Every Snapchain node now reads AND writes — your casts, follows and reactions go through your own node and gossip to validators. "Read node" is just the historical name. Nothing custodial — the script runs where you can read it.
Free first, then cheapest. Every path ends the same: a 4 vCPU / 16 GB box with a 2 TB disk, Docker preinstalled, and an IP to paste below.
Any Mac/Linux box — the CLI installs Docker, Node and pnpm itself. The node runs right here — no account, no bill, no keys to anyone:
curl -fsSL https://fiddy.fun/client/install.sh | FIDDY_INSTALL_NODE=1 bash
Bootstrap still downloads ~470 GB (overnight on home broadband). A sleeping laptop pauses the node — it catches up when it wakes. Perfect for trying everything; move to a server later if you want it always-on.
CloudShell opens pre-authenticated in your account. One line inside:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ivcained/fiddy/main/scripts/aws-deploy.sh | bash
New AWS account? CloudShell stays locked during account
verification (can take up to 2 days) — no retry helps. Same command works from your own terminal meanwhile:
install the AWS CLI,
run aws configure once, then paste the same line.
Why AWS is the default: Hetzner caps new accounts at 1024 GB of volume
storage — a resize past that is refused with resource_limit_exceeded,
which is not enough for an unmodified node restore. A brand-new Hetzner account cannot follow this tutorial
to the end. AWS lets the root volume simply be 2 TB, so the default is AWS.
Get an API token at console.hetzner.cloud (project → Security → API tokens), then:
export HCLOUD_TOKEN=…
git clone https://github.com/ivcained/fiddy && cd fiddy && bash scripts/hetzner-deploy.sh
Roughly a third of AWS's price and fully supported once your account's volume quota has been raised past 1024 GB — new accounts are capped below what the node needs (see the AWS note above).
Create API credentials at api.ovh.com/createToken (GET+POST on /cloud/*), then:
export OVH_APPLICATION_KEY=… OVH_APPLICATION_SECRET=… OVH_CONSUMER_KEY=… OVH_PUBLIC_CLOUD_PROJECT=…
git clone https://github.com/ivcained/fiddy && cd fiddy && bash scripts/ovh-deploy.sh
True one click, from right here: Cloud Shell opens pre-authenticated, the walkthrough runs itself. ~$350/mo while it runs (our own bill) — $300 free credit makes it free to start. Set a reminder to delete the VM before the credit ends.
Cheapest machines anywhere, but you order through their website (10 minutes of form-filling),
then one command does the rest: bin/fiddy provision --ssh root@<your-ip>.
Mind the disk: a mainnet node needs ~2 TB — most budget plans ship far under it.
• MivoCloud S8 — €40/mo (Moldova): add "Disk 2 · 1TB HDD" (+€5) to reach 2 TB.
• Advin Servers — $24/mo: 8 vCPU/16 GB but 256 GB disk — too small unless you upgrade storage.
• Contabo VPS 8 — €14/mo: 8 vCPU/24 GB, 300 GB — needs their storage add-on to fit 2 TB.
• LuxVPS EPYC: 6 vCPU/32 GB, 340 GB — too small as listed.
HDD is fine — bootstrap is just slower. fiddy provision --ssh measures the disk and refuses loudly if a box can't hold the node.
Already have a server? Skip ahead — any Ubuntu box with 4 vCPU / 16 GB / 2 TB works. Hetzner & OVH paths are scripted against their API docs, not yet battle-tested; they fail loudly if anything drifts.
Don't want to drive the terminal yourself? Tap your agent — it copies a complete, self-contained setup prompt and opens the agent. Paste, send, follow along.
The script prints it. Paste it here — the rest of the commands build themselves.
curl -fsSL https://fiddy.fun/client/install.sh | bash fiddy provision --ssh ubuntu@… fiddy node up
The node downloads ~470 GB of snapshot chunks before its API answers —
overnight on the default HDD is normal. This polls your node directly; nothing goes through us.
Some browsers block the poll from an HTTPS page — the reliable check is
bin/fiddy node status from your terminal.
Managed by Fiddy, $320/mo. Pay from your Farcaster wallet and your machine is created on our cloud immediately — no waiting for us to wake up. You get an HTTPS endpoint for your node and a terminal into it; the terminal holds no keys, and your node holds none either: casts are always signed on your device.
Runs inside a Farcaster client (Warpcast etc.) with your wallet. On the open web the button tells you how to pay instead. The machine appears in minutes; the node answers once it has caught up with chain history (~470 GB — hours, not minutes). Money honesty: the machine costs us about $285/mo at list; the balance is the babysitting. Cancel anytime — a lapsed subscription gets 7 days' grace before the machine goes back.