VDF Server

Example arweave configuration for a VDF server

• Since VDF server will not mine or sign any blocks, they do not need access to your wallet.json

1. Overview

• You'd like to run a dedicated node to compute and publish VDF

• You are running on an Apple M4 processor (the fastest benchmarked processor as of September, 2025)

• You've decided not to configure any storge modules no have your VDF server mine (this is the most common setup)

• You'll use the publicly available NSFW filter provided by Shepherd

• You only want to provide VDF for the following nodes:

  • 1.2.3.4

  • 5.6.7.8

  • 5.6.7.8:1985

  • node.example.com

• Run your VDF server with:

  • peers.vdf_client set to restrict which nodes can query your server's VDF

  • vdf.algorithm: hiopt_m4 to enable a VDF algorithm optimized for the M4 processor

  • peers.local set to include the nodes you provide vdf for

• Run your nodes with:

  • peers.local set to include the VDF node address

2. Sample Directory Structure

• data_dir: /opt/data

• Storage module symlinks: None

3. Sample Launch Command

Launch your VDF server with the configuration file shown in the next section:

./bin/start --config_file /opt/arweave/config.yaml

4. Sample Configuration

The same configuration in YAML, JSON, and command-line form:

YAML

/opt/arweave/config.yaml:

data_dir: /opt/data
peers:
  trusted:
    - peers.arweave.xyz
  vdf_client:
    - 1.2.3.4
    - 5.6.7.8
    - 5.6.7.8:1985
    - node.example.com
  local:
    - 1.2.3.4
    - 5.6.7.8
    - 5.6.7.8:1985
    - node.example.com
randomx:
  large_pages: true
vdf:
  algorithm: hiopt_m4
transactions:
  blocklist:
    urls:
      - "https://public_shepherd.arweave.net"

JSON

/opt/arweave/config.json:

{
    "data_dir": "/opt/data",
    "peers": {
        "trusted": ["peers.arweave.xyz"],
        "vdf_client": ["1.2.3.4", "5.6.7.8", "5.6.7.8:1985", "node.example.com"],
        "local": ["1.2.3.4", "5.6.7.8", "5.6.7.8:1985", "node.example.com"]
    },
    "randomx": {
        "large_pages": true
    },
    "vdf": {
        "algorithm": "hiopt_m4"
    },
    "transactions": {
        "blocklist": {
            "urls": ["https://public_shepherd.arweave.net"]
        }
    }
}

CLI

With the CLI form there is no config file - every option is passed as a flag, with list options as a single-quoted JSON value (see Command-line Flags for the value syntax). The pre-2.9.6 space-separated launch style also still works (Legacy Configuration). For example:

./bin/start \
    --data_dir /opt/data \
    --peers.trusted '["peers.arweave.xyz"]' \
    --peers.vdf_client '["1.2.3.4", "5.6.7.8", "5.6.7.8:1985", "node.example.com"]' \
    --peers.local '["1.2.3.4", "5.6.7.8", "5.6.7.8:1985", "node.example.com"]' \
    --randomx.large_pages \
    --vdf.algorithm hiopt_m4 \
    --transactions.blocklist.urls '["https://public_shepherd.arweave.net"]'