Mist Browser

The Mist browser is the tool of choice to browse and use Ðapps.

For the Mist API see the MISTAPI.md.

Installation

If you want install the app from a pre-built version on the release page, you can simply run the executeable after download.

For updating simply download the new version and copy it over the old one (keep a backup of the old one if you want to be sure).

Config folder

The data folder for Mist is stored in other places:

• Windows %APPDATA%\Mist
• macOS ~/Library/Application Support/Mist
• Linux ~/.config/Mist

Development

For development, a Meteor server will to be started to assist with live reload and CSS injection. Once a Mist version is released the Meteor frontend part is bundled using meteor-build-client npm package to create pure static files.

Dependencies

To run mist in development you need:

• Node.js v6.x (use the prefered installation method for your OS)
• Meteor javascript app framework
• Yarn package manager
• Electron v1.3.13 cross platform desktop app framework
• Gulp build and automation system

Install the later ones via:

$ curl https://install.meteor.com/ | sh
$ curl -o- -L https://yarnpkg.com/install.sh | bash
$ yarn global add [email protected]
$ yarn global add gulp

Initialisation

Now you're ready to initialise Mist for development:

$ git clone https://github.com/ethereum/mist.git
$ cd mist
$ yarn

To update Mist in the future, run:

$ cd mist
$ git pull
$ yarn

Run Mist

For development we start the interface with a Meteor server for autoreload etc. Start the interface in a separate terminal window:

$ cd mist/interface && meteor --no-release-check

In the original window you can then start Mist with:

$ cd mist
$ electron .

NOTE: client-binaries (e.g. geth) specified in clientBinaries.json will be checked during every startup and downloaded if out-of-date, binaries are stored in the config folder

NOTE: use --help to display available options, e.g. --loglevel debug (or trace) for verbose output

Run the Wallet

Start the wallet app for development, in a separate terminal window:

$ cd mist/interface && meteor --no-release-check

// and in another terminal

$ cd my/path/meteor-dapp-wallet/app && meteor --port 3050

In the original window you can then start Mist using wallet mode:

$ cd mist
$ electron . --mode wallet

Connecting to node via HTTP instead of IPC

This is useful if you have a node running on another machine, though note that it's less secure than using the default IPC method.

$ electron . --rpc http://localhost:8545

Passing options to Geth

You can pass command-line options directly to Geth by prefixing them with --node- in the command-line invocation:

$ electron . --mode mist --node-rpcport 19343 --node-networkid 2

The --rpc Mist option is a special case. If you set this to an IPC socket file path then the --ipcpath option automatically gets set, i.e.:

$ electron . --rpc /my/geth.ipc

...is the same as doing...

$ electron . --rpc /my/geth.ipc --node-ipcpath /my/geth.ipc

Using Mist with a privatenet

To run a private network you will need to set the IPC path, network id and data folder:

$ electron . --rpc ~/Library/Ethereum/geth.ipc --node-networkid 1234  --node-datadir ~/Library/Ethereum/privatenet

NOTE: since ipcpath is also a Mist option you do not need to also include a --node-ipcpath option.

You can also launch geth separately with the same options prior starting Mist.

Deployment

Our build system relies on gulp and electron-builder.

Dependencies

meteor-build-client bundles the meteor-based interface. Install it via:

$ npm install -g meteor-build-client

Furthermore cross-platform builds require additional electron-builder dependencies. On macOS those are:

// windows deps
$ brew install wine --without-x11 mono makensis

// linux deps
$ brew install gnu-tar libicns graphicsmagick xz

Generate packages

To generate the binaries for Mist run:

$ gulp

To generate the Ethereum Wallet (this will pack the one Ðapp from https://github.com/ethereum/meteor-dapp-wallet):

$ gulp --wallet

The generated binaries will be under dist_mist/release or dist_wallet/release.

Options

platform

To build binaries for specific platforms (default: all available) use the following flags:

// on mac
$ gulp --win --linux --mac

// on linux
$ gulp --win --linux

// on win
$ gulp --win

walletSource

With the walletSource you can specify the Wallet branch to use, default is master:

$ gulp --wallet --walletSource develop

Options are:

• master
• develop
• local Will try to build the wallet from [mist/]../meteor-dapp-wallet/app

Note: applicable only when combined with --wallet

Checksums

Spits out the MD5 checksums of distributables.

It expects installer/zip files to be in the generated folders e.g. dist_mist/release

$ gulp checksums [--wallet]

Testing

First make sure to build Mist with:

$ gulp [--wallet]

Then run the tests:

$ gulp test [--wallet]

Note: Integration tests are not yet supported on Windows.