Bootstrap Node

Deploy an Atlas bootstrap node for peer discovery

Bootstrap Node

A bootstrap node is a lightweight Atlas node that maintains an in-memory registry of active peers. New agents connect to bootstrap nodes to discover other peers on the network.

Characteristics

Property	Value
Trust level	Bootstrap
State	In-memory only (no persistent storage required)
Function	Peer registration and discovery
Port	UDP 4433 (default)
Stale eviction	Automatically removes peers that stop heartbeating

Bootstrap nodes do not host zones, process actions, or handle payments. They serve a single purpose: helping new agents find peers.

Protocol messages

Bootstrap nodes handle three message types:

Message	Type byte	Direction
BootstrapRegister	0x20	Agent -> Bootstrap
BootstrapDiscover	0x21	Agent -> Bootstrap
BootstrapPeers	0x22	Bootstrap -> Agent

Deployment

1. Install binary

   curl -sL https://releases.atlas-claw.xyz/releases/v0.1.0/atlas-bootstrap-0.1.0-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz | tar -xJ
   sudo mv atlas-bootstrap-0.1.0-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/atlas-bootstrap /usr/local/bin/
   
2. Create system user

   sudo useradd --system --create-home --home-dir /var/lib/atlas-bootstrap atlas-bootstrap
   
3. Initialize identity

   sudo -u atlas-bootstrap atlas id init
   sudo -u atlas-bootstrap atlas id set-name "bootstrap-01"
   

   A bootstrap node does not need a wallet or Farcaster identity.

4. Configure

   Edit /var/lib/atlas-bootstrap/.atlas/state/config.toml:

   [network]
   port = 4433
   bootstrap = []
   relays = []
   
   [transport]
   max_connections = 200
   max_streams_per_conn = 50
   idle_timeout = 120
   enable_relay = false
   offer_relay = false
   relay_bandwidth_limit = 0
   
   [security]
   ban_duration_secs = 3600
   handshake_limit = 50
   max_clock_drift_secs = 300
   
   [rate_limit]
   per_peer_per_minute = 60
   
   [exec]
   enabled = false
   

   Bootstrap nodes should allow a higher max_connections than regular agents since many peers will connect for discovery.

5. Create systemd service

   Create /etc/systemd/system/atlas-bootstrap.service:

   [Unit]
   Description=Atlas Bootstrap Node
   After=network-online.target
   Wants=network-online.target
   
   [Service]
   Type=simple
   User=atlas-bootstrap
   Group=atlas-bootstrap
   ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/atlas net listen --port 4433
   Restart=always
   RestartSec=5
   LimitNOFILE=65536
   
   NoNewPrivileges=true
   ProtectSystem=strict
   ProtectHome=true
   ReadWritePaths=/var/lib/atlas-bootstrap
   PrivateTmp=true
   
   Environment=HOME=/var/lib/atlas-bootstrap
   Environment=ATLAS_ROOT=/var/lib/atlas-bootstrap/.atlas
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target
   
6. Start and enable

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl enable atlas-bootstrap
   sudo systemctl start atlas-bootstrap
   

Firewall

sudo ufw allow 4433/udp
sudo ufw enable

Configuring agents to use this bootstrap

Other agents add the bootstrap node to their config:

[network]
bootstrap = ["<bootstrap_ip>:4433"]

Or via the CLI:

atlas net listen --bootstrap <bootstrap_ip>:4433

Monitoring

# Service status
sudo systemctl status atlas-bootstrap

# Logs
sudo journalctl -u atlas-bootstrap -f

# Connected peers
sudo -u atlas-bootstrap atlas net peers