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Geth (go-ethereum) is the most widely used Ethereum execution layer client. Written in Go, it is the entry point into the Ethereum network — capable of running as a full node, archive node, or in developer mode for local testing. Geth exposes a JSON-RPC API over HTTP, WebSocket, and IPC, and ships a rich Go library for building Ethereum applications programmatically.

Installation

Install Geth on Linux, macOS, or Windows using package managers, pre-built binaries, or from source.

Quickstart

Spin up a node and connect to the Ethereum mainnet or a testnet in minutes.

JSON-RPC API

Interact with your node over HTTP, WebSocket, or IPC using the standard Ethereum JSON-RPC API.

Go Library

Use the go-ethereum Go packages to build Ethereum-native applications, query the chain, and send transactions.

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Key capabilities

Sync modes

Choose between snap sync, full sync, and archive mode depending on your use case.

Configuration

Configure Geth with command-line flags or a TOML config file.

Accounts & Clef

Manage keys securely with the built-in keystore or the standalone Clef signing tool.

Developer tools

Use dev mode, abigen, and the EVM tool to build and test smart contracts locally.

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Getting started

1

Install Geth

Download a pre-built binary or build from source. See Installation for all options.
# macOS via Homebrew
brew tap ethereum/ethereum
brew install ethereum

# Ubuntu/Debian via PPA
sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:ethereum/ethereum
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ethereum
2

Start your node

Connect to the Ethereum mainnet with snap sync (the default):
geth
Or connect to the Holesky testnet:
geth --holesky
3

Attach a console

Once the node is running, attach the interactive JavaScript console:
geth attach
Then query the network:
eth.blockNumber
eth.getBalance("0xYourAddress")
4

Enable JSON-RPC

Expose the HTTP JSON-RPC API for programmatic access:
geth --http --http.api eth,net,web3
Then call the API:
curl http://localhost:8545 \
  -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_blockNumber","params":[],"id":1}'
Geth is the execution layer client only. Since The Merge, Geth must be paired with a consensus layer client (such as Prysm, Lighthouse, or Teku) to participate in block validation on mainnet.

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