Holochain is an innovative framework designed to build decentralized applications, functioning very much like a blockchain but without the bottlenecks. In this article, we will explain how to install and run Holochain by breaking the process down into manageable steps.

Table of Contents

• Installation
• Usage
• Troubleshooting

Installation

Before you start, it’s essential to note that Holochain is currently a developer-focused project. This means that the installation process is intended for developers of applications that will run on Holochain, or developers who are contributing to the Holochain software itself.

There are two main methods to install Holochain:

• Using standard Go language application for direct execution.
• Using Docker for containerized execution.

Quick Install

1. Download the most recent release from GitHub releases for your operating system.
2. Unzip the downloaded file to your chosen directory.
3. Add that directory to your PATH environment variable to use Holochain commands outside of that directory.
4. After this setup, available commands can be found in the Usage section below.

Go Based Install

Unix (Linux/macOS)

1. Download Go from golang.org, ensuring to select version 1.8 or later.
2. Install Go on your system by following Platform-specific instructions.
3. Configure your path correctly by exporting the $GOPATH variable in your shell profile, like so:

bash
export GOPATH=$HOME/go
export PATH=$GOPATH/bin:$PATH

4. Install Holochain:

bash
go get -d -v github.com/holochain/holochain-proto
cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/holochain/holochain-proto
make

5. Test the installation:

bash
hcadmin -v

Windows

1. Download and install Go as mentioned above.
2. Install Windows Git to make Git accessible from the command line.
3. For optional GnuWin32 Make installation, go to GnuWin32’s website.
4. Configure system environment variables through Control Panel to include GOPATH and update Path. Ensure to add the paths as instructed in the README.

Docker Based Install

With Docker, you skip the Go installation as the Docker setup handles it. Start by:

1. Installing Docker from Docker’s official page.
2. Run the following commands to set up Holochain:

bash
docker pull holochain/holochain-proto:develop
docker run --rm -it --name clutter -p 3141:3141 holochain/holochain-proto:develop

Usage

Now that Holochain is installed, let’s take a look at how to get started:

Getting Started

1. Initialize the Holochain environment:

bash
hcadmin init your@email.address

2. Join a Holochain application:

bash
hcadmin join  

3. Run a Holochain instance:

bash
hcd  [PORT]

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues while installing or using Holochain, here are some troubleshooting tips:

• Ensure that the GOPATH is configured properly. This is a common source of errors.
• If you experience issues with Docker, verify that you have the right permissions and your Docker installation is configured correctly by running docker info.
• Check the logs for any error messages. You can enable debug mode with the --debug flag to capture more detailed information.
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Conclusion

Holochain is a powerful tool for developers looking to create decentralized applications. With its unique architecture, it promises scalability and efficiency. Follow the steps outlined in this article to install and use Holochain effectively in your projects.