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Install on Ubuntu/Debian (apt)

On Ubuntu, Debian, and other Debian-family distributions, install the DIG ecosystem from the apt.dig.net repository. You get the dig-node service and the dig-store CLI as ordinary apt packages — signed, and upgraded with apt upgrade like anything else on the box. Installing dig-node sets up and enables a systemd service so your node starts on boot and stays running.

What apt serves today​

Check this before you choose apt, because the repository trails the current releases:

Packageapt servesCurrent releaseArchitectures
dig-node0.43.00.64.0amd64 only
dig-store0.17.00.19.3amd64, arm64

Choose apt when you want dig-node managed by your package manager on an x86-64 Debian-family box and an older node is acceptable.

Choose the DIG Installer when you want the current dig-node, or you are on arm64, or you want the dign and digd short aliases, dig-dns, dig.local, and the chia:// scheme handler — none of which are part of these apt packages.

1. Add the signing key​

The repository is signed; add its public key to a dedicated keyring (the modern, per-repo way — no global apt-key):

curl -fsSL https://apt.dig.net/dig.gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/dig.gpg

2. Add the apt source​

Point apt at the repository, telling it to trust packages signed by the key you just added:

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/dig.gpg] https://apt.dig.net stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/dig.list

3. Install the packages​

sudo apt update && sudo apt install dig-node dig-store
  • dig-node — the headless node service (serves the dig RPC, hosts capsules, keeps the local .dig cache). Installs /usr/bin/dig-node.
  • dig-store — the CLI for creating, committing, and reading stores. Installs dig-store plus its digs alias. Optional if you only want to serve, but usually wanted alongside.

4. Check the service​

Installing dig-node registers the systemd unit dig-node.service and enables + starts it for you, so it's already running and will come back on every boot. No manual enable step is needed.

Check it's running and watch its logs:

systemctl status dig-node     # is it active? when did it start?
journalctl -u dig-node -f      # follow the node's logs live

systemctl status should report active (running). The node now serves the dig RPC on 127.0.0.1:9778 and begins hosting/caching content.

The service runs as its own unprivileged dig-node system account — never root — and keeps its .dig cache in /var/lib/dig-node. Change any of its settings with a drop-in:

sudo systemctl edit dig-node

→ Configure dig-node for the settings you can set

What dig-node does once it's running​

Your dig-node is now the serve side of the network on this machine:

  • Exposes the dig RPC locally, so a DIG Browser or the extension on the same machine reads content from your node instead of going out to rpc.dig.net — local, offline-capable, and contributing to the network. Consumers prefer a reachable local node and fall back to rpc.dig.net when there isn't one. (See serving vs. consuming.)
  • Keeps the local .dig cache of verified capsules. When a browser/extension and a dig-node are both present, they share one cache — content isn't stored twice.
  • Verifies and decrypts locally. Even reading through your own node, every byte is checked against the on-chain root before it's served — the node is never blindly trusted.

A node running headless on a server (no browser present) simply serves its RPC to whatever consumes it — a seedbox for the capsules you host.

Keeping it up to date​

Because it's an apt package, updates ride your normal system upgrades:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade        # picks up new dig-node / dig-store releases

To restart after a config change, or stop the service:

sudo systemctl restart dig-node
sudo systemctl stop dig-node       # stop serving (does not uninstall)
sudo systemctl disable dig-node    # don't start on boot

To run a newer dig-node than the repository carries, use the DIG Installer instead of apt — it always resolves the current release. Pick one route per machine and stay on it, so there is only ever one dig-node and one service to reason about.

Other operating systems​

apt is the Ubuntu/Debian-native path on x86-64. For Windows, macOS, arm64 Linux, or non-Debian Linux, use the cross-platform DIG Installer, which installs the dig-node and dig-dns services (as a Windows service / launchd / systemd) plus the dig-store CLI in one run. To read DIG content without running a node, just get the DIG Browser ↗.