Installing Factom

This page describes how to install Factom Federation.

Here is a step by step guide on how to install FF binaries on Mac, Windows, and Linux.

1. Download the installer for Mac, Windows, or Linux on GitHub. There are various versions, make sure to select the one best suited for your system.

2. Save it to your desktop or downloads folder on your local hard drive.

3. Follow the instructions for your OS.

Mac

This installer is for factomd, factom-walletd, factom-cli, the three binaries will be installed in /Applications/Factom/ together with a .factom folder in the root of the local user Home Folder. These are all required to run Factom via command line.

Before you start, go to System Preferences/Security & Privacy, click on the lock at the bottom left of the window, type your username and password, then select “Allow apps downloaded from: Anywhere.” At the prompt click on “Allow From Anywhere.”

Security & Privacy

Note that after running the Factom installer it is recommended you revert your Security & Privacy settings to their original state.

Next, locate the factom.mpkg.zip file you just downloaded. Double-click to unzip it, then double-click the factom.mpkg file to run the installer.

The installer will open, click continue.

Installer Step 1

Then click install.

Installer Step 2

The installer will prompt for your username and password. You need to have Admin privileges on the Mac (means you need to be able to install applications on your Mac).

Enter your username and password then click Install Software.

Installer Step 3

The installer will proceed with the installation and once finished it will prompt with “The installation was successful.” Then click close.

Installer Step 4

Windows

This installer is for factomd, factom-walletd, factom-cli, the three binaries will be installed in c:\Program Files (x86)\Factom\ or c:\Program Files\Factom\ (depending on your system) together with a .factom folder in the root of the local user Home Folder. These are all required to run Factom via command line.

Next, locate the FactomInstall-amd64.msi or FactomInstall-i386.msi file you just downloaded in Step 1.

Double click the .msi installer to run it, but you may be prompted with the following message.

Windows Prompt 1

Click on More info to expand it then select “Run anyway.”

Windows Prompt 2

The Installer will open, click “Next.”

Installer Step 1

Select I accept the terms in the License Agreement and click Next to continue.

Installer Step 2

Make sure Factom is installed into c:\Program Files (x86)\Factom\ folder and click Next to continue.

Installer Step 3

Then click Install.

Installer Step 4

Select Yes to continue if you get the following message.

Windows Prompt 3

When the installation is over select Finish to exit the installer..

Installer Step 5

Linux

This installer is for factomd, factom-walletd, factom-cli, the three binaries will be installed on your local drive together with a .factom folder in the root of the local user Home Folder ~/.factom. These are all required to run Factom via command line or the Factom Foundation Wallet.

Download the factom-amd64.deb or factom-i386.deb installer that suits your system as per Step 1 then run the following command to install.

sudo dpkg -i ./factom-amd64.deb

or

sudo dpkg -i ./factom-i386.deb

We are aware Linux users are hardcore, so we made sure one command is all they need to be ready to install Enterprise Wallet!

Docker

If you’ve made it this far, you may not have an operating system. This will make it very difficult to run Factom Federation since, at this point, we do still require you to use a computing device. However, if you’re simply looking for a way to get started in ANY environment, you’ve come to the right place.

Because we are a very modern organization, we’ve made arrangements for you to get started in a containerized environment. All you need is Docker at minimum v17 and a clone of the factomd repo.

Build

From wherever you have cloned the factomd repo, run:

docker build -t factomd_container .

You can replace factomd_container with whatever you want to call the container. e.g. factomd, foo, etc.

Cross-Compile

To cross-compile for a different target, you can pass in a build-arg :

docker build -t factomd_container --build-arg GOOS=darwin .

Run

No Persistence

docker run --rm -p 8090:8090 factomd_container

• This will start up factomd with no flags.

• The Control Panel is accessible at port 8090..

• When the container terminates, all data will be lost

In the above, replace factomd_container with whatever you called it when you built it - e.g. factomd, foo, etc.

With Persistence

docker volume create factomd_volume
docker run --rm -v $(PWD)/factomd.conf:/source -v factomd_volume:/destination busybox /bin/cp /source /destination/factomd.conf
docker run --rm -p 8090:8090 -v factomd_volume:/root/.factom/m2 factomd_container

• This will start up factomd with no flags.

• The Control Panel is accessible at port 8090

• When the container terminates, the data will remain persisted in the volume factomd_volume

• The above copies factomd.conf from the local directory into the container. Put your version in there, or change the path appropriately.

In the above:

• replace factomd_container with whatever you called it when you built it - e.g. factomd, foo, etc.

• replace factomd_volume with whatever you might want to call it - e.g. myvolume, barbaz, etc.

Additional Flags

In all cases, you can startup with additional flags by passing them at the end of the docker command, e.g.

docker run --rm -p 8090:8090 factomd_container -port 9999

Copy

docker run --rm --entrypoint='' \
    -v <FULLY_QUALIFIED_PATH_TO_TARGET_DIRECTORY>:/destination factomd_container \
    /bin/cp /go/bin/factomd /destination

The following will copy the binary to /tmp/factomd

docker run --rm --entrypoint='' \
-v /tmp:/destination factomd_container \
/bin/cp /go/bin/factomd /destination

So yeah, you want to get your binary out of the container. To do so, you basically mount your target into the container and copy the binary over as shown. You should replace factomd_container with whatever you called it in the build section above e.g. factomd, foo, etc.

Cross-Compile Copy

Cross-Compile copy

docker run --rm --entrypoint='' \
-v <FULLY_QUALIFIED_PATH_TO_TARGET_DIRECTORY>:/destination \
factomd_container \
/bin/cp /go/bin/darwin_amd64/factomd /destination

To copy the darwin_amd64 version of the binary to /tmp/factomd…

docker run --rm --entrypoint='' 
-v /tmp:/destination factomd_container \
/bin/cp /go/bin/darwin_amd64/factomd /destination

If you cross-compiled to a different target, your binary will be in /go/bin/<target>/factomd. e.g. If you built with --build-arg GOOS=darwin, then you can copy out the binary using the commands shown on the right.You should replace factomd_container with whatever you called it in the build section above e.g. factomd, foo, etc.