How to create your own Tron-based blockchain

The setup is short. The surprises come later, with explorers and wallets.

java-tron is the main software behind Tron. Its repository describes it as a scalable blockchain OS with delegated proof of stake. In that model, a small group of block producers, called Super Representatives, make the blocks. The repository is under the LGPL-3.0 license.

Your network and Tron mainnet stay apart because of a network number you choose. If you only need a token, read coin or token before you build a chain.

A delegated model has a practical effect for a small team. You pick the block producers yourself, so you decide who is trusted. That makes it simpler than mining, which needs outside miners, and it suits a payments or business network where the operators are known.

The official private chain guide says that a minimal private chain has one block-producing node plus at least one regular full node. Here is the flow it describes:

The last step, the proposals, is how a private network gets its chain parameters set. The guide runs a script that creates a proposal, waits for it to be on chain, approves it with the block producer, and then checks the result with the wallet/getchainparameters call. It does this twice. The docs warn that parameter IDs vary by java-tron version, so query your own network before you propose anything. One of the proposals needs java-tron 4.8.1 or later.

Match the config to the program: the docs say config.conf must come from the same version as your FullNode.jar.

The starting balances are worth a careful look. Whatever you put under genesis.block.assets is your premine, and it must be identical on every node. Decide the owners and amounts before you start.

Fees and other parameters are adjusted by proposals, which block producers approve. The docs show the steps to create a proposal and check the result. A coin name or symbol is not a first-class setting here, so your coin is called TRX in tools unless you build a token on top.

The Tron docs describe TRC-20 as "a set of contract standards for issuing fungible token assets on TRON". If your community wants several tokens on your network, TRC-20 is the way to build them.

For a payments project, this shapes the plan. Your users will need a way to hold coins and to check that a payment arrived. Our web wallet covers holding. For checking, plan to share transaction details from your own tools, or consider whether a chain from another family, which comes with a ready explorer, fits better.

The java-tron README lists mainnet needs: a full node of at least 8 cores, 16 GB of RAM and 200 GB (Lite), and a Super Representative of 32 or more cores, 64 GB or more of RAM and 4 TB of storage. It also says test networks can run on lower specifications because their transaction volume is much smaller.

It gives no figure for a private chain. The official launch commands allow Java 6 GB of memory, so each node needs a machine with comfortably more RAM than that. We size servers with room to spare.

The builder prices a Tron network in the Advanced tier: $199 one-time. It starts at 2 servers, which matches the official minimum of one block producer and one full node. Wallet and faucet add-ons show their own prices before you pay.

One block producer means one point of failure. If you need your chain to keep running when a producer stops, set more producers in the builder (up to 13: Tron allows 27, and the builder keeps at least one regular node).

A good way to start is the minimum: one block producer and one full node. Run it as a test with your team, send some coins between accounts, and check that both nodes stay in step. Then add more block producers before real users arrive.

There is no fee to any outside network. The ongoing cost is only the servers we run for you.