renterd is an advanced Sia renter engineered by the Sia Foundation. Designed to cater to both casual users seeking straightforward data storage and developers requiring a robust API for building apps on Sia.

Overview

renterd is the successor to siad, offering feature parity while extending its capabilities with new features like an enhanced web UI and an autopilot. That said, renterd does not support backwards compatibility with siad metadata. Consequently, files uploaded via siad cannot currently be migrated to renterd. Our immediate focus is on refining renterd to enhance its stability, scalability, and performance, ensuring it serves as a robust foundation for new Sia applications. Useful links:

• API documentation
• Project Roadmap
• Setup Guide

Configuration

renterd can be configured in various ways, through the use of a yaml file, CLI flags or environment variables. Settings that are configured multiple times will be evaluated in this order. In the CLI, use the help command to see an overview of all settings configurable through the CLI.

Name	Description	Default Value	CLI Flag	Environment Variable	YAML Path
HTTP.Address	Address for serving the API	:9980	--http	-	http.address
HTTP.Password	Password for the HTTP server	-	-	RENTERD_API_PASSWORD	http.password
Directory	Directory for storing node state	.	--dir	-	directory
Seed	Seed for the node	-	-	RENTERD_SEED	seed
AutoOpenWebUI	Automatically open the web UI on startup	true	--openui	-	autoOpenWebUI
ShutdownTimeout	Timeout for node shutdown	5m	--node.shutdownTimeout	-	shutdownTimeout
Log.Level	Global logger level (debug|info|warn|error). Defaults to 'info'	info	--log.level	RENTERD_LOG_LEVEL	log.level
Log.File.Enabled	Enables logging to disk. Defaults to 'true'	true	--log.file.enabled	RENTERD_LOG_FILE_ENABLED	log.file.enabled
Log.File.Format	Format of log file (json|human). Defaults to 'json'	json	--log.file.format	RENTERD_LOG_FILE_FORMAT	log.file.format
Log.File.Path	Path of log file. Defaults to 'renterd.log' within the renterd directory	renterd.log	--log.file.path	RENTERD_LOG_FILE_PATH	log.file.path
Log.StdOut.Enabled	Enables logging to stdout. Defaults to 'true'	true	--log.stdout.enabled	RENTERD_LOG_STDOUT_ENABLED	log.stdout.enabled
Log.StdOut.Format	Format of log output (json|human). Defaults to 'human'	human	--log.stdout.format	RENTERD_LOG_STDOUT_FORMAT	log.stdout.format
Log.StdOut.EnableANSI	Enables ANSI color codes in log output. Defaults to 'true' on non-Windows systems	true (false on Windows)	--log.stdout.enableANSI	RENTERD_LOG_STDOUT_ENABLE_ANSI	log.stdout.enableANSI
Log.Database.Enabled	Enable logging database queries. Defaults to 'true'	true	--log.database.enabled	RENTERD_LOG_DATABASE_ENABLED	log.database.enabled
Log.Database.Level	Logger level for database queries (info|warn|error). Defaults to 'warn'	warn	--log.database.level	RENTERD_LOG_DATABASE_LEVEL, RENTERD_LOG_LEVEL	log.database.level
Log.Database.IgnoreRecordNotFoundError	Enable ignoring 'not found' errors resulting from database queries. Defaults to 'true'	true	--log.database.ignoreRecordNotFoundError	RENTERD_LOG_DATABASE_IGNORE_RECORD_NOT_FOUND_ERROR	log.database.ignoreRecordNotFoundError
Log.Database.SlowThreshold	Threshold for slow queries in logger. Defaults to 100ms	100ms	--log.database.slowThreshold	RENTERD_LOG_DATABASE_SLOW_THRESHOLD	log.database.slowThreshold
Log.Database.Level (DEPRECATED)	Logger level	warn	--db.logger.logLevel	RENTERD_DB_LOGGER_LOG_LEVEL	log.database.level
Log.Database.IgnoreRecordNotFoundError (DEPRECATED)	Ignores 'not found' errors in logger	true	--db.logger.ignoreNotFoundError	RENTERD_DB_LOGGER_IGNORE_NOT_FOUND_ERROR	log.ignoreRecordNotFoundError
Log.Database.SlowThreshold (DEPRECATED)	Threshold for slow queries in logger	100ms	--db.logger.slowThreshold	RENTERD_DB_LOGGER_SLOW_THRESHOLD	log.slowThreshold
Log.Path (DEPRECATED)	Path to directory for logs	-	--log-path	RENTERD_LOG_PATH	log.path
Database.MySQL.URI	Database URI for the bus	-	--db.uri	RENTERD_DB_URI	database.mysql.uri
Database.MySQL.User	Database username for the bus	renterd	--db.user	RENTERD_DB_USER	database.mysql.user
Database.MySQL.Password	Database password for the bus	-	-	RENTERD_DB_PASSWORD	database.mysql.password
Database.MySQL.Database	Database name for the bus	renterd	--db.name	RENTERD_DB_NAME	database.mysql.database
Database.MySQL.MetricsDatabase	Database for metrics	renterd_metrics	--db.metricsName	RENTERD_DB_METRICS_NAME	database.mysql.metricsDatabase
Database.SQLite.Database	SQLite database name	-	-	-	database.sqlite.database
Database.SQLite.MetricsDatabase	SQLite metrics database name	-	-	-	database.sqlite.metricsDatabase
Bus.AnnouncementMaxAgeHours	Max age for announcements	8760h (1 year)	--bus.announcementMaxAgeHours	-	bus.announcementMaxAgeHours
Bus.Bootstrap	Bootstraps gateway and consensus modules	true	--bus.bootstrap	-	bus.bootstrap
Bus.GatewayAddr	Address for Sia peer connections	:9981	--bus.gatewayAddr	RENTERD_BUS_GATEWAY_ADDR	bus.gatewayAddr
Bus.RemoteAddr	Remote address for the bus	-	-	RENTERD_BUS_REMOTE_ADDR	bus.remoteAddr
Bus.RemotePassword	Remote password for the bus	-	-	RENTERD_BUS_API_PASSWORD	bus.remotePassword
Bus.PersistInterval	Interval for persisting consensus updates	1m	--bus.persistInterval	-	bus.persistInterval
Bus.UsedUTXOExpiry	Expiry for used UTXOs in transactions	24h	--bus.usedUTXOExpiry	-	bus.usedUtxoExpiry
Bus.SlabBufferCompletionThreshold	Threshold for slab buffer upload	4096	--bus.slabBufferCompletionThreshold	RENTERD_BUS_SLAB_BUFFER_COMPLETION_THRESHOLD	bus.slabBufferCompletionThreshold
Worker.AllowPrivateIPs	Allows hosts with private IPs	-	--worker.allowPrivateIPs	-	worker.allowPrivateIPs
Worker.BusFlushInterval	Interval for flushing data to bus	5s	--worker.busFlushInterval	-	worker.busFlushInterval
Worker.ContractLockTimeout	Timeout for locking contracts	30s	-	-	worker.contractLockTimeout
Worker.DownloadMaxOverdrive	Max overdrive workers for downloads	5	--worker.downloadMaxOverdrive	-	worker.downloadMaxOverdrive
Worker.DownloadMaxMemory	Max memory for downloads	1GiB	-	-	worker.downloadMaxMemory
Worker.ID	Unique ID for worker	worker	--worker.id	RENTERD_WORKER_ID	worker.id
Worker.DownloadOverdriveTimeout	Timeout for overdriving slab downloads	3s	--worker.downloadOverdriveTimeout	-	worker.downloadOverdriveTimeout
Worker.UploadMaxMemory	Max amount of RAM the worker allocates for slabs when uploading	1GiB	--worker.uploadMaxMemory	RENTERD_WORKER_UPLOAD_MAX_MEMORY	worker.uploadMaxMemory
Worker.UploadMaxOverdrive	Max overdrive workers for uploads	5	--worker.uploadMaxOverdrive	-	worker.uploadMaxOverdrive
Worker.UploadOverdriveTimeout	Timeout for overdriving slab uploads	3s	--worker.uploadOverdriveTimeout	-	worker.uploadOverdriveTimeout
Worker.Enabled	Enables/disables worker	true	--worker.enabled	RENTERD_WORKER_ENABLED	worker.enabled
Worker.AllowUnauthenticatedDownloads	Allows unauthenticated downloads	-	--worker.unauthenticatedDownloads	RENTERD_WORKER_UNAUTHENTICATED_DOWNLOADS	worker.allowUnauthenticatedDownloads
Autopilot.AccountsRefillInterval	Interval for refilling workers' account balances	24h	--autopilot.accountRefillInterval	-	autopilot.accountsRefillInterval
Autopilot.Heartbeat	Interval for autopilot loop execution	30m	--autopilot.heartbeat	-	autopilot.heartbeat
Autopilot.MigrationHealthCutoff	Threshold for migrating slabs based on health	0.75	--autopilot.migrationHealthCutoff	-	autopilot.migrationHealthCutoff
Autopilot.RevisionBroadcastInterval	Interval for broadcasting contract revisions	168h (7 days)	--autopilot.revisionBroadcastInterval	RENTERD_AUTOPILOT_REVISION_BROADCAST_INTERVAL	autopilot.revisionBroadcastInterval
Autopilot.ScannerBatchSize	Batch size for host scanning	1000	--autopilot.scannerBatchSize	-	autopilot.scannerBatchSize
Autopilot.ScannerInterval	Interval for scanning hosts	24h	--autopilot.scannerInterval	-	autopilot.scannerInterval
Autopilot.ScannerNumThreads	Number of threads for scanning hosts	100	-	-	autopilot.scannerNumThreads
Autopilot.MigratorParallelSlabsPerWorker	Parallel slab migrations per worker	1	--autopilot.migratorParallelSlabsPerWorker	RENTERD_MIGRATOR_PARALLEL_SLABS_PER_WORKER	autopilot.migratorParallelSlabsPerWorker
S3.Address	Address for serving S3 API	:9982	--s3.address	RENTERD_S3_ADDRESS	s3.address
S3.DisableAuth	Disables authentication for S3 API	false	--s3.disableAuth	RENTERD_S3_DISABLE_AUTH	s3.disableAuth
S3.Enabled	Enables/disables S3 API	true	--s3.enabled	RENTERD_S3_ENABLED	s3.enabled
S3.HostBucketEnabled	Enables bucket rewriting in the router	-	--s3.hostBucketEnabled	RENTERD_S3_HOST_BUCKET_ENABLED	s3.hostBucketEnabled
S3.KeypairsV4 (DEPRECATED)	V4 keypairs for S3	-	-	-	s3.keypairsV4

Backups

This section provides a step-by-step guide covering the procedures for creating and restoring backups for renterd. Regularly backing up your renter's metadata and verifying its restorability are essential practices to ensure your data's integrity and availability in the event of a disaster scenario. Ensure backups are stored on a different machine than the one running renterd to avoid data loss in case of hardware failure.

---

IMPORTANT NOTE

It is important to note that having a backup is not enough to ensure the data can be recovered from the network. The renter has to be online enough of the time to ensure data gets migrated away from hosts that went offline.

---

Creating a backup

Step 1: shut down renter

It's strongly recommended to shut down the renter before creating a backup to ensure data consistency. This precaution addresses the "upload packing" feature (enabled by default), which relies on on-disk buffers. To capture a consistent state between the database and on-disk data, shut down renterd first. Even if the feature is not enabled, it is best to shut down the renter before taking a backup to be on the safe side and ensure consistency.

Step 2: backing up the database

renterd uses two SQL databases: a main database for contracts, host metadata and object metadata essential for data retrieval, and a metrics database for UI features. Both are critical but prioritize the main database for file recovery.

Depending on how the renter is configured, the databases are either SQLite (default) or MySQL databases. By default, the SQLite databases are called db.sqlite and metrics.sqlite and are located in a folder called db, right in the renter's root directory.

SQLite

Use the .backup command to create a backup of the SQLite databases.

sqlite3 db.sqlite ".backup 'db.bkp'"
sqlite3 metrics.sqlite ".backup 'metrics.bkp'"

There should only be two files in the db folder, if you encounter write-ahead log files or index files (usually named -wal or -shm) it indicates the renter was not shut down gracefully. In that case it's best to restart the renter and shut it down again.

MySQL

Use the mysqldump command to create a backup of the MySQL databases. It's a utility provided by MySQL to backup or transfer a MySQL database and it's usually installed alongside the MySQL client tools. Replace placeholders with actual user and password.

mysqldump -u [RENTERD_DB_USER] --password=[RENTERD_DB_PASSWORD] renterd > renterd_bkp.sql
mysqldump -u [RENTERD_DB_USER] --password=[RENTERD_DB_PASSWORD] renterd_metrics > renterd_metrics_bkp.sql

Step 3: backing up partial slabs

If "upload packing" is enabled, back up the partial_slabs folder located in the renter's root directory. These files contain data that has not been uploaded to the network yet, losing these files means an immediate loss of your data.

tar -cvf partial_slabs.tar partial_slabs/

Restoring from a backup

If the goal is to install renterd from a backup on a new machine, the easiest way is to do a fresh renterd install and then overwrite the empty database with the backup. Use the same RENTERD_SEED as the original installation.

Step 1: shutdown renter

Same as before we advise to shut down the renter before reinstating a backup to ensure consistency. It's a good idea to backup the database right before trying to restore a backup to be safe and have a way out in case overwriting the database renders it corrupt somehow.

Step 2: restore the database backup

SQLite

For SQLite we can reinstate the database by replacing both .sqlite files with our backups. Make sure to rename them to their original filename db.sqlite and metrics.sqlite. These filenames are configurable, so make sure you match the configured values.

MySQL

Depending on when the backup was taken its schema might be out of date. To maximize the chance the schema migrations go smoothly, it's advisable to recreate the databases before importing the backup. Take a backup before doing this.

# log in to MySQL shell
mysql -u [RENTERD_DB_USER] -p

# recreate renterd database
DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS renterd;
CREATE DATABASE renterd;

# recreate renterd_metrics database
DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS renterd_metrics;
CREATE DATABASE renterd_metrics;

The backups can then be imported using the following commands:

cat renterd_bkp.sql | mysql -u [RENTERD_DB_USER] --password=[RENTERD_DB_PASSWORD] renterd
cat renterd_metrics_bkp.sql | mysql -u [RENTERD_DB_USER] --password=[RENTERD_DB_PASSWORD] renterd_metrics

Step 3: restore the partial slabs

If applicable, remove the contents of the partial_slabs directory and replace it with your backup.

rm -rf partial_slabs
tar -xvf partial_slabs.tar

Step 4: start the renter

After starting the renter it is possible it has to run through migrations to its database schema. Depending on when the backup was taken, this might take some time. If we restored the backup on a fresh renterd install, it will take some time for consensus to sync.

Docker Support

renterd includes a Dockerfile which can be used for building and running renterd within a docker container. For the time being it is provided as-is without any compatibility guarantees as it will change over time and be extended with more configuration options. The image can also be pulled from ghcr.io/siafoundation/renterd.

Docker Compose

version: "3.9"
services:
  renterd:
    image: ghcr.io/siafoundation/renterd:master-zen
    environment:
      - RENTERD_SEED=put your seed here
      - RENTERD_API_PASSWORD=test
    ports:
      - 9880:9880
      - 9881:9881
      - 7070:7070
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data
    restart: unless-stopped
    stop_grace_period: 5m

Build Image

From within the root of the repo run the following command to build an image of renterd tagged renterd.

Mainnet

docker build -t renterd:master -f ./docker/Dockerfile .

Testnet

docker build --build-arg BUILD_TAGS='netgo testnet' -t renterd:master-zen -f ./docker/Dockerfile .

Run Container

Run renterd in the background as a container named renterd that exposes its API to the host system and the gateway to the world.

Mainnet

docker run -d --name renterd -e RENTERD_API_PASSWORD="<PASSWORD>" -e RENTERD_SEED="<SEED>" -p 127.0.0.1:9980:9980/tcp -p :9981:9981/tcp ghcr.io/siafoundation/renterd:master

Testnet

docker run -d --name renterd-testnet -e RENTERD_API_PASSWORD="<PASSWORD>" -e RENTERD_SEED="<SEED>" -p 127.0.0.1:9880:9880/tcp -p :9881:9881/tcp ghcr.io/siafoundation/renterd:master-zen

Architecture

renterd distinguishes itself from siad through a unique architecture comprised of three main components: the autopilot, the bus, and one or more workers.

Instead of adopting another Electron app bundle, renterd incorporates an embedded web UI. This approach caters to developers and power users who prefer a streamlined experience. For those who do not require the UI, renterd can be compiled without it, which reduces software bloat and simplifies the build process.

Autopilot

The autopilot in renterd automates high-level functions like host scanning, ranking, and the management of contracts and data. This ensures efficient host selection for data storage. While it offers convenience for most users, those desiring full control can disable the autopilot via a CLI flag. Remarkably, the autopilot is designed over the public renterd HTTP API, allowing for straightforward customization and language porting.

Bus

Serving as the central nervous system of renterd, the bus handles data persistence and connections with Sia's peer-to-peer network. While renterd defaults to an SQLite database, users have the option to configure it for MySQL use. SQLite is the default choice due to its seamless initial experience, but switching to MySQL is recommended for enhanced performance.

Worker(s)

Workers are the direct interface for users, managing tasks such as file uploads/downloads and contract handling. They depend on the bus for consistent data persistence.

Usage

The Web UI streamlines the initial setup and configuration for newcomers. However, if manual configuration is necessary, the subsequent sections outline a step-by-step guide to achieving a functional renterd instance.

Wallet

Make sure the wallet is funded, it's a good rule of thumb to have at least twice the allowance in the wallet. Fetch the wallet's address and transfer some money. Verify the wallet's balance is not zero using the following endpoint:

• GET /api/bus/wallet

The autopilot will automatically redistribute the wallet funds over a certain number of outputs that make sense with regards to the autopilot's configuration. Contract formation and renewals work best when the autopilot has a good amount of outputs at its disposal. It's definitely a good idea to verify whether this is the case because if not it means that it's likely the autopilot is misconfigured, in which case the logs should be of help.

• GET /api/bus/wallet/outputs

Consensus

In order for the contracts to get formed, your node has to be synced with the blockchain. If you are not bootstrapping your node this can take a while. Verify your node's consensus state using the following endpoint:

• GET /api/bus/consensus/state

Config

The configuration can be updated through the UI or by using the following endpoints:

• GET /api/autopilot/config
• PUT /api/autopilot/config

The autopilot will not perform any tasks until it is configured. An example configuration can be found below. Especially the contracts section is important, make sure the amount is set to the amount of hosts with which you want to form a contract. The allowance is the amount of money the autopilot can spend per period, make sure it is not set to zero or contracts won't get formed.

{
	"hosts": {
		"allowRedundantIPs": false,
		"maxDowntimeHours": 1440,
		"minRecentScanFailures": 20,
		"scoreOverrides": {}
	},
	"contracts": {
		"set": "autopilot",
		"amount": 50,
		"allowance": "10000000000000000000000000000",
		"period": 6048,
		"renewWindow": 2016,
		"download": 1099511627776, // 1TiB
		"upload": 1099511627776, // 1TiB
		"storage": 1099511627776 // 1TiB
	}
}

Contract Set

The contract set settings on the bus allow specifying a default contract set. This contract set will be returned by the bus through the upload parameters, and decides what contracts data is upload or migrated to by default. This setting does not have a default value, it can be updated using the settings API:

• GET /api/bus/setting/contractset
• PUT /api/bus/setting/contractset

{
        "default": "autopilot"
}

In most cases the default set should match the set from your autopilot configuration in order for migrations to work properly. The contract set can be overridden by passing it as a query string parameter to the worker's upload and migrate endpoints.

• PUT /api/worker/objects/foo?contractset=foo

Redundancy

The default redundancy on mainnet is 30-10, on testnet it is 6-2. The redundancy can be updated using the settings API:

• GET /api/bus/setting/redundancy
• PUT /api/bus/setting/redundancy

The redundancy can also be passed through query string parameters on the upload endpoint in the worker API:

• PUT /api/worker/objects/foo?minshards=2&totalshards=5

Gouging

The default gouging settings are listed below. The gouging settings can be updated using the settings API:

• GET /api/bus/setting/gouging
• PUT /api/bus/setting/gouging

{
	"hostBlockHeightLeeway": 6,                                   // 6 blocks
	"maxContractPrice": "15000000000000000000000000",             // 15 SC per contract
	"maxDownloadPrice": "3000000000000000000000000000",           // 3000 SC per 1 TiB
	"maxRPCPrice": "1000000000000000000000",                      // 1mS per RPC
	"maxStoragePrice": "631593542824",                            // 3000 SC per TiB per month
	"maxUploadPrice": "3000000000000000000000000000",             // 3000 SC per 1 TiB
	"migrationSurchargeMultiplier": 10,                           // overpay up to 10x for sectors migrations on critical slabs
	"minAccountExpiry": 86400000000000,                           // 1 day
	"minMaxEphemeralAccountBalance": "1000000000000000000000000", // 1 SC
	"minPriceTableValidity": 300000000000                         // 5 minutes
}

Blocklist

Unfortunately the Sia blockchain is subject to hosts that announced themselves with faulty parameters and/or bad intentions, something which is unavoidable of course in a decentralized environment. We added a blocklist to give users the power to block hosts by IP or domain.

• GET /api/bus/hosts/blocklist
• PUT /api/bus/hosts/blocklist

The Sia Foundation does not ship renterd with a default blocklist, the following entries exclude a decent amount of bad/old/malicious hosts:

• 45.148.30.56
• 51.158.108.244
• siacentral.ddnsfree.com
• siacentral.mooo.com