HF26 is right around the corner, on the 11th of October 2022. If you're a witness, now is the time to update your node(s).

Below is a short guide to get you started with Docker asap. If you prefer to install & run hived manually, check out [this post](https://peakd.com/hive-167922/@themarkymark/how-to-update-your-witness-to-hardfork-26-release-canidate-3) by @themarkymark.

---


# Prerequisites
- Ubuntu 20.04 or 22.04 (check via `lsb_release -a`)
- At least 400GB disk-space if using & downloading compressed block log, though I'd say 1 TB is recommended

### Step 1

Git clone the hive-docker script (originally created by @someguy123, forked by @drakos)

```
# Clone Repo
git clone https://github.com/Jolly-Pirate/hive-docker.git && cd hive-docker

# Create & edit .env file
touch .env && nano .env

```

### Step 2
Paste the code-snippet below into the `.env` file (make sure to comment/uncomment the line for BUILD_OS depending on your ubuntu version)

```
PORTS=8090
DOCKER_NAME=witness
CONTAINER_TYPE=witness

#SHM_DIR=$(pwd)
SHM_DIR=/dev/shm

# HF25 doesn't build on ubuntu 22.04
# Don't use ubuntu:bionic or focal on HF26 develop, gives a: warning: jobserver unavailable: using -j1.  Add '+' to parent make rule.
BUILD_OS=phusion/baseimage:focal-1.2.0 # ubuntu 20.04
# BUILD_OS=phusion/baseimage:jammy-1.0.0 # ubuntu 22.04
REPO_SOURCE=https://gitlab.syncad.com/hive/hive
TAG_VERSION=v1.26.0rc4
```

### Step 3 (Optional)

Run these if needed

```
# Install linux utils packages
./run.sh preinstall

# Install Docker
./run.sh install_docker

# Install and configure NTP synchronization
./run.sh install_ntp

# Set some optimization configs
./run.sh optimize
```

### Step 4

Build the hived software, edit the config

```
# Build Hived
./run.sh build v1.26.0rc4

# Set SHM size
./run.sh shm_size 20G
```

### Step 5

Edit the config and change the witness + private-key parameter. If you have a previous config.ini file, you can just copy the values from there.

```
nano data/witness_node_data_dir/config.ini
```

### Step 6

Download the block log. Make sure you confirm the deletion of the old block log and select compressed. You could also use an existing one, but the script downloads the latest from @gtg and that's always a trusted & reliable source.

```
# Download Block Log
./run.sh dlblocks
```

### Step 7

Replay the blockchain. You can also set a checkpoint by adding `checkpoint  = [68492031,"04151aff878fe5945aca7f4e9052044ecf743875"]` to the config.ini, though when I set it, I didn't noticed anything on startup. However, the replay was quite fast either way!

```
# Replay
./run.sh replay
```

### Step 8

If a new version should be released, simply edit the `TAG_VERSION` within the `.env` file, rebuild, and then (if not otherwise noted) `./run.sh restart`


---

And that's it. I hope these instructions are helpful!

Big thanks to @drakos for providing the forked script. If you like, make sure to [toss a vote to his witness](https://hivesigner.com/sign/account-witness-vote?witness=drakos&approve=1).