Monad Testnet

type:

testnet

chain id:

10143

rpc:

https://rpc-monad-testnet.posthuman.digital:443

install guide
monitoring
decentralize map

Monad Testnet Node Installation Guide

About Monad

Monad is a high-performance EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain featuring parallel execution, MonadBFT consensus, and 400ms block times. It achieves 500M gas/sec throughput while maintaining full Ethereum compatibility.

Network Details:

Parameter	Value
Network	Monad Testnet
Chain ID	`10143`
Currency	`MON`
Block Time	400ms
Block Gas Limit	200M
Current Version	`v0.12.7`

Requirements

Hardware

Component	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	16 cores (no HyperThreading)	16+ cores
RAM	32 GB	64 GB
Storage	2x 2TB NVMe SSD	2x 2TB NVMe SSD
Network	1 Gbps	10 Gbps
OS	Ubuntu 24.04+	Ubuntu 24.04+
Kernel	>= 6.8.0.60	>= 6.8.0.60

⚠️ HyperThreading / SMT must be disabled in BIOS — it degrades node performance.

⚠️ Linux kernel v6.8.0.56 to v6.8.0.59 has a known bug causing Monad clients to hang. Use v6.8.0.60+.

Disk Layout

Disk 1 — OS + ledger data (/home/monad/monad-bft/)
Disk 2 — TrieDB raw device (/dev/triedb) — no filesystem, used directly by Monad

1. Update System


sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y curl nvme-cli aria2 jq

2. Install Monad Package

Add the Category Labs APT repository:


cat <<EOF | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/category-labs.sources
Types: deb
URIs: https://pkg.category.xyz/
Suites: noble
Components: main
Signed-By: /etc/apt/keyrings/category-labs.gpg
EOF

sudo mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://pkg.category.xyz/keys/public-key.asc \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/category-labs.gpg

Install and pin the package:


sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y monad=0.12.7
sudo apt-mark hold monad

Verify:


monad-rpc --version

3. Create Monad User


sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash monad

sudo mkdir -p /home/monad/monad-bft/config \
              /home/monad/monad-bft/ledger \
              /home/monad/monad-bft/config/forkpoint \
              /home/monad/monad-bft/config/validators

4. Configure TrieDB Device

Identify the second NVMe drive (the one with no mountpoints):


nvme list
lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE,MOUNTPOINT,MODEL

⚠️ Double-check which drive to use! Formatting the wrong drive will destroy your OS!

Set up the partition:


TRIEDB_DRIVE=/dev/nvme1n1  # CHANGE THIS TO YOUR DRIVE

sudo parted -s $TRIEDB_DRIVE mklabel gpt
sudo parted -s $TRIEDB_DRIVE mkpart triedb 0% 100%

Create udev rule for /dev/triedb symlink:


PARTUUID=$(lsblk -o PARTUUID $TRIEDB_DRIVE | tail -n 1)

echo "ENV{ID_PART_ENTRY_UUID}==\"$PARTUUID\", MODE=\"0666\", SYMLINK+=\"triedb\"" \
  | sudo tee /etc/udev/rules.d/99-triedb.rules

sudo udevadm trigger && sudo udevadm control --reload && sudo udevadm settle
ls -l /dev/triedb

Verify 512-byte LBA:


sudo nvme id-ns -H $TRIEDB_DRIVE | grep 'LBA Format' | grep 'in use'

Expected: Data Size: 512 bytes. If not:


sudo nvme format --lbaf=0 $TRIEDB_DRIVE

Format TrieDB:


sudo systemctl start monad-mpt
sudo journalctl -u monad-mpt -n 14 -o cat --no-pager

5. Configure Firewall


sudo ufw allow ssh
sudo ufw allow 8000
sudo ufw allow 8001
sudo ufw --force enable

# Anti-spam rule for UDP
sudo iptables -I INPUT -p udp --dport 8000 -m length --length 0:1400 -j DROP

# Persist iptables rules
echo iptables-persistent iptables-persistent/autosave_v4 boolean true | sudo debconf-set-selections
echo iptables-persistent iptables-persistent/autosave_v6 boolean true | sudo debconf-set-selections
sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt install -y iptables-persistent

6. Install OTEL Collector


OTEL_VERSION="0.139.0"
curl -fsSL "https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-releases/releases/download/v${OTEL_VERSION}/otelcol_${OTEL_VERSION}_linux_amd64.deb" \
  -o /tmp/otelcol.deb
sudo dpkg -i /tmp/otelcol.deb

sudo cp /opt/monad/scripts/otel-config.yaml /etc/otelcol/config.yaml
sudo systemctl restart otelcol

7. Download Configuration Files

For full nodes:


MF_BUCKET=https://bucket.monadinfra.com
sudo curl -o /home/monad/.env $MF_BUCKET/config/testnet/latest/.env.example
sudo curl -o /home/monad/monad-bft/config/node.toml $MF_BUCKET/config/testnet/latest/full-node-node.toml

For validators:


MF_BUCKET=https://bucket.monadinfra.com
sudo curl -o /home/monad/.env $MF_BUCKET/config/testnet/latest/.env.example
sudo curl -o /home/monad/monad-bft/config/node.toml $MF_BUCKET/config/testnet/latest/node.toml

8. Set Keystore Password


sudo sed -i "s|^KEYSTORE_PASSWORD=$|KEYSTORE_PASSWORD='$(openssl rand -base64 32)'|" /home/monad/.env

sudo mkdir -p /opt/monad/backup/
sudo bash -c 'source /home/monad/.env && echo "Keystore password: ${KEYSTORE_PASSWORD}" > /opt/monad/backup/keystore-password-backup'

9. Generate Keystores


sudo bash -c 'source /home/monad/.env && \
  monad-keystore create --key-type secp \
    --keystore-path /home/monad/monad-bft/config/id-secp \
    --password "${KEYSTORE_PASSWORD}" > /opt/monad/backup/secp-backup 2>&1'

sudo bash -c 'source /home/monad/.env && \
  monad-keystore create --key-type bls \
    --keystore-path /home/monad/monad-bft/config/id-bls \
    --password "${KEYSTORE_PASSWORD}" > /opt/monad/backup/bls-backup 2>&1'

sudo grep "public key" /opt/monad/backup/secp-backup /opt/monad/backup/bls-backup \
  | sudo tee /home/monad/pubkey-secp-bls

🔐 Back up these files externally — they are required to restore your node identity:

/opt/monad/backup/secp-backup

/opt/monad/backup/bls-backup

/opt/monad/backup/keystore-password-backup

10. Configure node.toml

Edit /home/monad/monad-bft/config/node.toml:


sudo nano /home/monad/monad-bft/config/node.toml

Update the following fields:

beneficiary — set to "0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000000" for full nodes, or your wallet for validators
node_name — set to "full_<YOUR_NAME>-1" (must be unique)
Ensure enable_client = true under [fullnode_raptorcast]
Ensure expand_to_group = true under [statesync]

11. Sign Name Record


MY_IP=$(curl -s4 ifconfig.me)

sudo bash -c "source /home/monad/.env && \
  monad-sign-name-record \
    --address ${MY_IP}:8000 \
    --authenticated-udp-port 8001 \
    --keystore-path /home/monad/monad-bft/config/id-secp \
    --password \"\${KEYSTORE_PASSWORD}\" \
    --self-record-seq-num 1"

Copy the output and update [peer_discovery] section in node.toml:

self_address
self_record_seq_num
self_name_record_sig

12. Configure Remote Config Fetching

Verify these lines exist in /home/monad/.env:


REMOTE_VALIDATORS_URL='https://bucket.monadinfra.com/validators/testnet/validators.toml'
REMOTE_FORKPOINT_URL='https://bucket.monadinfra.com/forkpoint/testnet/forkpoint.toml'

13. Hard Reset and Start

Set permissions:


sudo chown -R monad:monad /home/monad/

Run the hard reset script to prepare state:


sudo bash /opt/monad/scripts/reset-workspace.sh

Enable and start services:


sudo chown -R monad:monad /home/monad/
sudo systemctl enable monad-bft monad-execution monad-rpc
sudo systemctl start monad-bft monad-execution monad-rpc

14. Verify

Check services:


sudo systemctl status monad-bft monad-execution monad-rpc --no-pager -l

All three should show Active: active (running).

Check version:


monad-rpc --version

Monitor sync progress:


sudo journalctl -u monad-bft -f --no-pager

Useful Commands

Command	Description
`sudo systemctl status monad-bft monad-execution monad-rpc`	Check all services
`sudo journalctl -u monad-bft -f`	Follow consensus logs
`sudo journalctl -u monad-execution -f`	Follow execution logs
`sudo journalctl -u monad-rpc -f`	Follow RPC logs
`sudo systemctl restart monad-bft monad-execution monad-rpc`	Restart all services
`cat /home/monad/pubkey-secp-bls`	Show node public keys