How to run your own Monero node

Why personal nodes matter (and when they don't)

• Privacy: the remote-node operator sees your IP and which subaddresses you scan for. Your own node makes that information local-only.
• Trust: you verify every block. The chain you see is the chain consensus rules say is valid — not what a public-node operator chose to show you.
• Availability: public nodes go down or get rate-limited. Your node is always there.
• When not worth it: low-balance hot wallet, mobile-only user, transient setup. Then a vetted Tor-hosted remote node from /nodes is the pragmatic option.

Hardware floor

• CPU: any 64-bit CPU made in the last 10 years. Sync is single-threaded-ish + RandomX validation; nothing fancy.
• RAM: 4 GB minimum, 8 GB comfortable.
• Disk: ~250 GB SSD as of mid-2026 (pruned: ~80 GB). NVMe is faster but SATA SSD works. Spinning rust is painful.
• Bandwidth: ~5–10 GB initial sync, then a few hundred MB/day. Unlimited or generous-cap connection.
• OS: Linux (Debian / Ubuntu / Arch) is the path of least resistance. Windows + macOS work; raspi 4 works for pruned-only.

Setup — Linux (recommended)

1. Get a verified binary. Download from getmonero.org → verify GPG signature (see verify guide) → extract.
2. Pick a config:

   monerod \
     --data-dir /var/lib/monero \
     --no-igd \
     --restricted-rpc \
     --rpc-bind-ip 127.0.0.1 \
     --rpc-bind-port 18081 \
     --confirm-external-bind \
     --enable-dns-blocklist \
     --out-peers 32 \
     --in-peers 64

   (drop --restricted-rpc if this node is for your own wallet only; keep it if you'll share)
3. Run as a service: systemd unit, restart on failure, user monero.
4. Wait. Initial sync: 12–48 hours depending on disk + CPU. Use --fast-block-sync 1 for less verification (faster but trusts the network more on old blocks).
5. Open the wallet RPC port only to localhost (or your LAN with a firewall). Never expose 18081 to the public internet without RPC restrictions.

Connect your wallet

• Feather / Monero GUI / Cake on same machine: point at http://127.0.0.1:18081. Done.
• Same LAN: point at the LAN IP. Make sure RPC is bound to the LAN interface, firewalled to your subnet.
• Remote (recommended Tor): see below.

Expose over Tor (recommended for remote access)

1. Install Tor on the same machine. apt install tor.
2. Add a hidden service to /etc/tor/torrc:

   HiddenServiceDir /var/lib/tor/monero-rpc/
   HiddenServicePort 18081 127.0.0.1:18081

3. Restart Tor, read /var/lib/tor/monero-rpc/hostname — that's your .onion address.
4. Wallet config: point at http://<your-onion>:18081. Use --proxy 127.0.0.1:9050 on the wallet's CLI or the wallet's "use Tor" toggle.
5. Optional: add the --rpc-restricted-bind port to a second hidden service so you can share with friends without exposing internal-only RPC.

Share back to the network

If you have bandwidth to spare, the Monero P2P port (18080) can be exposed publicly to relay blocks and transactions for others. Doing so helps decentralization. Run a clear-net peer + an onion peer for max impact; xmr.club lists working public nodes at /nodes — yours can join.

Common failure modes

1. Disk fills up during sync. Provision 300+ GB. Use a separate volume so the OS root doesn't crash.
2. "Connection refused" from wallet. RPC isn't bound to where the wallet's connecting. Check --rpc-bind-ip + firewall.
3. Slow first sync. CPU is RandomX-bottlenecked or disk is the bottleneck. SSD non-negotiable.
4. Node falls behind. Often clock skew. Run chrony / systemd-timesyncd.
5. Wallet syncs forever. Wallet's restore height is too low. Set it to the height your wallet was created — wallet skips earlier blocks.

Wallet picks that work well with your own node

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