Creating a Genesis Block

The genesis block is the first block created when a blockchain network is initialized. In the Nine Chronicles blockchain network, the genesis block serves as the starting point for all gameplay.

In Nine Chronicles, the blockchain node implementation NineChronicles.Headless provides the genesis command via the NineChronicles.Headless.Executable project. Let’s learn how to create a custom genesis block using this command.

Cloning the NineChronicles.Headless Repository

First, clone the NineChronicles.Headless GitHub repository.

CLI Commands

shell

git clone https://github.com/planetarium/NineChronicles.Headless.git
cd NineChronicles.Headless
git submodule update --init --recursive

shell

gh repo clone planetarium/NineChronicles.Headless -- --recurse-submodules

TIP

The generate config script has not been merged into the main branch yet, so for this tutorial, you need to check out the development branch, create the config.json, and then switch back to the main branch.
Please start by checking out the development branch.

git checkout development

The NineChronicles.Headless.Executable genesis Command

Now, let’s explore what you can do with the genesis command provided by the NineChronicles.Headless.Executable project.

dotnet run --project=NineChronicles.Headless.Executable -- genesis --help

You should see the following output:

Usage: NineChronicles.Headless.Executable genesis [--help] config

Mine a new genesis block

Arguments:
  0: config    JSON config path to mine genesis block (Default: ./config.json)

Options:
  -h, --help    Show help message

This command allows you to generate a new genesis block.

Let’s start by creating a config.json file for the genesis block. Since we are setting up a single node, we’ll configure the genesis block with all the permissions assigned to a single private key.
To do this, use the create-config-for-single script. Make sure to use the private key you created in the previous step.

sh scripts/create-config-for-single.sh

After running the command, you’ll see the following prompts:

Enter the private key: {private key}
Enter the public key: {public key}
Enter the address: {address}
config.json has been created successfully.

If successful, a config.json file similar to the one below will be generated:

{
    "$schema": "./config.schema.json",
    "data": {
        "tablePath": "./Lib9c/Lib9c/TableCSV"
    },
    "admin": {
        "activate": true,
        "address": "0xb4179Ad0d7565A6EcFA70d2a0f727461039e0159",
        "validUntil": 1000000
    },
    "currency": {
        "initialMinter": "9fe5f7c309495d284ca36b948fdeca0e65b21a019e2f8a03efd849df88fab102",
        "initialCurrencyDeposit": [
            {
                "address": "0xb4179Ad0d7565A6EcFA70d2a0f727461039e0159",
                "amount": 1000000,
                "start": 0,
                "end": 0
            }
        ]
    },
    "initialValidatorSet": [
        {
            "publicKey": "033dafc7bf6d603578a8c51b04430b738aeeead8a012e1dcbd8c75cf18a625cf14",
            "power": 1
        }
    ],
    "initialMeadConfigs": [
        {
            "address": "0xb4179Ad0d7565A6EcFA70d2a0f727461039e0159",
            "amount": "1000000"
        }
    ],
    "initialPledgeConfigs": []
}

This config.json file designates the specified private key as the admin, assigns validator permissions, and sets initial currency configurations.
If you need more complex configurations, refer to the Structure of genesis block and config.schema.json documentation.

TIP

As mentioned above, in this tutorial, you need to check out the development branch, create the config, and then switch back to the main branch.
Now, please check out the main branch.

git checkout main
git submodule update --recursive

Now, let’s use the generated config.json to create the genesis block:

dotnet run --project=NineChronicles.Headless.Executable -- genesis ./config.json

You should see output similar to this:

Processing data for genesis...

Processing currency for genesis...

Processing admin for genesis...
Admin config done

Processing initial validator set for genesis...
Initial validator set config done: PublicKey: 033dafc7bf6d603578a8c51b04430b738aeeead8a012e1dcbd8c75cf18a625cf14, Power: 1

Processing initial mead distribution...
Preparing initial 1000000 MEAD for 0xb4179Ad0d7565A6EcFA70d2a0f727461039e0159...

Processing initial pledges...

Mining genesis block...

Admin privilege has been granted to given admin address. Keep this account in secret.

Genesis block created.

The genesis-block file is now successfully created.

🎉

Congratulations! You’ve learned how to create a genesis block using the genesis command in the NineChronicles.Headless.Executable project. Next, we’ll move on to running the node with the genesis block and private key you just created.