ethereum

Lodestar Releases v1.2.0

ChainSafe Systems

Nov 9, 2022 — 3 min read

Authored by Phil Ngo

The Lodestar team has launched v1.2.0, a jam-packed release full of bug fixes, optimizations, and performance improvements! This was a long-overdue upgrade, so let's unpack some of the significant changes in this release.

Libp2p upgraded to v0.39.2

Lodestar had been running libp2p at v0.36.x in its previous release. Like any dependencies you use for your project, keeping them updated is key to having access to new features, fixing issues, and, most importantly, security. This upgrade is significant because, after v0.37.0, js-libp2p was rewritten in TypeScript and ES modules only.

One of the largest benefits of this was a better developer experience, but we had to get it integrated properly without significant regressions in performance. The upgrade changed a lot of underlying libraries, but in the end, it's worth it as we are able to ship Lodestar v1.2.0 with a huge libp2p upgrade.

UX updates for Lodestar

We recognize that running a full Ethereum node post-merge is not as simple as it used to be. As a consensus client that runs the beacon chain spec, we're only one part of what's required to make Ethereum run. Grasping the context of weak subjectivity checkpoints is something node operators should be aware of now so that they can easily sync to the head of the chain within a few minutes and minimize the risk of long-range attacks if syncing from genesis.

One example of how we're working to improve UX is that v1.2.0 will use the checkpoint sync only (if arguments are setup) when the DB is stale. Debug-level logging is also set as a default to rotate every five days. This will create logging by default to allow us to better assist with debugging their issues. Our keymanager API implementation now supports fee recipient and gas_limit routes. We continue to make additional, small improvements to ensure our logging is accurate, that we display useful information, and ensure our logging verbosity is appropriate for the best user experience possible.

Serving light client gossip over p2p

It's unrealistic to think that everyone will run a full node for their own use or to trust a single provider to always provide the correct information from a blockchain. To realize a truly decentralized infrastructure for Ethereum usage, we need to also distribute light client data with a decentralized p2p model.

Given its importance for Ethereum, we're always looking to support and propel the light client ecosystem forward. Lodestar v1.2.0 implements the Altair Light Client Networking spec to support the network in this endeavor. We hope this will lead toward having a light client gossip network where consumers of this data can easily build and test their tooling to further decentralize light client data for usage.

AgentVersion Change

Lodestar also changed its agent version to display lodestar/version instead of using the default agent version of js-libp2p/0.39.x. If you're running a crawler or collecting data about nodes on the network, make sure you incorporate this so you can properly detect Lodestar nodes for troubleshooting or metrics collection.

For a full changelog of the upgrades v1.2.0 provides, check out our v1.2.0 release page for all the details.

Get involved

If you're interested in getting involved with Lodestar, check out our GitHub. If you'd like to contact the team, please drop by the ChainSafe Discord ➡️ #lodestar-general.

We're also hiring another protocol engineer! Job requirements can be found here, and if you think you're a good fit, please apply or reach out to careers@chainsafe.io

Download Lodestar and see the detailed changelog.

About ChainSafe

ChainSafe is a leading blockchain research and development firm specializing in infrastructure solutions for web3. Alongside its contributions to major ecosystems such as Ethereum, Polkadot, Filecoin, and more, ChainSafe creates solutions for developers and teams across the web3 space utilizing our expertise in gaming, bridging, NFTs, and decentralized storage. As part of its mission to build innovative products for users and improved tooling for developers, ChainSafe embodies an open source and community-oriented ethos to advance the future of the internet. To learn more, click here.