Deploy a PFN using Source Code

To deploy a PFN using the aptos-core source code, first, see Building Aptos From Source for instructions on how to download the aptos-core repository and build the binary. Then, follow the steps below:

Make sure your current working directory is aptos-core.
Check out the mainnet branch using git checkout --track origin/mainnet; remember, you may instead use devnet or testnet if you wish to run your PFN in a different network.
Next, download the genesis.blob and waypoint.txt files for the network your PFN will connect to:
- Run this command to download the genesis blob (for mainnet):
```
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aptos-labs/aptos-networks/main/mainnet/genesis.blob
```
- Run this command to download the waypoint file (for mainnet):
```
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aptos-labs/aptos-networks/main/mainnet/waypoint.txt
```
Don't want to connect to mainnet?
To connect to other networks (e.g., devnet and testnet), you can find the genesis and waypoint here ➜ https://github.com/aptos-labs/aptos-networks. Be sure to download the genesis.blob and waypoint.txt for those networks, instead of using the genesis and waypoint pointed to by the curl commands above.
Next, run the command below to create a copy of the PFN configuration YAML template:
```
cp config/src/config/test_data/public_full_node.yaml fullnode.yaml
```
Finally, edit the fullnode.yaml configuration file to ensure that your PFN: (i) contains the genesis blob and waypoint file you just downloaded; and (ii) saves the synchronized blockchain data to the location of your choice (on your local machine). To do this:
1. Specify the correct path to the genesis.blob file you just downloaded by editing execution.genesis_file_location in the fullnode.yaml configuration. By default, it points to genesis.blob in the current working directory.
```
execution:
  genesis_file_location: "./genesis.blob"
```
2. Specify the correct path to the waypoint.txt file you just downloaded by editing base.waypoint.from_file in the fullnode.yaml configuration. By default, it points to waypoint.txt in the current working directory. For example:
```
base:
  waypoint:
    from_file: "./waypoint.txt"
```
3. Specify the directory on your local machine that you want to store the blockchain database by editing the base.data_dir in the fullnode.yaml configuration. For example, you can create a directory my-full-node/data in your home directory and specify it as:
```
base:
  data_dir: "</path/to/my/homedir/my-full-node/data>"
```
Start your local public fullnode by running the below command:

cargo run -p aptos-node --release -- -f ./fullnode.yaml

Debugging?

The command above will build a release binary for aptos-node at: aptos-core/target/release/aptos-node. The release binaries tend to be substantially faster than debug binaries but lack debugging information useful for development. To build a debug binary, omit the --release flag from the command above.

You have now successfully configured and started running a PFN in the Aptos mainnet.

Verify your PFN

If you want to verify that your PFN is running correctly, you can follow the instructions in the Verify a PFN guide.