Get Started
This section covers repository configuration, and installation.
To properly build components, you must have a system with the following requirements:
- Linux (Ubuntu Preferred) Version: 20.04 or Above Mac(Apple Silicon or Intel) Version: Big Sur or Above Windows : Windows 10 or Above
- 4 vCPU, 4 Gb Memory at minimum
- 4 GB of space minimum for zbox build components and storage allocation.
- 1.
- 2.Then extract the archive you just downloaded:
tar -xzf zbox-linux.tar.gz
3. To run the executable type
./zbox
On successful installation you will see a help section similar to response below:
zbox is a decentralized storage application written on the 0Chain platform.
Usage:
zbox [command]
Available Commands:
add Adds free storage assigner
alloc-cancel Cancel an allocation
- 1.
- 2.Extract the executable from the archive
zbox-windows.zip
- 3.Now run the executable
zbox.exe
in windows command prompt. - 4.On successful installation, you will see a help section similar to response below :
zbox is a decentralized storage application written on the 0Chain platform.
Complete documentation is available at https://docs.0chain.net/0chain/
Usage:
zbox [command]
Available Commands:
add Adds free storage assigner
alloc-cancel Cancel an allocation
alloc-fini Finalize an expired allocation
- 1.
- 2.Then extract the archive :
tar -xzf zbox-macos.tar.gz
3. To run the executable type
./zbox
On successful installation you will see a help section :
zbox is a decentralized storage application written on the 0Chain platform.
Complete documentation is available at https://docs.0chain.net/0chain/
Usage:
zbox [command]
Available Commands:
add Adds free storage assigner
alloc-cancel Cancel an allocation
alloc-fini Finalize an expired allocation
Windows 64bit (tested with Windows 11)
- 1.
- 2.Open MSYS2 MINGW64 shell.
- 3.Install the following libraries:
pacman -S base-devel git gcc make
- 4.Install clang
pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-clang
- 5.Install go for mingw64
pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-go
Note: Restart mingw64 shell for Go to make changes.
- 6.Clone zboxcli
git clone https://github.com/0chain/zboxcli.git
- 7.Navigate to zboxcli and run the following command :
make install
- 8.
- 9.Unzip and copy dll's to zboxcli directory. The zboxcli directory will be available at the following path
C:\msys64\home\<your_windows_username>\zboxcli
if cloned under mingw64 shell. - 10.Now run the
./zbox
command under zboxcli directory
./zbox
On a successful build you will see a help section.
The build essential package is required to build and make the zbox application. It includes the necessary GCC/g++ compilers and other essential critical libraries and utilities.
Run apt update command to update the packages
sudo apt update
Get Build-essential package
sudo apt-get install build-essential
- 3.Clone the Zbox Repository using the command
git clone https://github.com/0chain/zboxcli.git
- 4.Navigate into zboxcli directory using
cd zboxcli
- 5.Use the make install command to compile the source code .
make install
This might take a minute. Here is a sample response of successful make install command:

- 6.Start the Zbox by navigating back to the zboxcli directory usingcd zboxcli and type
./zbox
On a successful build you will see a help section.
Configuration for the Züs network by default is stored in
network/config.yaml
file of the zbox github repo which we will copy to a new config.yaml
file in our local system . - 1.Make a new .zcn folder in the home directory of your system using
mkdir $HOME/.zcn
2. Copy config.yaml from network directory in zboxcli repo to
.zcn
directorycp network/config.yaml $HOME/.zcn/config.yaml
3. To verify whether the config.yaml exists and network configuration is stored properly. Check the config.yaml details using the command
nano config.yaml
4. Open the
config.yaml
file located at $HOME/.zcn
path of your system.It should look similar to the file below.---
block_worker: https://demo.zus.network/dns
signature_scheme: bls0chain
min_submit: 50
min_confirmation: 50
confirmation_chain_length: 3
max_txn_query: 5
query_sleep_time: 5
# # OPTIONAL - Uncomment to use/ Add more if you want
# preferred_blobbers:
# - http://one.devnet-0chain.net:31051
# - http://one.devnet-0chain.net:31052
# - http://one.devnet-0chain.net:31053
Zbox connects to the Züs network using the
block_worker
field. These network details are automatically fetched from the blockWorker's network API. Preferred Blobbers are also present which you can uncomment for using specified storage providers for handling your files.Note: In case you are configuring zbox network for setting up blockchain locally the
block_worker
should be set to http://198.18.0.98:9091/The section assumes you have successfully build zbox. zbox provides a long list of components to use. Let's begin with the allocation of storage space on the 0Chain decentralized network.
For creating a storage allocation using Zbox. You need to have a wallet with tokens available for performing allocations.
- 1.Create and get test tokens into your wallet using the zwallet CLI tool. If you have not installed zwallet CLI check instructions for installation and creating a wallet .
- 2.Once the wallet is created and has an available balance, you can create a storage allocation by using the Zbox
newallocation
command. To understand the syntax type
./zbox newallocation --help
This will output the mandatory and optional flags that need to be added with the
newallocation
command.Here are the parameters :Parameter | Description | Default | Valid Values |
---|---|---|---|
allocationFileName | local file to store allocation information | allocation.txt | file path |
cost | returns the cost of the allocation, no allocation created | | flag |
data | number of data shards, effects upload and download speeds | 2 | int |
expire | duration to allocation expiration | 720h | duration |
free_storage | free storage marker file. | | file path |
owner | owner's id, use for funding an allocation for another | | string |
owner_public_key | public key, use for funding an allocation for another | | string |
lock | lock write pool with given number of tokens | | float |
mcct | max challenge completion time | 1h | duration |
parity | number of parity shards, effects availability | 2 | int |
read_price | filter blobbers by read price range | 0-inf | range |
size | size of space reserved on blobbers | 2147483648 | bytes |
usd | give token value in USD | | flag |
write_price | filter blobbers by write price range | 0-inf | range |
- 6.For getting started we can create a basic allocation with default types. This will only require essential specifiers such as
lock float
. We will add a float value of0.5
which will lock 0.5 tokens with the allocation. The complete command for creating an allocation would be:
./zbox newallocation --lock 0.5
Successful Response will create an allocation with allocation ID:

If you are not able to create allocation and getting errors, check error causes in TIps and Troubleshooting Section.
7. Verify the allocation by using the command.
./zbox listallocations
Last modified 1mo ago