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This guide installs a Public Fullnode (PFN). Choose mainnet or testnet by downloading the matching genesis & waypoint files.

1) Prerequisites

  • Linux x86_64
  • Docker (for the Docker path) or Rust toolchain (for source build)
  • 1TB+ SSD recommended for longevity; see official requirements page if needed.

2) Create a PFN working directory

3) Download network files (genesis & waypoint)

Mainnet:
Testnet (use the matching paths under aptos-networks/testnet/):

4) Create a PFN config

Copy the template and edit paths:

Path A — Run with Docker

A1) Prepare a local config file

Place fullnode.yaml in ~/aptos-pfn (as shown above).

A2) Start the container

  • -p 8080:8080 exposes the REST API.
  • -p 9101:9101 exposes metrics.
You can swap the image tag to the testnet variant if running on testnet.

Path B — Build and run from source

B1) Clone and build

B2) Copy config and run


5) Verify the node

Once running, check health:
Or follow the Verify PFN guide from Aptos docs.