Getting started

Prior to using any GNUnet-based application, one has to start a node:

$ gnunet-arm -s

To stop GNUnet:

$ gnunet-arm -e

You can usually find the logs under ~/.cache/gnunet and all files such as databases and private keys in ~/.local/share/gnunet.

The list of running services can be displayed using the -I option. It should look similar to this example:

$ gnunet-arm -I
Running services:
topology (gnunet-daemon-topology)
nat (gnunet-service-nat)
vpn (gnunet-service-vpn)
gns (gnunet-service-gns)
cadet (gnunet-service-cadet)
namecache (gnunet-service-namecache)
hostlist (gnunet-daemon-hostlist)
revocation (gnunet-service-revocation)
ats (gnunet-service-ats)
peerinfo (gnunet-service-peerinfo)
zonemaster (gnunet-service-zonemaster)
zonemaster-monitor (gnunet-service-zonemaster-monitor)
dht (gnunet-service-dht)
namestore (gnunet-service-namestore)
set (gnunet-service-set)
statistics (gnunet-service-statistics)
nse (gnunet-service-nse)
fs (gnunet-service-fs)
peerstore (gnunet-service-peerstore)
core (gnunet-service-core)
rest (gnunet-rest-server)
transport (gnunet-service-transport)
datastore (gnunet-service-datastore)

For the multi-user setup first the system services need to be started as the system user, i.e. the user gnunet needs to execute gnunet-arm -s. This should be done by the system’s init system. Then the user who wants to start GNUnet applications has to run gnunet-arm -s, too. It is recommended to automate this, e.g. using the user’s crontab.

First, you should launch the peer information tool. You can do this from the command-line by typing:

$ gnunet-peerinfo

Once you have done this, you will see a list of known peers. If hardly any peers are listed, there is likely a problem with your network configuration. You can also check directly connected peers with:

$ gnunet-core

This should return (at least) one established connection peer. Otherwise, again, there is likely a problem with your network configuration.