What is a Monero node? Your own copy of the truth.

What is a Monero node? It is a computer that keeps its own copy of the Monero blockchain and checks every block against the rules, so nobody has to take anyone's word for anything. Every Monero wallet talks to a node. The only question is whose node, and what it can see. Get that right, and you know exactly how private your setup really is.

This is the complete guide, for people who just want their wallet to work and for people who want to run the whole stack themselves.

Let's get started.

A Monero node is a computer running monerod, the official Monero software. It downloads every block since 2014, checks each one, and keeps the result. When a new block or transaction arrives, the node tests it against Monero's rules before passing it on. Anything that breaks a rule is simply dropped.

No node is in charge. Thousands of them each check the work for themselves, and together they are the network. That is why nobody can quietly print extra XMR or reverse your payment: they would have to convince every honest node to accept a broken block, and the nodes don't negotiate.

Nodes are not paid

People often search for "Monero node rewards". There are none. Monero has no staking and does not pay anyone to run a node. New coins go to miners. People run nodes for privacy, for independence, and because a network with more honest nodes is harder to attack.

Your wallet holds your keys, not the blockchain. That split is the whole design. The wallet does two jobs that need the network, and a node helps with both:

• Finding your payments. Monero hides who each payment is for, so your wallet downloads blocks and scans them itself, using your private view key. Only your keys can tell which outputs are yours.
• Sending payments. Your wallet builds and signs the transaction on your device, then gives the finished, encrypted transaction to a node to pass along.

The diagram at the top of this page shows the split. Because the scan happens on your side, a regular node does not learn your balance or which payments are yours. What it does see is the connection itself: your IP address and the transactions you send through it. The Monero FAQ says it plainly: a remote node operator can see which IP address a transaction comes from.

What happens after a node gets your payment

Once a node has your transaction, it spreads it to the rest of the network using Dandelion++, which Monero added in version 0.16 in 2020. It changes how transactions travel so that it is much harder for someone watching the network to link a payment to the computer that first sent it. Dandelion++ protects you from distant observers. It does not hide you from the node you handed the payment to.

You will see four setups mentioned in wallet settings and forums. They differ in who runs the computer and in how much that computer learns about you.

Disk figures are from the Monero README as of June 2026, and both keep growing.

Full node

The standard setup: the complete blockchain, checked by you. It can also help new nodes catch up by serving them old blocks.

Pruned node

Still a node that checks every rule, but it throws away most of the old data it no longer needs. The monerod reference says pruning saves two thirds of the disk space without degrading functionality. The one trade-off: it can only serve part of the history to other nodes. For your own wallet, it works the same.

Remote node

A node someone else runs and lets wallets connect to. It is the reason a phone or web wallet can open in seconds. Your keys stay with you, but the operator can link transactions to your IP address, and Moneropedia warns that public remote nodes can be risky for privacy. Chapter 7 shows how to choose one well.

Light wallet server

This is the model the old MyMonero service used. Instead of your wallet scanning blocks, you give a server your private view key and it scans for you. Open-source servers such as monero-lws store view keys and scan continuously. That is fast, but a view key reveals every incoming payment to whoever holds it. The server still cannot spend, because it never gets your spend key.

Short answer: not to get started. The Monero community's own advice is that running your own node gives the most privacy, and that is true. But it takes disk space, an always-on machine and a first sync that can last hours or days. For a new user with a small balance, a remote node is a reasonable start, and you can move to your own later without changing wallets or recovery words.

What your own node gets you

• No middleman sees your IPYour wallet talks only to your machine. No outside operator logs your connections.
• Less trust for larger amountsYour node checks every block itself, so you never rely on someone else's answers.
• Verify payments yourselfShops and freelancers can confirm incoming payments against their own copy of the chain.
• A stronger networkEvery honest node is one more independent check. A full node also helps new nodes sync.

One honest caveat from the official FAQ: running a node is not dangerous, but your internet provider can see that you are running one. If that matters where you live, read chapter 8 on Tor and I2P first.

The most searched question about running a node is how big it is. Here are the numbers, with the date they were published, because they grow every day.

Full blockchain (June 2026)

~280 GB

Pruned blockchain (June 2026)

~95 GB

Disk saved by pruning

2/3

Peer-to-peer port

18080

RPC port for wallets

18081

The sizes come from the Monero README, which keeps the current figure. For comparison, the FAQ listed about 225 GB full and 86 GB pruned in 2024, so plan for steady growth, not a fixed size.

Hardware

• Disk. Fit the blockchain plus room to grow. The official FAQ warns that the first sync can take a long time on an old hard drive, which is why people use an SSD.
• Processor and memory. Any modern 64-bit computer can run a node. Small ARM boards work too, more slowly.
• Connection. A node uploads and downloads data all the time. Check that your internet plan has no tight data cap.
• Uptime. Your wallet can only use the node while it is on and synced.

Which ports does a Monero node use?

The defaults are in the monerod reference. You don't need to open any of them to use the node yourself on the same machine or home network.

Running a node is not hard. It is mostly waiting. Here is the whole process in five steps, and the step-by-step node guide has every command.

1. Download from getmonero.org, then verify

   Get the CLI or GUI from the official downloads page and check its SHA256 hash against the signed list, as the page tells you to. Fake Monero downloads exist, so phishing sites are a real risk.

2. Start monerod, pruned if disk is tight

   Run monerod. Add --prune-blockchain on the very first start, which the reference says gives the best result.

3. Let it sync

   The first sync downloads and checks every block since 2014. Expect hours on a fast SSD and longer on slow disks or connections. After that, staying in sync is quick.

4. Point your wallet at it

   On the same machine, the wallet finds it at 127.0.0.1:18081. From another device on your network, use the node's local address.

5. Keep it running and updated

   Run it as a service so it starts with the computer. The official docs include a systemd guide for Linux.

Raspberry Pi, home servers and Docker

You don't need a big machine. The downloads page lists official Linux builds for ARMv7 and ARMv8, which is what boards like the Raspberry Pi use, and the README documents building Monero on a Raspberry Pi 5B running 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS. On small boards, a pruned node on an external SSD is the practical choice, and the first sync will be slow.

The README also has a section on building and running monerod with Docker, which suits a home server or NAS that already runs containers. We could not find an official NAS app, so treat any one-click package as third-party software and check who publishes it.

Sharing your node with others

If you want to run a public node, the reference spells out the rules: the --public-node flag requires --restricted-rpc, an explicit --rpc-bind-ip and --confirm-external-bind. That is deliberate friction, so nobody exposes their node by accident.

A remote node cannot take your money. The risks are about privacy and reliability: a stranger logging your IP address, or a slow or misbehaving node that makes your wallet look broken. A few habits cut most of that risk:

• Start with your wallet's built-in node list. Those nodes come from developers you already chose to trust. A random "node list" page from search results is a source you know nothing about.
• Prefer an onion address if you use Tor. The node then sees a Tor address instead of your home IP.
• Pick a node you have a reason to trust. A friend's node, or one run by a project you already rely on, beats an anonymous one.
• Never mark someone else's node as trusted. Monero's wallet software has a "trusted daemon" option. The official Tor guide uses it only for a node you control, and so should you.
• Switch if it acts up. A stuck sync or an old block height usually means a bad node. Trying another one fixes most cases.

If you use a remote node but don't want it to see your IP address, route your wallet through Tor. If you run your own node, you can go further. Monero has built-in support for both Tor and I2P, which the project's anonymity networks document still describes as experimental.

What it can do

• Send your own transactions privately. With --tx-proxy, your node sends transactions you create only to peers on Tor or I2P. If none are reachable, it holds them rather than falling back to the open internet.
• Let your wallet reach your node from anywhere. The official Tor and I2P guide sets up an onion and I2P address for your node's RPC, so your phone can connect from outside without opening ports.
• Accept connections from other private nodes with --anonymous-inbound.

What it cannot do

The project is unusually candid about the limits. Your node cannot sync the blockchain over Tor or I2P hidden services; syncing still happens over the regular internet, or through a proxy. Starting your node only when you want to send a payment can let your internet provider link you to that payment, so a node that runs all the time is better. And reusing one Tor connection for several transactions lets the operator of that hidden service guess they came from the same place.

Nodes check blocks. Miners make them. About every two minutes, one miner finds the next block, collects the fees inside it plus the fixed 0.6 XMR tail reward, and every node checks the result. Mining is what makes rewriting history expensive.

RandomX: mining built for ordinary computers

Since November 30, 2019, Monero has used RandomX, a proof-of-work algorithm written by Monero contributors and optimized for regular CPUs. Its goal is to discourage specialized mining chips, so the people securing the network look more like the people using it. The official mining page notes that CPUs are much more efficient than GPUs for Monero.

Solo, pool or P2Pool

There are three ways to take part, and they differ in who holds your rewards and how often you get paid:

• Solo. You mine against your own node and keep the whole block when you find one. The official page is blunt: depending on your hashrate, it might take months. The GUI and CLI wallets can solo mine on a CPU, and the --start-mining flag needs a primary address.
• A mining pool. Many miners share the work and the operator pays out smaller, steadier amounts, minus a fee. Monero's mining page warns that too much hashrate on one pool is dangerous for the network.
• P2Pool. A pool with no operator. P2Pool runs its own side chain, charges a 0% fee, and pays every miner directly from the blocks it finds. It needs your own synced node started with --zmq-pub, and it runs three separate side chains: main, mini and nano.

XMRig, the miner most people use

To mine on a pool or P2Pool, you need separate mining software. XMRig is the open-source miner most guides use. It supports RandomX on CPUs and also works with GPUs. Its default developer donation is 1%, which you can change in its settings. Fake miners carrying malware are an easy trap, so download XMRig only from its official project, never from a link in a forum post or a video description.

This is one of the most searched mining questions, and we will not answer it with a number. Nobody can honestly tell you what your machine will earn next month, and this is not financial advice. What we can give you is the questions that decide it:

• What do you pay for electricity? Mining turns power into a lottery ticket. The power bill is certain; the reward is not.
• What hardware do you already own? Buying machines to mine is a bet. Using a computer you already have is a different calculation, though it still adds to your power bill and to wear on the machine.
• How much hashrate is the network running? Your share of rewards shrinks as more people mine, and the total changes all the time.
• What will XMR be worth? Nobody knows. Price can move sharply in both directions.

Mining calculators can turn those inputs into an estimate, but they only reflect today's inputs. Many people mine for a different reason: decentralization. Every independent miner, especially on P2Pool or solo, makes it harder for any one group to dominate. That risk is real. In 2025 an outside project called Qubic paid its users to mine Monero and claimed a majority of the hashrate for a period, and in September 2025 the network went through an 18-block reorganization, though who caused it was never established.

A short history for nodes and miners

1. Mar 2016
   Two-minute blocksThe block time settles at about 120 seconds, where it is today.
2. Nov 2019
   RandomXMining switches to an algorithm built for ordinary CPUs.
3. May 2020
   Dandelion++Version 0.16 makes it much harder to link a transaction to the IP address that sent it.
4. June 2022
   Tail emissionThe block reward settles at 0.6 XMR, so miners are always paid.
5. Aug 2022
   Rings of 16 and view tagsBulletproofs+ and view tags make transactions lighter and wallet syncing faster.
6. Sep 2025
   An 18-block reorgA deep chain reorganization renews the focus on decentralized mining.
7. Next
   FCMP++A planned upgrade that would replace rings with proofs over the whole chain. No date has been set.

MonkStash is a web wallet, so it needs a node like any other wallet. Here is exactly how it works today, with nothing rounded up.

Your keys are created and encrypted in your browser, and your wallet scans blocks on your own device. To reach the network, MonkStash relays your wallet's node requests through its own server to a public remote node, and tries the next node on its list if one is down. The relay only allows the requests a wallet needs: reading blocks, checking the network, and sending a finished transaction.

• What our relay sees: your IP address and your wallet's requests to the node.
• What the public node sees: those requests and the transactions you broadcast.
• What neither one sees: your recovery words, your keys or your balance. Neither can spend your money.

That is the same trade-off as any wallet on a remote node, and it is the right moment to be honest about it. A MonkStash-run node is planned, and the wallet was built so that switching nodes is a configuration change, not a new wallet. If you run your own node, you can already point MonkStash straight at it under Node connection in the wallet's settings. Your browser then talks to your node directly and our relay is not involved at all. The node needs HTTPS (or must run on the same computer) and has to allow this site with --rpc-access-control-origins; the wallet shows the exact steps. A desktop wallet on your own node is another strong setup, and our wallet comparison can help you pick one.

For everyone else, you can create a Monero wallet in a couple of minutes, or open MonkStash and restore one you already have.