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Mpcium Installation Guide

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

  • Go 1.25.0+ installed: Install Go here
  • NATS server running
  • Consul server running

Clone and Install Mpcium

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/fystack/mpcium.git
cd mpcium

Build the Project

With Make:

make

Or with Go:

go install ./cmd/mpcium
go install ./cmd/mpcium-cli

Available Commands

  • mpcium: Start an MPCium node
  • mpcium-cli: CLI utility for peer, identity, and initiator configuration

Setup Instructions

For detailed step-by-step instructions, see SETUP.md.

Quick Reference

1. Generate peers.json

First, generate the peers configuration file:

mpcium-cli generate-peers -n 3

This creates a peers.json file with 3 peer nodes (node0, node1, node2). Adjust -n for a different number of nodes.

2. Set up Event Initiator

./setup_initiator.sh

This generates the event initiator identity used to authorize MPC operations.

3. Set up Node Identities

./setup_identities.sh

This script:

  • Creates node directories (node0, node1, node2)
  • Generates identities for each node
  • Distributes identity files across nodes
  • Configures chain_code for all nodes

Note: This script requires peers.json to exist. If you see an error about missing peers.json, run step 1 first.

All node ready

chain_code setup (REQUIRED)

What is chain_code?

The chain_code is a cryptographic parameter used for Hierarchical Deterministic (HD) wallet functionality. It enables mpcium to derive child keys from a parent key, allowing you to generate multiple wallet addresses from a single master key.

Important Requirements:

  • All nodes in your MPC cluster MUST use the identical chain_code value
  • Must be a 32-byte value represented as a 64-character hexadecimal string
  • Should be generated once and stored securely
  • Without a valid chain_code, mpcium nodes will fail to start

How to generate and configure

Generate one 32-byte hex chain code and set it in all node configurations:

# Navigate to your mpcium directory
cd /path/to/mpcium

# Generate a random 32-byte chain code and save it
CC=$(openssl rand -hex 32) && echo "$CC" > .chain_code

# Apply to main config
sed -i -E "s|^([[:space:]]*chain_code:).*|\1 \"$CC\"|" config.yaml

# Apply to all node configs
for n in node0 node1 node2; do
  sed -i -E "s|^([[:space:]]*chain_code:).*|\1 \"$CC\"|" "$n/config.yaml"
done

# Verify it was set correctly
echo "Chain code configured: $CC"

Example config.yaml entry:

chain_code: "a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2"

Start nodes normally:

cd node0 && mpcium start -n node0

Repeat for node1 and node2. The value must be exactly 64 hex chars (32 bytes).

Production Deployment (High Security)

  1. Use production-grade NATS and Consul clusters.
  2. Enable TLS certificates on all endpoints.
  3. Encrypt all keys: 
    mpcium-cli generate-initiator --encrypt
mpcium-cli generate-identity --node node0 --encrypt
  4. Use --prompt-credentials to securely input Badger passwords (avoid hardcoding in config.yaml).

Appendix

Decrypt initiator private key with age

age --decrypt -o event_initiator.key event_initiator.key.age