133 aleth 1.7.2
134USAGE:
135 aleth [options]
136
137WALLET USAGE:
138 account list List all keys available in wallet
139 account new Create a new key and add it to wallet
140 account update [<uuid>|<address> , ... ] Decrypt and re-encrypt keys
141 account import [<uuid>|<file>|<secret-hex>] Import keys from given source and place in wallet
142 wallet import <file> Import a presale wallet
143
144CLIENT MODE (default):
145 --mainnet Use the main network protocol
146 --ropsten Use the Ropsten testnet
147 --test Testing mode; disable PoW and provide test rpc interface
148 --config <file> Configure specialised blockchain using given JSON information
149
150 --ipc Enable IPC server (default: on)
151 --ipcpath <path> Set .ipc socket path (default: data directory)
152 --no-ipc Disable IPC server
153 --admin <password> Specify admin session key for JSON-RPC (default: auto-generated and printed at start-up)
154 -K [ --kill ] Kill the blockchain first
155 -R [ --rebuild ] Rebuild the blockchain from the existing database
156 --rescue Attempt to rescue a corrupt database
157
158 --import-presale <file> Import a pre-sale key; you'll need to specify the password to this key
159 -s [ --import-secret ] <secret> Import a secret key into the key store
160 -S [ --import-session-secret ] <secret> Import a secret session into the key store
161 --master <password> Give the master password for the key store; use --master "" to show a prompt
162 --password <password> Give a password for a private key
163
164CLIENT TRANSACTING:
165 --ask <wei> Set the minimum ask gas price under which no transaction will be mined (default: 20000000000)
166 --bid <wei> Set the bid gas price to pay for transactions (default: 20000000000)
167 --unsafe-transactions Allow all transactions to proceed without verification; EXTREMELY UNSAFE
168
169CLIENT NETWORKING:
170 -b [ --bootstrap ] Connect to the default Ethereum peer servers (default unless --no-discovery used)
171 --no-bootstrap Do not connect to the default Ethereum peer servers (default only when --no-discovery is used)
172 -x [ --peers ] <number> Attempt to connect to a given number of peers (default: 11)
173 --peer-stretch <number> Give the accepted connection multiplier (default: 7)
174 --public-ip <ip> Force advertised public IP to the given IP (default: auto)
175 --listen-ip <ip>(:<port>) Listen on the given IP for incoming connections (default: 0.0.0.0)
176 --listen <port> Listen on the given port for incoming connections (default: 30303)
177 -r [ --remote ] <host>(:<port>) Connect to the given remote host (default: none)
178 --port <port> Connect to the given remote port (default: 30303)
179 --network-id <n> Only connect to other hosts with this network id
180 --allow-local-discovery Include local addresses in the discovery process. Used for testing purposes.
181 --peerset <list> Comma delimited list of peers; element format: type:enode://publickey@ipAddress[:port[?discport=port]]
182 Types:
183 default Attempt connection when no other peers are available and pinning is disabled
184 required Keep connected at all times
185
186 Ports:
187 The first port argument is the tcp port used for direct communication among peers. If the second port
188 argument isn't supplied, the first port argument will also be the udp port used for node discovery.
189 If neither the first nor second port arguments are supplied, a default port of 30303 will be used for
190 both peer communication and node discovery.
191 --no-discovery Disable node discovery; implies --no-bootstrap
192 --pin Only accept or connect to trusted peers
193
194CLIENT MINING:
195 -a [ --address ] <addr> Set the author (mining payout) address (default: auto)
196 -m [ --mining ] <on/off/number> Enable mining; optionally for a specified number of blocks (default: off)
197 --extra-data arg Set extra data for the sealed blocks
198
199BENCHMARKING MODE:
200 -M [ --benchmark ] Benchmark for mining and exit
201 --benchmark-warmup <seconds> Set the duration of warmup for the benchmark tests (default: 3)
202 --benchmark-trial <seconds> Set the duration for each trial for the benchmark tests (default: 3)
203 --benchmark-trials <n> Set the number of trials for the benchmark tests (default: 5)
204
205MINING CONFIGURATION:
206 -C [ --cpu ] When mining, use the CPU
207 -t [ --mining-threads ] <n> Limit number of CPU/GPU miners to n (default: use everything available on selected platform)
208 --current-block <n> Let the miner know the current block number at configuration time. Will help determine DAG size and required GPU memory
209 --disable-submit-hashrate When mining, don't submit hashrate to node
210
211IMPORT/EXPORT MODES:
212 -I [ --import ] <file> Import blocks from file
213 -E [ --export ] <file> Export blocks to file
214 --from <n> Export only from block n; n may be a decimal, a '0x' prefixed hash, or 'latest'
215 --to <n> Export only to block n (inclusive); n may be a decimal, a '0x' prefixed hash, or 'latest'
216 --only <n> Equivalent to --export-from n --export-to n
217 --format <binary/hex/human> Set export format
218 --dont-check Prevent checking some block aspects. Faster importing, but to apply only when the data is known to be valid
219 --download-snapshot <path> Download Parity Warp Sync snapshot data to the specified path
220 --import-snapshot <path> Import blockchain and state data from the Parity Warp Sync snapshot
221
222DATABASE OPTIONS:
223 --db <name> (=leveldb) Select database implementation. Available options are: leveldb, memorydb.
224 --db-path <path> (=$HOME/.ethereum) Database path (for non-memory database options)
225
226VM OPTIONS:
227 --vm <name>|<path> (=legacy) Select VM implementation. Available options are: interpreter, legacy.
228 --evmc <option>=<value> EVMC option
229
230LOGGING OPTIONS:
231 -v [ --log-verbosity ] <0 - 4> Set the log verbosity from 0 to 4 (default: 2).
232 --log-channels <channel_list> Space-separated list of the log channels to show (default: show all channels).
233 Channels: block blockhdr bq chain client debug discov error ethcap exec host impolite info net overlaydb p2pcap peer
234 rlpx rpc snap statedb sync timer tq trace vmtrace warn warpcap watch
235 --log-exclude-channels <channel_list> Space-separated list of the log channels to hide.
236
237 --log-vmtrace Enable VM trace log (requires log-verbosity 4).
238
239GENERAL OPTIONS:
240 -d [ --data-dir ] <path> Load configuration files and keystore from path (default: $HOME/.ethereum)
241 -V [ --version ] Show the version and exit
242 -h [ --help ] Show this help message and exit
243```
244
245## Tools
246The Aleth project includes the following tools in addition to the Aleth client:
247* **[aleth-bootnode](aleth-bootnode/)**: A C++ Ethereum discovery bootnode implementation
248* **[aleth-key](aleth-key/)**: A rudimentary wallet
249* **[aleth-vm](aleth-vm/)**: An EVM bytecode runner tool
250* **[rlp](rlp/)**: A RLP encoder/decoder tool
251* **[testeth](test/)**: A consensus test generator/runner tool
252
253## Mining
254
255This project is **not suitable for Ethereum mining** because the support for GPU mining
256has been dropped some time ago including the ethminer tool. Use the ethminer tool from https://github.com/ethereum-mining/ethminer.
257
258## Testing
259Details on how to run and debug the tests can be found [here](doc/usingtesteth.rst)
260
261## Documentation
262
263- [Internal documentation for developers](doc/index.rst).
264- [Outdated documentation for end users](http://www.ethdocs.org/en/latest/ethereum-clients/cpp-ethereum/).
265
266## License
267
268[](LICENSE)
269
270All contributions are made under the [GNU General Public License v3](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html). See [LICENSE](LICENSE).
271
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}