Run a Khromosome node
A Khromosome node is a standard Ethereum PoS node with a Khromosome genesis: an execution client and a consensus client (Lighthouse) sharing a JWT secret over the Engine API. Validators additionally run a Lighthouse validator client.
The execution client is KhromePQ — a custom Reth v1.8 build that embeds the
native ML-DSA-87 post-quantum precompile at 0x100.
It is a drop-in Reth with the precompile added; all standard Reth flags apply.
Components
| Process | Role | Default port |
|---|---|---|
| Reth | Execution layer (EVM, RPC) | 8545 / 8546 |
| Lighthouse beacon | Consensus layer | 5052 |
| Lighthouse VC | Signs attestations/proposals | — |
Bring-up (summary)
- Obtain the Khromosome genesis trio (
genesis.json, consensus config, JWT). - Start Reth with the Khromosome genesis and the shared
jwt.hex. - Start the Lighthouse beacon pointed at Reth's Engine API.
- (Validators only) import keys and start the validator client.
- Peer execution clients with
--trusted-peers— a Reth restarted without EL peers can get an unbackfillable gap and stall finality.
warning
Validators must be staged before genesis time. After any genesis regeneration the chain is fresh and core contracts must be redeployed.
The full operator runbook (exact commands, Docker units, monitoring) lives in
the repo at docs/l1/09-validator-runbook.md and docs/RUNBOOK.md.