Installation

To get started with Dragonchain right away, you can create a managed node in just a few clicks on the Dragonchain managed platform. If you however want full control over your business blockchain, it is possible to run it on-premises, on your own hardware in your own datacenter. This guide, along with information provided in the Dragonchain Core Developer Guide will provide necessary information to install and configure your system.

Deployment

Dragonchain Managed Service Platform

To quickly create a business chain (L1), create an account on our managed service platform. After logging in, click Chains on the left hand menu, then click Create a managed chain.

While the chain is being created and launched, information about the chain is presented in a pop-up dialog. Download the master authorization keys and store them somewhere safe since they cannot be recovered after you close the dialog. Further, keep this information private since it controls all access to the chain. We recommend not using the master authorization keys when it isn’t necessary. Instead, create separate key pairs within the console for access from within applications that you integrate (e.g. your web or mobile application).

Dragonchain Open Source Platform

To dive deeper into management and control of a chain, you can run a Dragonchain business chain (L1) locally. Installation of Dragonchain onto personal hardware is outside the scope of this guide, but you can learn more from the Dragonchain Core Developer Guide - Deployment Section.

Dragonchain CLI Tool

All examples in this tutorial use our command line/CLI tool dctl. dctl allows users to quickly interface with chains from within a terminal. It is useful for interacting with a Dragonchain business chain (L1) via shell scripting with and for running arbitrary commands on the business chain. The following setup requires business chain version of v10 or greater.

NPM or Yarn Installation Options

Install using npm:

npm install -g dctl

Install using yarn:

yarn global add dctl

Verify dctl was installed properly by running the following command (your version may be different):

$ dctl --version
5.0.0

Run from source:

To run from source, clone the Github repository here.

Dragonchain SDKs

Dragonchain develops and maintains SDKs for interfacing with chains. We currently offer SDKs for Node.js, Python, and Golang.

Node.js SDK

The Node.js SDK requires Node v8 or greater.

Add to a Node.js project using npm:

npm install --save dragonchain-sdk

Add to a Node.js project using yarn:

yarn add dragonchain-sdk

Python SDK

The Python SDK requires python3.

Install for Python using pip:

python3 -m pip install -U dragonchain-sdk

Install for Python from source (Linux / MacOS):

git clone https://github.com/dragonchain/dragonchain-sdk-python.git
cd dragonchain-sdk-python
python3 -m pip install -U -r requirements.txt
./run.sh build
sudo ./run.sh install

Install for Python from source (Windows):

git clone https://github.com/dragonchain/dragonchain-sdk-python.git
chdir dragonchain-sdk-python
python3 -m pip install -U -r requirements.txt
python setup.py build
python setup.py install

Go SDK

Add to a Golang project:

go get https://github.com/dragonchain/dragonchain-sdk-go

Troubleshooting

Having issues with installation? Reach out to our developers on our slack channel. We are happy to assist!