Firo ElectrumX Docker

A Docker Compose setup for running a Firo full node (firod) alongside an ElectrumX server.

Designed for Ubuntu 22.04+ / Debian-based systems.

Recommended Server Specs

• 2 Core CPU
• 8GB+ RAM
• 40GB free disk space (Firo chain + ElectrumX db)

Setup

1. Generate RPC credentials

python3 rpcauth.py firoelectrumx

2. Configure environment

cp .env.example .env

Fill in the values from the rpcauth.py output.

This image sets PEER_DISCOVERY=off and PEER_ANNOUNCE= (empty) so the server runs privately by default and won't announce itself to the network. Note that ElectrumX itself does not default to private — if undefined, PEER_ANNOUNCE defaults to enabled, since it isn't a true/false flag but an empty-vs-non-empty check (an empty value disables announcing; any other value, including no or false, enables it). Separately, announcing only ever happens as part of peer discovery, so PEER_DISCOVERY=off (or self) makes PEER_ANNOUNCE moot regardless of its value. If you want your server publicly discoverable, set REPORT_HOST to your public domain/IP, and set both PEER_DISCOVERY=on and PEER_ANNOUNCE=true.

REPORT_SERVICES=ssl://${REPORT_HOST}:50002 tells peers to connect to you over SSL on port 50002 (the Nginx-terminated port), even though ElectrumX itself only ever serves plaintext on 50001 internally. This only matters when announcing is enabled — if you're running privately it's unused.

3. Start

docker compose up -d

Notes

• ALLOW_ROOT=true is set in the ElectrumX container to avoid permission issues.
• Adjust cpus and memory limits in compose.yml to suit your hardware.

Ports

Port	Service	Description
8168	firod	P2P network
8888	firod	RPC
50001	electrumx	Electrum TCP
50002	electrumx	Electrum SSL

• 8168 is safe and encouraged to open publicly for peering
• 8888 should remain firewalled — never expose RPC publicly
• 50001 is plaintext — it is recommended to front it with Nginx on port 50002 with SSL

Production: SSL with Nginx

For public-facing deployments it is recommended to use Nginx as a reverse proxy for SSL termination. ElectrumX runs plain TCP internally on port 50001 and Nginx handles SSL on port 50002.

1. Install Nginx and Certbot

apt install nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx libnginx-mod-stream -y

2. Obtain a certificate

certbot --nginx -d your.domain

3. Configure Nginx stream

Outside of the http block, add this to the bottom of /etc/nginx/nginx.conf:

stream {
    upstream electrumx {
        server 127.0.0.1:50001;
    }
    server {
        listen 50002 ssl;
        proxy_pass electrumx;
        ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/your.domain/fullchain.pem;
        ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/your.domain/privkey.pem;
        ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
    }
}

4. Reload Nginx

systemctl reload nginx

5. Open firewall ports

ufw allow 8168/tcp
ufw allow 50002/tcp

Certbot will auto-renew your certificate via a systemd timer.