Quick start guide

In this section, we show you how to get started with installing the needed libraries and packages in Celestia to help you run a node on Celestia.

celestia-node

Installing celestia-node allows you to get started with running a light node and do Data Availability Sampling.

Light Nodes are the best nodes to test out initially if you are new to participating in Celestia.

celestia-node client also allows you to run other types of Data-Availability nodes like Bridge and Full Storage nodes, which will be covered in later sections.

celestia-app

celestia-app is the software that allows you to run Validator nodes and also provide RPC endpoints.

celestia-app covers the Consensus layer, while celestia-node covers the Data Availability layer.

Getting started

As covered in the previous section, Celestia offers two different test networks, Arabica and Mocha.

If you are planning to run a light node, it is recommended to use Arabica, which you will find options to connecting to in the later sections.

If you plan on running a validator, your only option is to run your node on Mocha.

In this Quick Start guide, we will go over installing both of the software clients: celestia-node and celestia-app.

NOTE: If you just want to run a Light Node, you don't need to install celestia-app and can skip that part.

Proceed to the next section in order to get started.