# Run a Pearl full node

https://www.learnpearl.org/run-a-node/ · Checked October 20, 2026 · Intermediate

A full node checks Pearl’s rules for itself and relays valid transactions and blocks. Running one makes you independent of anyone else’s view of the chain, even if you never mine a block.

## Key takeaways

- pearld is the node, Oyster the wallet, prlctl the control tool, and the vLLM miner a separate job.
- The official installers set up local, mainnet-only defaults; read the script before running it.
- Mainnet uses port 44108 for peers and 44107 for RPC. Keep RPC local.
- Upgrade before announced fork heights, and follow every release note.

## Node, wallet and miner are different jobs

- **pearld:** Full node · Validates and relays the chain
- **Oyster:** Wallet daemon · Holds keys and creates transactions
- **prlctl:** Control utility · Talks to the node and wallet over RPC
- **vLLM miner:** Mining workload · Competes to produce blocks

## Install from an official release

Pearl publishes ready-made programs for macOS, Linux and Windows on its [release page](https://github.com/pearl-research-labs/pearl/releases). The official one-line installers put pearld, prlctl, Oyster and oystercli on your machine with local-only mainnet defaults; Oyster uses the light client by default.

macOS / Linux:

```
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pearl-research-labs/pearl/master/install.sh | sh
```

Windows (PowerShell):

```
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pearl-research-labs/pearl/master/install.ps1 | iex
```

> **Read before you pipe.** Open the install script and read it before piping it into a shell. Security-conscious users can instead download a pinned release, check it against `checksums.txt`, and install by hand. To pin a release, pass `--version` to install.sh or `-Version` to install.ps1.

Building from source? Use the repository’s own build tasks (`task build:blockchain`). They compile with the `xmss` and `zkpow` tags; a plain `go build` produces a node that can’t verify block certificates.

## Default network ports

- **Mainnet peers (P2P):** 44108
- **Mainnet node RPC:** 44107
- **Mainnet wallet RPC:** 44207
- **Testnet P2P / RPC:** 44110 / 44109
- **Testnet2 P2P / RPC:** 44112 / 44111
- **Mainnet DNS seeds:** 3 · reef.seeder.pearlnetwork.net, tide.seeder.pearlnetwork.net, stream.seeder.pearlnetwork.net

> **Don’t expose RPC casually.** RPC controls your node and, through Oyster, your wallet. Keep it on localhost by default, and learn TLS, firewalls and authentication before allowing remote access.

## Operating checklist

- Run a supported release and watch for security and release updates.
- Leave disk headroom for chain growth, logs and upgrades.
- Monitor peer count, block height, disk use, clock accuracy and restarts. Pearl rejects blocks timestamped more than five minutes in the future.
- Back up wallet material separately: a copy of the chain can be re-downloaded, a seed can’t.
- Test upgrades before applying them to a machine that also controls real funds.
- Keep mining RPC credentials separate from unrelated services.

## Upgrades and forks

Pearl’s rule changes activate at fixed block heights. When a release announces a fork, upgrade before that height, or your node will follow a chain nobody else is on. The [timeline](https://www.learnpearl.org/timeline/) lists every fork so far.

Since v1.4.8 the node finds peers through seeders under pearlnetwork.net, and v1.5.0 and later ship a built-in checkpoint at block 120,000 that protects new nodes while they sync.

## Questions people ask

### Do I need a GPU to run a node?

No. Verifying certificates is designed to be far cheaper than producing them. An ordinary always-on computer with enough disk space works.

### Does running a node earn PRL?

No. Nodes validate and relay; only mining earns block rewards. The payoff is independence: your node trusts nobody else’s view of the chain.

## Sources

- [Pearl monorepo on GitHub](https://github.com/pearl-research-labs/pearl) (Pearl Research Labs, primary)
- [Official Pearl releases](https://github.com/pearl-research-labs/pearl/releases) (Pearl Research Labs, primary)
- [Pearl v1.5.2 release notes](https://github.com/pearl-research-labs/pearl/releases/tag/v1.5.2) (Pearl Research Labs, primary)
- [Pearl v1.5.0 “Security hardening” release notes](https://github.com/pearl-research-labs/pearl/releases/tag/v1.5.0) (Pearl Research Labs, primary)