BlockHost

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Quick Start ​

Prerequisites ​

  • A dedicated machine or VM (minimum: 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 32GB disk)
  • Build host with: git, node.js 22+, cargo (Rust), dpkg-dev
  • Choose your stack: --backend (proxmox or libvirt) + --engine (evm or opnet)

Build ​

bash
# Clone with submodules
git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/mwaddip/blockhost.git
cd blockhost

# Check and install build dependencies
./scripts/check-build-deps.sh --install

# Build packages and ISO
./scripts/build-iso.sh --backend libvirt --engine evm --build-deb

# For testing (enables SSH root login, btrfs snapshots, apt proxy):
./scripts/build-iso.sh --backend libvirt --engine evm --build-deb --testing \
    --apt-proxy http://192.168.122.1:3142

TIP

Do not use sudo for build-iso.sh — it drops nvm/cargo from PATH. The ISO only becomes root-owned after libvirt boots it.

Boot ​

Write the ISO to a USB drive or boot it in a VM:

bash
# Example: libvirt test VM
sudo virt-install \
    --name blockhost-test \
    --ram 4096 \
    --vcpus 2 \
    --disk size=32 \
    --cdrom build/blockhost_0.3.0.iso \
    --network network=default \
    --graphics vnc \
    --os-variant debian12 \
    --boot cdrom,hd

Debian auto-installs (no interaction needed), reboots, runs first-boot, and launches the setup wizard on port 80.

Setup Wizard ​

  1. OTP — displayed on the console, enter it in the browser to authenticate
  2. Admin Wallet — connect your crypto wallet and sign a message
  3. Network — DHCP (auto) or static configuration
  4. Storage — select the root disk
  5. Blockchain — generate or import a deployer wallet, choose contract deployment
  6. Provisioner — hypervisor-specific settings
  7. IPv6 — broker allocation or manual prefix
  8. Admin Commands — on-chain admin management, port knocking
  9. Summary — review and finalize

Finalization deploys contracts, configures services, builds the VM template, and validates the system. After reboot, the host is live and waiting for subscribers.

Next Steps ​