[Node] Run your HYPERLIQUID Node
Hyperliquid is, without a doubt, one of my favorite DeFi projects.
Like Bitcoin or Ethereum, it is a Layer-1 including apps such as a DEX with >100 perps (more information at the end of the guide). The team have announced further developments include spot tarding, permissionless liquidity and above all a native token.
Hyperliquid is currently in the testnet phase, and many of us are eagerly awaiting the mainnet launch : I’m sure that running a node on it will be very profitable ! We can actually run node on testnet and according to a message from ben_hl of the Hyperliquid team, the developers are currently hard working on making them available on the mainnet.
So, I decided to run my own node in the meantime and here’s how to do it!
Welcome to Node Science ! Here, you will learn and understand how to set up your node easily and quickly, without any prior technical knowledge.
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VPS configuration
To run a node you’ll need a VPS (Virtual Private Server) and one of the most reliable and cheapest solutions is Contabo. It’s a cost-effective German VPS solution built in 2003, known for its robust performance and reliability, catering to a wide range of computing needs and budgets.
The following minimum hardware requirements are recommended for running a node, according to their github :
Memory: 16 GB RAM
CPU: 4 CPU Cores
Disk: 50 GB SSD StorageYou can choose a CLOUD VPS 2 for 3 monthes by clicking here. Note that you can opt for a more powerful server (VPS 3 or 4) to run multiple different nodes on it more economically.
It is recommended to select Ubuntu 22.04 (latest version available).
Define a password.
Once payment is complete, you’ll receive an e-mail with your IP address entitled “Your login data!”. To connect to your VPS and securely run your node, you must download and install the Putty software, which enables a secure connection.
Ensure you copy each command line using (Ctrl+C), and then paste it into your terminal by right-clicking your mouse. Execute them sequentially, pressing Enter after each, if required.
I) Install dependencies
Start by updating and upgrading your OS and confirm by typing “Y”.
sudo apt update
sudo apt list --upgradable | more
sudo apt upgrade
Then restart your VPS and wait a few seconds.
sudo reboot
As you can see in the screenshot above, your VPS is currently running Ubuntu version 22.04.4. However, the team announced on their GitHub that only Ubuntu version 24.04 is supported. You will need to manually upgrade your version, and it’s very simple !
You can check your Ubuntu version by typing :
lsb_release -a
First, we will start by installing the Ubuntu Release Upgrader Core package. It contains the core functionality needed to upgrade your Ubuntu operating system to a newer release.
sudo apt install ubuntu-release-upgrader-core
You can now verify if a new LTS (Long Term Support) release is available.
grep 'lts' /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades
cat /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades
It’s now time to upgrade Ubuntu to the latest version. This process takes a few minutes.
sudo do-release-upgrade -dYou will be asked several times to press “y” and then Enter.
At some point, a window will open. Select the first choice, then press enter.
Same here.
You will finally need to restart your server by typing “y” and Enter.
Your session will be restarted. Wait a little bit, and you will be back on your session again. Congratulations, you have just upgraded Ubuntu to version 24.04 !
You can confirm it by typing :
lsb_release -a
Now, you need to open a configuration file using the nano text editor and change the prompt to “normal” like on the following screen. Save with CTRL+X, then Y and finally Enter.
sudo nano /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades
Make sure there are no other upgrades to perform and that you have the latest version of Ubuntu.
sudo do-release-upgrade
Install screen and press Y. Careful, when installing screen, I encountered an error message and it didn’t work. As suggested in the message, I resolved it by first typing :
apt --fix-broken install
Then install screen.
sudo apt install screen
You now need to create a user for your node. Let’s name it hyperliquid_user. You will be asked to enter a password. For the rest of the information (full name, room number, etc.), press “Enter” to use the default value.
sudo adduser hyperliquid_user
Now you can add the user hyperliquid_user to the sudo group, which grants them administrative privileges on your Linux system.
sudo usermod -aG sudo hyperliquid_user
Let’s switch to the user account hyperliquid_user. (You can close the hyperliquid_user session and return to your original user account, by typing exit or press Ctrl + D).
su - hyperliquid_user
Now you can download the initial_peers.json file which contains a list of peer nodes that the client should initially connect to for syncing with the Hyperliquid blockchain.
curl https://binaries.hyperliquid.xyz/Testnet/initial_peers.json > ~/initial_peers.json
We now need to configure the chain to “Testnet”. Mainnet will be available once testing is complete on testnet.
echo '{"chain": "Testnet"}' > ~/visor.json
Now, download the non_validator_config.json file.
curl https://binaries.hyperliquid.xyz/Testnet/non_validator_config.json > ~/non_validator_config.json
Download the visor binary, which will spawn and manage the child node process.
curl https://binaries.hyperliquid.xyz/Testnet/hl-visor > ~/hl-visor && chmod a+x ~/hl-visor
Finally, you can open a screen session to keep your node running 24/7, even when you disconnect.
screen -S hyperliquid
Start running your node with :
~/hl-visor run-non-validatorIt may take a while as the node navigates the network to find an appropriate peer to stream from ! Make sure your logs display applied block X. It means your node should be streaming live data.
Congratulations, you’ve successfully run your Hyperliquid node ! You can now exit the screen session by typing CTRL+A+D.
Hyperliquid operates an entire ecosystem of permissionless financial applications : every order, cancel, trade, and liquidation happens transparently on-chain with block latency <1 second. The chain currently supports 100,000 orders/second thanks to an optimized consensus algorithm called HyperBFT, which is optimized for end-to-end latency (duration between sending request to receiving committed response).
