How to Run Your Own Monero Node in 2026: Hardware, Pruning, Raspberry Pi and Docker

Short answer: running your own Monero node means running monerod, the official daemon, on a machine you control and pointing your wallet at it. You need an SSD, about 300 GB of free space for the full chain (or roughly a third of that pruned), 4 GB+ of RAM and a few days of initial sync. In exchange, no third party sees which wallet is asking for which blocks or which IP broadcast your transaction.

This guide uses figures we checked on 7 October 2026: block height 3,778,624, Monero v0.18.5.3 (released 6 October 2026), and a full database of about 295 GB as reported by public nodes' get_info. If you only want to understand what a remote node can see, read Monero remote nodes and privacy first. This article is the practical follow-up: how to stop relying on one.

Why bother running a node

A remote node never gets your keys, but it does learn your IP address, roughly when your wallet was created (from the block range it scans), and the exact moment you broadcast a transaction. Malicious nodes have also tried to feed wallets fake decoy data. Version 0.18.5.1 added wallet hardening specifically against malicious remote nodes, which tells you the threat is taken seriously by the developers.

Your own node removes that whole category of risk. It also helps the network: every honest node is one more peer that a spy node cannot be.

Hardware: what actually works

Do not use a spinning hard drive. Monero's LMDB database does constant random reads and writes during sync. On an HDD the initial sync can take weeks and the node will struggle to keep up afterwards. A cheap SATA SSD is the single most important purchase.

The official monerod reference states pruning saves about two thirds of disk space and works best from the first sync. Turning it on later does not shrink an existing database; for that you run monero-blockchain-prune separately.

Option 1: the GUI wallet with a local node (easiest)

The Monero GUI Wallet ships with monerod built in. In Settings → Node choose Local node, tick the pruning option if disk is tight, and leave it running. The wallet works as soon as the daemon catches up. This is the right choice if the node only needs to serve the computer it runs on.

Option 2: monerod on a home server or mini PC

Download the CLI bundle from getmonero.org (verify the hash), then run monerod with a config file. A sensible private-node monerod.conf:

data-dir=/srv/monero
prune-blockchain=1
sync-pruned-blocks=1
db-sync-mode=safe
enable-dns-blocklist=1
ban-list=/srv/monero/ban_list.txt
out-peers=32
in-peers=48
# wallet access on your LAN only
rpc-restricted-bind-ip=0.0.0.0
rpc-restricted-bind-port=18089
confirm-external-bind=1
no-igd=1

Notes on those flags, all from the official monerod reference:

• sync-pruned-blocks downloads already-pruned blocks, saving bandwidth on a pruned node.
• db-sync-mode=safe is slower than fast:async but survives power cuts. The fast mode can corrupt the database if the machine loses power, which is the most common cause of “my node won't start after a power outage” posts on r/monerosupport.
• Default ports: P2P 18080, unrestricted RPC 18081. Port 18089 for restricted RPC is a community convention, not a default — you set it yourself.
• Default out-peers is 12. Raising it helps sync speed on a good connection.
• v0.18.5.0 removed UPnP. If you want inbound peers, forward TCP 18080 on your router manually.

Point your wallet at your-server-ip:18089. Never expose the unrestricted 18081 port to the internet.

Option 3: Raspberry Pi with PiNodeXMR

PiNodeXMR is the long-running community project for single-board computers. Its latest release (v6.25.11) runs on Ubuntu Server LTS for ARM64 boards and also on mini PCs and old laptops. It gives you a web dashboard, full or pruned mode, Tor and I2P, P2Pool and a private block explorer. The project recommends at least 2 GB of RAM and a 64-bit board; 32-bit boards cannot run P2Pool. Put the blockchain on a USB SSD, not the SD card.

Plug-and-play alternatives are listed in our node hardware section, including the Monero Nodo, and the Umbrel app for people already running an Umbrel box.

Option 4: Docker

The most used image is ghcr.io/sethforprivacy/simple-monerod (Alpine-based, ships the ban list inside the container). Its maintainer's example compose file pairs monerod with a Tor hidden-service container. One warning from the project's own README worth repeating: Docker's -p binds to 0.0.0.0 and bypasses UFW. If the node is meant to be private, publish as 127.0.0.1:18089:18089. More deployment options are in node software & deployment, including Docker Monero Node.

Protecting your node from spy nodes

A cluster of nodes run by the same operator connects to as many peers as possible to try to link transactions to IP addresses. The Monero Research Lab recommends the community Monero Ban List maintained by Boog900. Version 2 was published on 14 January 2026 after most of those nodes changed IP ranges. It is not enabled by default; you load it with --ban-list. Researchers have linked many of the IPs to the “LinkingLion” operation that also targets Bitcoin.

--enable-dns-blocklist adds a second, dynamically updated list maintained by Monero contributors. Use both.

Running your node over Tor or I2P

To broadcast your own transactions over Tor while syncing normally over clearnet:

tx-proxy=tor,127.0.0.1:9050,16
anonymous-inbound=youronionaddress.onion:18084,127.0.0.1:18084,64

The first line sends your transactions through Tor so your ISP and peers cannot tie the broadcast to your home IP. The second makes your node reachable as a hidden service. v0.18.5.1 fixed a slow-shutdown bug in the Tor/I2P code, so update before enabling this. Feather Wallet can connect to an onion node directly, which gives you end-to-end Tor between wallet and node.

Using the node for mining

If you mine, your own node is required for P2Pool: add zmq-pub=tcp://127.0.0.1:18083 and start P2Pool against it. Our P2Pool dashboard and mining calculator help you size the payout before you start.

How to tell your node is healthy

• Run monerod status. It should show the current height and “synchronized”. Compare the height with our network page (3,778,624 at the time of writing).
• Outgoing connections should sit near your out-peers value.
• If you made it public, check it appears and responds in our live node checker.

FAQ

XMRList lists 36 node projects, guides and hardware options, plus a live list of public nodes checked every 10 minutes for height, latency and Tor availability.