Connecting to Layer 1 mainnet

You can connect to mainnet using two different ways. Method 1 is the default method of connecting by downloading all blocks from the start. Method 2 works by downloading a pre-created snapshot and downloading recent blocks after the snapshot.

Warning

This is blockchain software. Do not use on a computer or device with sensitive or important personal data. Using this software will require opening firewall ports. Using this software may result in heavy internet data usage. Use at your own risk.

Method 1

Open the appropriate shell window.

Windows

Open Powershell

Mac

Open Terminal

Linux

Open Terminal
Run the following command to open firewall port. Make sure that the commands succeed.
If you are connecting from a cloud computer (such as AWS), you will need to additionally open the 30303 port under security rules, to allow incoming connections from 0.0.0.0/0.
If you are connecting from a home computer, you may need to additionally open the firewall port 30303 in your router.
Windows
```
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="TCP Port 30303" dir=in action=allow protocol=TCP localport=30303
```
Mac

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Click on Security & Privacy.
3. Click the Firewall tab.
4. Click the lock icon to unlock the firewall settings.
5. Click the Add (+) button.
6. Enter port 30303 in the Port field.
7. Enter "blockchain" in the Application field.
8. Click the Add button.
9. Click the Start button to enable the firewall.

Linux
Note that in case you are SSH'd into this computer, you might get logged out when you run these commands. In this case, you will need to SSH again and re-run the applicable steps before this step.
```
sudo ufw allow 30303/tcp
```
The next command to open port 22 is required only if you are SSH'd into the computer. If you do not open this port but enable firewall in the next command, then you might get permanently get locked out of the machine. But if you are logged in locally, do not run this command.
```
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
```
Run the following command to enable firewall.
```
sudo ufw enable
```
Create a folder named dp.
Windows
```
mkdir c:\dp
```
Mac
```
mkdir $HOME/dp
```
Linux
```
mkdir $HOME/dp
```
Change to the folder dp.
Windows
```
cd c:\dp
```
Mac
```
cd $HOME/dp
```
Linux
```
cd $HOME/dp
```

Download the updated CLI (command line interface) wallet by running the following command:

Windows

curl https://github.com/quantumcoinproject/quantum-coin-go/releases/download/v2.0.67/qc-release-windows-v2.0.67.zip -o qc-release-windows-v2.0.67.zip

Mac

curl -Lo qc-release-mac-v2.0.67.tar.gz https://github.com/quantumcoinproject/quantum-coin-go/releases/download/v2.0.67/qc-release-mac-v2.0.67.tar.gz

Linux

curl -Lo qc-release-ubuntu-v2.0.67.tar.gz https://github.com/quantumcoinproject/quantum-coin-go/releases/download/v2.0.67/qc-release-ubuntu-v2.0.67.tar.gz

Extract the contents of the downloaded zip file to a folder.

Windows

Expand-Archive -Path qc-release-windows-v2.0.67.zip -DestinationPath c:\

Mac

tar -xzvf qc-release-mac-v2.0.67.tar.gz

Linux

tar -xzvf qc-release-ubuntu-v2.0.67.tar.gz

This step is specific to Windows.
Windows
Close the Powershell window. Open a command prompt instead and change to the following folder.
```
cd c:\dp
```
This step is specific to Mac and Linux. Set the environment variable to the required library path. Remember that if you open a new Terminal window anytime, you will need to run this command again, to set the environment variable. You might want to add this environment variable to your shell profile.
Mac
```
export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=$HOME/dp
```
Linux
```
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$HOME/dp
```
This command is just required the first time and you do not have to run it each time. Run the following command to configure the software to connect to the Quantum Coin blockchain. Do not run it more than once. Ensure that the command succeeds and no errors or warnings are reported.
Windows
```
dp --datadir data init genesis.json
```
Mac
```
./dp --datadir data init genesis.json
```
Linux
```
./dp --datadir data init genesis.json
```
Run the following command to connect to the mainnet. You may additionally have to add exclusion in your anti-virus software, if the software shows a prompt. If successful, you should see your node connecting to the blockchain and blocks getting created.
Windows
```
connect.cmd
```
Mac
```
source ./connect.sh
```
Linux
```
./connect.sh
```
To stop the blockchain node client, do not close the window or logout or shutdown directly. Instead press CTRL+C.