Set up an Ark server manually

This guide walks through installing each dependency, building or downloading captaind, and launching an Ark server on signet.

This path runs on signet, Bitcoin’s public test network. If you’d prefer a fully containerized local setup on regtest, see the Docker Compose guide instead.

Install dependencies

PostgreSQL

Docker (recommended)
Package managers
Manual installation

Run PostgreSQL in a Docker container:

docker run \
  --name my_postgres \
  -e POSTGRES_USER=postgres \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres \
  -e POSTGRES_DB=bark-server-db \
  -p 5432:5432 \
  -d postgres

macOS
Debian/Ubuntu
Fedora/CentOS/RHEL

brew install postgresql
brew services start postgresql

sudo apt update
sudo apt install postgresql
sudo systemctl start postgresql

sudo dnf install postgresql-server
sudo postgresql-setup --initdb
sudo systemctl start postgresql

Verify PostgreSQL is running:

psql -h localhost -U postgres -c "SELECT version();"

Bitcoin Core

Bitcoin Core v30.0+ is strongly recommended. Download from the official download page and follow the installation instructions for your operating system. For Linux, unpack the archive and add bitcoind and bitcoin-cli to your path. Verify the installation:

bitcoind --version

Optional dependencies

Just and jq

Just is a command runner that simplifies running common tasks.

macOS
Debian/Ubuntu/Fedora

brew install just

cargo install --locked just

Verify:

just --version

jq is a command-line tool for processing JSON data.

Package managers
Manual installation

macOS
Debian/Ubuntu
Fedora/CentOS/RHEL

brew install jq

sudo apt update
sudo apt install jq

sudo dnf install jq

Verify:

jq --version

Install captaind

Currently, only Unix-based systems (Linux, macOS) are supported.

Download binary
Compile from source

Download the latest captaind binary from the releases page.Verify the installation:

captaind --version

Clone the repository

git clone https://gitlab.com/ark-bitcoin/bark
cd bark

Install build dependencies

You will need a Rust compiler. Find installation instructions on the rustup website.On Ubuntu/Debian, install the additional build dependencies:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential clang cmake pkg-config protobuf-compiler libpq-dev libsodium-dev libsqlite3-dev libssl-dev

Build and install

Build and install to your path:

cargo install --locked --path ./server

Or build without installing:

cargo build --bin captaind

Verify the installation

captaind --version

Configure and launch

Start your signet node

Launch a signet Bitcoin node:

bitcoind --signet --daemon

If your bitcoin.conf file is empty, this will launch a signet node. By default the node will:

Create a cookie in ~/.bitcoin/signet/.cookie
Listen for RPC connections on port 38332

Verify the node is running:

bitcoin-cli -signet \
	-rpcconnect=localhost \
	-rpcport=38332 \
	-rpccookiefile=$HOME/.bitcoin/signet/.cookie \
	getblockcount

Start PostgreSQL

Make sure PostgreSQL is running as described in the Install dependencies section above.

Create a config file

Create a config.toml file that specifies the configuration of your Ark server:

data_dir = "./bark-server"
network = "signet"

[rpc]
public_address = "127.0.0.1:3535"
admin_address = "127.0.0.1:3536"

[postgres]
host = "localhost"
port = 5432
name = "bark-server-db"
user = "postgres"
password = "postgres"

[bitcoind]
url = "http://127.0.0.1:38332"
cookie = "/home/<username>/.bitcoin/signet/.cookie"

Run the Ark server

Once you’ve got the dependencies running and set up your configuration, launch the server:

captaind create --config <path-to-your-toml-file>
captaind start --config <path-to-your-toml-file>

Fund the server

Retrieve the server’s funding address:

captaind rpc wallet | jq -r '.rounds.address'

Send signet coins to this address using the Second faucet. Once the transaction confirms, verify the bitcoin arrived:

bitcoin-cli -signet getreceivedbyaddress <address>

Documentation

Bark SDK

Barkd

Run an Ark server

Set up an Ark server manually

Install dependencies

PostgreSQL

Bitcoin Core

Optional dependencies

Install captaind

Configure and launch

Fund the server

​Install dependencies

​PostgreSQL

​Bitcoin Core

​Optional dependencies

​Install captaind

​Configure and launch

​Fund the server

Install dependencies

PostgreSQL

Bitcoin Core

Optional dependencies

Install captaind

Configure and launch

Fund the server