The node package contains everything needed to build a client that follows chain 2800: the genesis file, the patches against upstream Besu, the post-quantum precompiles, the anchor code, the validator registries and the NIST test vectors.
Get the package
git clone https://git.aere.network/aere-network/aere-node.git
cd aere-nodeWhat is in it
| Path | What it is |
|---|---|
genesis.json | The genesis file the fleet runs, byte for byte |
patches/0001…0005 | The changes against upstream Besu |
precompiles/ | The five post-quantum precompile implementations |
anchor/ | The certificate anchor: rules, producer, registry binding |
registries/ | The Falcon validator registries and their hashes |
vectors/ | NIST Known-Answer Test vectors for the precompiles |
SPEC.md | The normative protocol specification |
RUN-A-NODE.md | The operational procedure this page summarises |
run-node.sh | A start script that carries the options a follower needs |
Check the genesis before anything else
sha256sum genesis.jsonExpect e5038e6a1437bd85fa51294609edf2126a997f14f4fa7a65a0d39bd0aa24d2e5, on the file with LF line endings (since 2026-09-10; 361709dcce… before, when config carried two registry entries instead of three). A genesis that differs in config, even with the same block 0 hash, is a different chain for anything that judges anchors: two nodes can peer happily and still disagree about which headers are valid.
Build
The package builds against a named upstream Besu commit with the patches applied. The exact commit and the build recipe are in RUN-A-NODE.md, which is the authority; it is kept there rather than duplicated here so that the two cannot drift apart.
Do not skip patch 0005. It carries the AERE milestone, and a build without it stops at block 9,189,161 with a state root mismatch. That height was measured by attempting exactly that import, not derived from the configuration.
Which parts are which
If you want to follow the chain, you need the client, the genesis and the follower options. If you want to run a validator, you additionally need a Falcon key in the registry, which is a decision by the validator set and not something the package can give you.
Then
Configure, then check you are on the right chain before trusting any reading from your node.