Permissionless Node Operation

Why Run a Node?

Don’t just use the network, be the network.

A node is a piece of software that is connected to the blockchain. By running your own node, you have direct access to the evolving state of the network, without having to rely on third parties. This increases privacy and security, reduces reliance on external servers, and helps balance load distribution. By running a node, you also directly contribute to the security and decentralization of the whole network.

Privacy & Security

Be in full control of what information is shared with other nodes.

Decentralization

Increase the resilience of the network.

Participation

Be an integral part of a global, composable movement.

Who Should Run a Node?

Everyone! Anyone can run a node, on everyday hardware. You don’t even need to stake any FLOW. Run a node and contribute to the security and decentralization of the network.

Getting Started Running a Flow Node

For most use-cases, the Observer node is the easiest, most versatile node type to deploy. It provides a locally accessible, continuously updated and verified copy of the block data and does not require any staking. It can be easily run on any consumer-grade hardware with sufficient disk space.

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Run a light node

Run a full node

Boot your Flow RPC
endpoint in seconds.

From elastic APIs, to powerful tools & analytics, all at your command through an easy control panel. QuickNode is your complete end-to-end solution for accessing Flow blockchain nodes!

Learn more

Benefits of Flow’s Multi-Node Architecture

Scales to millions by default by providing a highly performant base layer.

Makes network participation more accessible by lowering requirements for certain node types , they can even be run on consumer-grade laptops.

Increases decentralization by lowering the barrier of running a node, which increases the likelihood of more nodes participating.

Abstracts complexity into the protocol to preserve ease of development, letting developers ship applications faster without needing to worry about infrastructure requirements.

Ensures great end-user experience by avoiding Layer 2 solutions, freeing users from needing to consider technical implication and keeping onboarding simple.

Preserves security at scale, since no transaction has to rely on potentially corrupt off-chain computations and all interactions between entities can happen in one atomic, consistent, isolated, and durable (ACID) transaction.

Learn more about Flow’s multi-node architecture

Running a Staked Node

If you are interested in running a staked Flow node, you have several options depending on the Node type. Each staked node type requires a minimum stake.

Learn more about node roles

Request to run a node

Delegation

You don’t need to run a node to stake your FLOW. Any account in the network may also participate in staking by delegating their tokens to a node operator. Every node operator in the network is eligible to receive delegations, there is no opting out.

Learn more about staking and delegating your FLOW

Can anyone run a Flow node?Yes!