Geth is primarily controlled using the command line. Geth is started using the `geth` command. Geth is stopped by pressing `ctrl-c`. There are then many combinations of commands that configure precisely how geth will run. These commands are displayed below. The same information can be obtained at any time from your Geth instance by running:
Geth is primarily controlled using the command line. Geth is started using the `geth`
command. It is stopped by pressing `ctrl-c`.
You can configure Geth using command-line options (a.k.a. flags). Geth also has
sub-commands, which can be used to invoke functionality such as the console or blockchain
import/export.
The command-line help listing is reproduced below for your convenience. The same
information can be obtained at any time from your own Geth instance by running:
show-deprecated-flags Show flags that have been deprecated
show-deprecated-flags Show flags that have been deprecated
snapshot A set of commands based on the snapshot
snapshot A set of commands based on the snapshot
verkle A set of experimental verkle tree management commands
version Print version numbers
version Print version numbers
version-check Checks (online) whether the current version suffers from any known security vulnerabilities
version-check Checks (online) for known Geth security vulnerabilities
wallet Manage Ethereum presale wallets
wallet Manage Ethereum presale wallets
help, h Shows a list of commands or help for one command
help, h Shows a list of commands or help for one command
ETHEREUM OPTIONS:
GLOBAL OPTIONS:
--config value TOML configuration file
ACCOUNT
--datadir.minfreedisk value Minimum free disk space in MB, once reached triggers auto shut down (default = --cache.gc converted to MB, 0 = disabled)
--keystore value Directory for the keystore (default = inside the datadir)
--allow-insecure-unlock (default: false)
--usb Enable monitoring and management of USB hardware wallets
Allow insecure account unlocking when account-related RPCs are exposed by http
--pcscdpath value Path to the smartcard daemon (pcscd) socket file
--networkid value Explicitly set network id (integer)(For testnets: use --sepolia, --goerli instead) (default: 1)
--keystore value
--syncmode value Blockchain sync mode ("snap", "full" or "light") (default: snap)
Directory for the keystore (default = inside the datadir)
--exitwhensynced Exits after block synchronisation completes
--gcmode value Blockchain garbage collection mode ("full", "archive") (default: "full")
--lightkdf (default: false)
--txlookuplimit value Number of recent blocks to maintain transactions index for (default = about one year, 0 = entire chain) (default: 2350000)
Reduce key-derivation RAM & CPU usage at some expense of KDF strength
--ethstats value Reporting URL of a ethstats service (nodename:secret@host:port)
--identity value Custom node name
--password value
--lightkdf Reduce key-derivation RAM & CPU usage at some expense of KDF strength
Password file to use for non-interactive password input
--eth.requiredblocks value Comma separated block number-to-hash mappings to require for peering (<number>=<hash>)
--mainnet Ethereum mainnet
--pcscdpath value
--goerli Görli network: pre-configured proof-of-authority test network
Path to the smartcard daemon (pcscd) socket file
--sepolia Sepolia network: pre-configured proof-of-work test network
--datadir value Data directory for the databases and keystore (default: "~/.ethereum")
--signer value
--datadir.ancient value Data directory for ancient chain segments (default = inside chaindata)
External signer (url or path to ipc file)
--remotedb value URL for remote database
--unlock value
LIGHT CLIENT OPTIONS:
Comma separated list of accounts to unlock
--light.serve value Maximum percentage of time allowed for serving LES requests (multi-threaded processing allows values over 100) (default: 0)
--light.ingress value Incoming bandwidth limit for serving light clients (kilobytes/sec, 0 = unlimited) (default: 0)
--usb (default: false)
--light.egress value Outgoing bandwidth limit for serving light clients (kilobytes/sec, 0 = unlimited) (default: 0)
Enable monitoring and management of USB hardware wallets
--light.maxpeers value Maximum number of light clients to serve, or light servers to attach to (default: 100)
--ulc.servers value List of trusted ultra-light servers
ALIASED (deprecated)
--ulc.fraction value Minimum % of trusted ultra-light servers required to announce a new head (default: 75)
--ulc.onlyannounce Ultra light server sends announcements only
--nousb (default: false)
--light.nopruning Disable ancient light chain data pruning
Disables monitoring for and managing USB hardware wallets (deprecated)
--light.nosyncserve Enables serving light clients before syncing
--whitelist value
DEVELOPER CHAIN OPTIONS:
Comma separated block number-to-hash mappings to enforce (<number>=<hash>)
--dev Ephemeral proof-of-authority network with a pre-funded developer account, mining enabled
(deprecated in favor of --eth.requiredblocks)
--dev.period value Block period to use in developer mode (0 = mine only if transaction pending) (default: 0)
--dev.gaslimit value Initial block gas limit (default: 11500000)
API AND CONSOLE
ETHASH OPTIONS:
--authrpc.addr value (default: "localhost")
--ethash.cachedir value Directory to store the ethash verification caches (default = inside the datadir)
Listening address for authenticated APIs
--ethash.cachesinmem value Number of recent ethash caches to keep in memory (16MB each) (default: 2)
--ethash.cachesondisk value Number of recent ethash caches to keep on disk (16MB each) (default: 3)
--authrpc.jwtsecret value
--ethash.cacheslockmmap Lock memory maps of recent ethash caches
Path to a JWT secret to use for authenticated RPC endpoints
--ethash.dagdir value Directory to store the ethash mining DAGs (default: "~/.ethash")
--ethash.dagsinmem value Number of recent ethash mining DAGs to keep in memory (1+GB each) (default: 1)
--authrpc.port value (default: 8551)
--ethash.dagsondisk value Number of recent ethash mining DAGs to keep on disk (1+GB each) (default: 2)
Listening port for authenticated APIs
--ethash.dagslockmmap Lock memory maps for recent ethash mining DAGs
--authrpc.vhosts value (default: "localhost")
TRANSACTION POOL OPTIONS:
Comma separated list of virtual hostnames from which to accept requests (server
--txpool.locals value Comma separated accounts to treat as locals (no flush, priority inclusion)
enforced). Accepts '*' wildcard.
--txpool.nolocals Disables price exemptions for locally submitted transactions
--txpool.journal value Disk journal for local transaction to survive node restarts (default: "transactions.rlp")
--exec value
--txpool.rejournal value Time interval to regenerate the local transaction journal (default: 1h0m0s)
Execute JavaScript statement
--txpool.pricelimit value Minimum gas price limit to enforce for acceptance into the pool (default: 1)
--txpool.pricebump value Price bump percentage to replace an already existing transaction (default: 10)
--graphql (default: false)
--txpool.accountslots value Minimum number of executable transaction slots guaranteed per account (default: 16)
Enable GraphQL on the HTTP-RPC server. Note that GraphQL can only be started if
--txpool.globalslots value Maximum number of executable transaction slots for all accounts (default: 5120)
an HTTP server is started as well.
--txpool.accountqueue value Maximum number of non-executable transaction slots permitted per account (default: 64)
--txpool.globalqueue value Maximum number of non-executable transaction slots for all accounts (default: 1024)
--graphql.corsdomain value
--txpool.lifetime value Maximum amount of time non-executable transaction are queued (default: 3h0m0s)
Comma separated list of domains from which to accept cross origin requests
(browser enforced)
PERFORMANCE TUNING OPTIONS:
--cache value Megabytes of memory allocated to internal caching (default = 4096 mainnet full node, 128 light mode) (default: 1024)
--graphql.vhosts value (default: "localhost")
--cache.database value Percentage of cache memory allowance to use for database io (default: 50)
Comma separated list of virtual hostnames from which to accept requests (server
--cache.trie value Percentage of cache memory allowance to use for trie caching (default = 15% full mode, 30% archive mode) (default: 15)
enforced). Accepts '*' wildcard.
--cache.trie.journal value Disk journal directory for trie cache to survive node restarts (default: "triecache")
--cache.trie.rejournal value Time interval to regenerate the trie cache journal (default: 1h0m0s)
--header value, -H value
--cache.gc value Percentage of cache memory allowance to use for trie pruning (default = 25% full mode, 0% archive mode) (default: 25)
Pass custom headers to the RPC server when using --remotedb or the geth attach
--cache.snapshot value Percentage of cache memory allowance to use for snapshot caching (default = 10% full mode, 20% archive mode) (default: 10)
console. This flag can be given multiple times.
--cache.noprefetch Disable heuristic state prefetch during block import (less CPU and disk IO, more time waiting for data)
--cache.preimages Enable recording the SHA3/keccak preimages of trie keys
--http (default: false)
--fdlimit value Raise the open file descriptor resource limit (default = system fd limit) (default: 0)
Enable the HTTP-RPC server
ACCOUNT OPTIONS:
--http.addr value (default: "localhost")
--unlock value Comma separated list of accounts to unlock
HTTP-RPC server listening interface
--password value Password file to use for non-interactive password input
--signer value External signer (url or path to ipc file)
--http.api value
--allow-insecure-unlock Allow insecure account unlocking when account-related RPCs are exposed by http
API's offered over the HTTP-RPC interface
API AND CONSOLE OPTIONS:
--http.corsdomain value
--ipcdisable Disable the IPC-RPC server
Comma separated list of domains from which to accept cross origin requests
--ipcpath value Filename for IPC socket/pipe within the datadir (explicit paths escape it)
(browser enforced)
--http Enable the HTTP-RPC server
--http.addr value HTTP-RPC server listening interface (default: "localhost")
--http.port value (default: 8545)
--http.port value HTTP-RPC server listening port (default: 8545)
HTTP-RPC server listening port
--http.api value API's offered over the HTTP-RPC interface
--http.rpcprefix value HTTP path path prefix on which JSON-RPC is served. Use '/' to serve on all paths.
--http.rpcprefix value
--http.corsdomain value Comma separated list of domains from which to accept cross origin requests (browser enforced)
HTTP path path prefix on which JSON-RPC is served. Use '/' to serve on all
--http.vhosts value Comma separated list of virtual hostnames from which to accept requests (server enforced). Accepts '*' wildcard. (default: "localhost")
paths.
--ws Enable the WS-RPC server
--ws.addr value WS-RPC server listening interface (default: "localhost")
--http.vhosts value (default: "localhost")
--ws.port value WS-RPC server listening port (default: 8546)
Comma separated list of virtual hostnames from which to accept requests (server
--ws.api value API's offered over the WS-RPC interface
enforced). Accepts '*' wildcard.
--ws.rpcprefix value HTTP path prefix on which JSON-RPC is served. Use '/' to serve on all paths.
--ws.origins value Origins from which to accept websockets requests
--ipcdisable (default: false)
--authrpc.jwtsecret value Path to a JWT secret to use for authenticated RPC endpoints
Disable the IPC-RPC server
--authrpc.addr value Listening address for authenticated APIs (default: "localhost")
--authrpc.port value Listening port for authenticated APIs (default: 8551)
--ipcpath value
--authrpc.vhosts value Comma separated list of virtual hostnames from which to accept requests (server enforced). Accepts '*' wildcard. (default: "localhost")
Filename for IPC socket/pipe within the datadir (explicit paths escape it)
--graphql Enable GraphQL on the HTTP-RPC server. Note that GraphQL can only be started if an HTTP server is started as well.
--graphql.corsdomain value Comma separated list of domains from which to accept cross origin requests (browser enforced)
--jspath value (default: .)
--graphql.vhosts value Comma separated list of virtual hostnames from which to accept requests (server enforced). Accepts '*' wildcard. (default: "localhost")
JavaScript root path for `loadScript`
--rpc.gascap value Sets a cap on gas that can be used in eth_call/estimateGas (0=infinite) (default: 50000000)
--rpc.evmtimeout value Sets a timeout used for eth_call (0=infinite) (default: 5s)
--preload value
--rpc.txfeecap value Sets a cap on transaction fee (in ether) that can be sent via the RPC APIs (0 = no cap) (default: 1)
Comma separated list of JavaScript files to preload into the console
--rpc.allow-unprotected-txs Allow for unprotected (non EIP155 signed) transactions to be submitted via RPC
--jspath loadScript JavaScript root path for loadScript (default: ".")
--rpc.allow-unprotected-txs (default: false)
--exec value Execute JavaScript statement
Allow for unprotected (non EIP155 signed) transactions to be submitted via RPC
--preload value Comma separated list of JavaScript files to preload into the console
--rpc.enabledeprecatedpersonal (default: false)
NETWORKING OPTIONS:
Enables the (deprecated) personal namespace
--bootnodes value Comma separated enode URLs for P2P discovery bootstrap
--discovery.dns value Sets DNS discovery entry points (use "" to disable DNS)
--rpc.evmtimeout value (default: 5s)
--port value Network listening port (default: 30303)
Sets a timeout used for eth_call (0=infinite)
--maxpeers value Maximum number of network peers (network disabled if set to 0) (default: 50)
--maxpendpeers value Maximum number of pending connection attempts (defaults used if set to 0) (default: 0)
--rpc.gascap value (default: 50000000)
--nat value NAT port mapping mechanism (any|none|upnp|pmp|extip:<IP>) (default: "any")
Sets a cap on gas that can be used in eth_call/estimateGas (0=infinite)
--nodiscover Disables the peer discovery mechanism (manual peer addition)
--v5disc Enables the experimental RLPx V5 (Topic Discovery) mechanism
--rpc.txfeecap value (default: 1)
--netrestrict value Restricts network communication to the given IP networks (CIDR masks)
Sets a cap on transaction fee (in ether) that can be sent via the RPC APIs (0 =
--nodekey value P2P node key file
no cap)
--nodekeyhex value P2P node key as hex (for testing)
--ws (default: false)
MINER OPTIONS:
Enable the WS-RPC server
--mine Enable mining
--miner.threads value Number of CPU threads to use for mining (default: 0)
--ws.addr value (default: "localhost")
--miner.notify value Comma separated HTTP URL list to notify of new work packages
WS-RPC server listening interface
--miner.notify.full Notify with pending block headers instead of work packages
--miner.gasprice value Minimum gas price for mining a transaction (default: 1000000000)
--ws.api value
--miner.gaslimit value Target gas ceiling for mined blocks (default: 30000000)
API's offered over the WS-RPC interface
--miner.etherbase value Public address for block mining rewards (default = first account) (default: "0")
--miner.extradata value Block extra data set by the miner (default = client version)
--ws.origins value
--miner.recommit value Time interval to recreate the block being mined (default: 3s)