# Advanced Configuration

# Overview

The Getting Started guides for windows and linux contain all the information needed to start your ar.io Gateway node successfully with basic configurations. There are also ever expanding advanced configuration options that allow you to run your node in a way that is customized to your specific use case.

Most of the below options can be added to your .env file in order to customize its operation. Any changes made to your .env require you to stop the docker containers running your node, and restarting them with the --build flag in order for the changes to take effect. See ENV for a complete list of environmental variables you can set.

# Data Storage Location

You can set a custom location for your AR.IO Gateway to save the data it pulls from the Arweave network. There are three primary types of data stored, and you can set a unique storage location for each of these independently. These are "chunks data", "contiguous data", and "headers data". The custom location for each of these can be set in your .env file like this:

CHUNKS_DATA_PATH=<file path>
CONTIGUOUS_DATA_PATH=<file path>
HEADERS_DATA_PATH=<file path>

Be sure to replace "<file path>" with the path to the location where you would like the data stored. If these values are omitted, the data will be stored in the "data" directory inside your Gateway code repository.

# Admin API Key

HTTP endpoints under "/ar-io/admin" are protected by an admin API key. These endpoints allow you to get certain analytics data or make adjustments to your node as it's running. When your node starts, it reads your environmental variables to see if a key is set. If not, a random key is generated. The key name is ADMIN_API_KEY and it should be set in your .env file like this:

ADMIN_API_KEY=SUPER_SECRET_PASSWORD

View examples of the admin endpoints here

# Wallet Association

In order to participate in the greater ar.io network (opens new window), Gateway nodes need to associate themselves with an Arweave wallet. This can be configured by setting the AR_IO_WALLET key value in your .env file.

AR_IO_WALLET=1seRanklLU_1VTGowDZdD7s_-7k1qowT6oeFZHUZiZo

# Unbundling

AR.IO Gateway nodes support unbundling and indexing ANS-104 (opens new window) bundle data. This is disabled by default, but can be turned on with several different configuration options. You can set these configurations with the ANS104_UNBUNDLE_FILTER and ANS104_INDEX_FILTER keys in your .env:

ANS104_UNBUNDLE_FILTER="<filter string>"
ANS104_INDEX_FILTER="<filter string>"

The following types of filters are supported:

{ "never": true } # the default
{ "always": true }
{ "attributes": { "owner": <owner key>, ... }}
{ "tags": [{ "name": <utf8 tag name>, "value": <utf8 tag value> }, ...]}
{ "and": [ <nested filter>, ... ]}
{ "or": [ <nested filter>, ... ]}

# Content Moderation

You are able to set your Gateway to block specific transactions or data-items you don't want to serve. Unlike previous configuration options in this list, blocking content can be achieved without the need to add to your .env file and rebuild your Gateway. Instead, make a PUT request to your Gateway at /ar-io/admin/block-data. As this is an admin endpoint, you will need to have configured your ADMIN_API_KEY. Using curl as an example, the request should be formatted as follows:

curl -X PUT -H "Authorization: Bearer <ADMIN_KEY>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  "http://<HOST>:<PORT>/ar-io/admin/block-data" \
  -d '{ "id": "<ID>", "notes": "Example notes", "source": "Example source" }'

id (string): This will be the transaction ID of the content you want to add to your block list.
notes (string): Internal notes regarding why a particular ID is blocked.
source (string): Identifier of a particular source of IDs to block. (e.g. the name of a block list)

notes and source are used for documentation only, and have no effect on your block list itself.

# Contiguous Data Cleanup

Transaction data on Arweave is stored in a chunked manner. It is commonly retrieved, however, in the the transaction data's original, contiguous form with all of its component chunks assembled end-to-end. Gateways cache contiguous representations of the transaction data to assist in various workloads, including serving transaction data to clients, allowing for efficient utilization of valuable system resources. Gateway operators will need to determine for themselves the best balance between disk space and other resource usage based on the size of their gateway and their particular use case.

Contiguous data cache cleanup can be enabled using the CONTIGUOUS_DATA_CACHE_CLEANUP_THRESHOLD environmental variable. This variable sets the number of seconds from the creation of a file in the contiguous data cache after which that file will be deleted. For example:

CONTIGUOUS_DATA_CACHE_CLEANUP_THRESHOLD=10000

will clear items from the contiguous data cache after ten thousand (10,000) seconds.

# ArNS Resolver

Gateways, by default, forward requests to resolve ArNS names to arweave.dev (opens new window). Starting with Release 9 gateways can instead build and maintain their own local cache. Doing so removes external dependencies and allows faster resolution.

View the code for the ArNS resolver service here: https://github.com/ar-io/arns-resolver (opens new window)

NOTE: The ArNS resolver is still an experimental feature. It is possible it may behave in unexpected ways when presented with rare edge case scenarios.

In order to enable the local ArNS resolver, three environmental variables will need to be set:

RUN_RESOLVER=true
TRUSTED_ARNS_RESOLVER_TYPE=resolver
TRUSTED_ARNS_RESOLVER_URL=http://resolver:6000

RUN_RESOLVER is a boolean representing an on/off switch for the local resolver.
TRUSTED_ARNS_RESOLVER_TYPE sets the method the gateway uses for resolving ArNS names. Use resolver for the local resolver, or gateway for default functionality.
TRUSTED_ARNS_RESOLVER_URL is the url a gateway will use to request ArNS name resolution.

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