# Building from source
This guide walks you through building the `qorechaind` binary from source, covering both the community (open-core) build and the full proprietary build.
## Prerequisites
| Dependency | Minimum Version | Notes |
| ------------------ | ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| **Go** | 1.26+ | Required for all builds |
| **CGO** | Enabled (`CGO_ENABLED=1`) | Required for PQC and SVM FFI bridges |
| **Rust toolchain** | Latest stable | Required to compile `libqorepqc` and `libqoresvm` |
| **Make** | 3.81+ | Build automation |
| **Git** | 2.x | Source checkout |
Verify your environment:
```bash
go version # go1.26.x or later
rustc --version # stable toolchain
cargo --version
echo $CGO_ENABLED # must be 1
```
{% hint style="danger" %}
Every `go build`, `go test`, and `go run` invocation **must** have `CGO_ENABLED=1` set. The PQC and SVM modules use FFI bridges that require cgo.
{% endhint %}
## Native Libraries
QoreChain depends on two Rust-built native libraries that are loaded at runtime.
### libqorepqc (Post-Quantum Cryptography)
The PQC library provides ML-DSA-87 (Dilithium-5) key generation, signing, and verification through a C-compatible FFI interface.
```bash
cd rust/qorepqc
cargo build --release
```
The compiled library is placed in `lib/{os}_{arch}/`:
| Platform | Library File | Directory |
| ----------- | ------------------ | ------------------- |
| macOS arm64 | `libqorepqc.dylib` | `lib/darwin_arm64/` |
| Linux amd64 | `libqorepqc.so` | `lib/linux_amd64/` |
| Linux arm64 | `libqorepqc.so` | `lib/linux_arm64/` |
### libqoresvm (SVM Runtime)
The SVM library provides the BPF program execution environment for the x/svm module.
```bash
cd rust/qoresvm
cargo build --release
```
Output follows the same `lib/{os}_{arch}/` convention as above (`libqoresvm.dylib` on macOS, `libqoresvm.so` on Linux).
### Setting the Library Path
The native libraries must be discoverable at runtime. Set the appropriate environment variable for your platform:
**macOS:**
```bash
export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=$(pwd)/lib/darwin_arm64:$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH
```
**Linux:**
```bash
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$(pwd)/lib/linux_amd64:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
```
{% hint style="info" %}
Tip: Add the export to your shell profile (`~/.bashrc`, `~/.zshrc`) so it persists across sessions.
{% endhint %}
## Open-Core Architecture
QoreChain follows an **open-core** model:
* **Community build** -- Contains the full module interfaces, CLI commands, protobuf definitions, and message types for every QoreChain module (x/pqc, x/ai, x/reputation, x/qca, x/svm, x/crossvm, etc.). Keepers for proprietary modules use **stub implementations** that return safe defaults or no-op responses. This allows third-party tooling, wallets, and indexers to integrate with all QoreChain APIs without requiring proprietary code.
* **Full (proprietary) build** -- Enables the complete keeper implementations behind the `proprietary` build tag. This includes the real AI anomaly detection logic, reinforcement-learning consensus parameter tuning, advanced reputation scoring, and all production-grade features.
Both builds produce the same `qorechaind` binary name and expose identical CLI commands and gRPC/REST endpoints. The difference is in the runtime behavior of the keeper logic behind those interfaces.
## Community Build
```bash
CGO_ENABLED=1 go build -o qorechaind ./cmd/qorechaind/
```
This compiles all public module interfaces with stub keepers for proprietary features. The resulting binary is fully functional for:
* Running a validator node
* Submitting and querying transactions
* Interacting with EVM, CosmWasm, and SVM VMs
* Building third-party integrations and tooling
* Local development and testing
## Full Build (Proprietary)
```bash
CGO_ENABLED=1 go build -tags proprietary -o qorechaind ./cmd/qorechaind/
```
The `-tags proprietary` flag activates the full keeper implementations. This build requires access to the `qorechain-proprietary` repository.
## Running Tests
```bash
CGO_ENABLED=1 go test ./... -count=1
```
The `-count=1` flag disables test caching, ensuring a clean run every time. Individual package tests can be run with:
```bash
CGO_ENABLED=1 go test ./x/pqc/... -count=1 -v
CGO_ENABLED=1 go test ./x/ai/... -count=1 -v
CGO_ENABLED=1 go test ./x/svm/... -count=1 -v
```
Run the Rust library tests separately:
```bash
cd rust/qorepqc && cargo test
cd rust/qoresvm && cargo test
```
## Build Verification
After a successful build, verify the binary:
```bash
./qorechaind version
./qorechaind init test-node --chain-id qorechain-diana
```
The `init` command should create a genesis file and node configuration in `~/.qorechaind/` without errors.
## Docker Build
For containerized builds, a Dockerfile is provided at the repository root:
```bash
docker build -t qorechaind:latest .
```
The Docker image handles all native library compilation and path configuration automatically. See the [Quickstart](file:///5662896/getting-started/quickstart.md) guide for running a node with Docker Compose.
## Troubleshooting
cgo: C compiler not found
Install Xcode CLI tools (macOS) or `build-essential` (Linux)
cannot find -lqorepqc
Build the Rust libraries first and set `LD_LIBRARY_PATH` / `DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH`
undefined: sonic.*
Ensure `go.sum` is up to date: `go mod tidy`
signal: killed during build
Increase available memory (common in Docker with low limits)
PQC tests fail with size mismatch
Verify you are using `pqcrypto v0.5.0+` (ML-DSA-87: pubkey=2592, privkey=4896, sig=4627 bytes)
---
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