● Start · What you need
Requirements
what you need before you start.
A computer with Node.js for building, and later a place to host the site. Everything else is optional.
01Software
| What | Version | Needed for |
|---|---|---|
| Node.js with npm | 20.19 or newer (package.json → engines) | Required Installing, building, and running the operator server. |
| A terminal | — | Required Terminal on macOS, PowerShell or WSL on Windows, any shell on Linux. |
| OpenSSL (or any random generator) | — | Required for the operator server To make ADMIN_SECRET_KEY (openssl rand -hex 32). |
| A C/C++ build toolchain | — | Only if needed better-sqlite3 downloads a prebuilt binary for common platforms; on others npm compiles it and needs a toolchain. |
| An EVM browser wallet | — | Optional Only to trade or to test the wallet flows. Browsing needs no wallet. |
Tested for this release on macOS with Node.js 22.22.2 and npm 10.9.7. Linux and Windows were not tested for this release (unverified).
02Hosting
| Mode | You need |
|---|---|
| Operator server (recommended) | A server or container that runs a long-lived Node process, a persistent disk for server/data/, and a TLS reverse proxy (for example Caddy or nginx) with your domain. |
| Static only | Any static host that can send unknown paths to index.html (Vercel, Netlify, nginx and similar). |
03Services and accounts
| Service | Status | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Robinhood Chain RPC provider | Strongly recommended | The default public RPC works without a key but is rate-limited per IP (RPC). Bring your own provider for real traffic. |
| WalletConnect / Reown project ID | Optional | Only if you want WalletConnect. The package is not bundled for licence reasons (how). |
| A wallet you control on Robinhood Chain | Only to earn | Receives your interface fee. Never paste its private key anywhere in PARACHUTE: only its public address. |
No database server, no indexer and no paid API is needed. The operator server stores its data in a local SQLite file.
04Skills
You should be comfortable running commands in a terminal and editing a text file. Hosting the operator server needs basic server administration: a reverse proxy, a process manager, backups. If you only want a site you rarely change, the static mode needs no server skills.