How to Upgrade AvalancheGo to Granite

Introduction

Avalanche Granite is the latest upgrade to the Avalanche network. It includes major improvements including P-Chain epoched views for ICM, secp256r1 support for biometric authentication, and dynamic minimum block times for faster transactions.

Prerequisites

• An existing AvalancheGo node running any version prior to v1.14.0
• Basic command line knowledge
• Access to your node's terminal or SSH

Backup Your Node First

Before upgrading your node, it's crucial to backup your staker files which identify your node on the network. These files are essential for recovering your node if anything goes wrong.

Run the following commands to backup your staker files:

cd
cp ~/.avalanchego/staking/staker.crt .
cp ~/.avalanchego/staking/staker.key .

Download these staker.crt and staker.key files and store them in a secure, private location. These files can be used to fully recreate your node if needed.

Primary Network Nodes

Choose one of the following methods to upgrade your Primary Network node to Granite:

Method 1: Using the Installer Script (Recommended)

The easiest way to upgrade is using the AvalancheGo installer script.

wget -nd -m https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ava-labs/avalanche-docs/master/scripts/avalanchego-installer.sh
chmod 755 avalanchego-installer.sh

./avalanchego-installer.sh

AvalancheGo installer
---------------------
Preparing environment...
Found amd64 architecture...
Looking for amd64 version latest...
Node version found.
Attempting to download: 
   https://github.com/ava-labs/avalanchego/releases/download/v1.14.0/avalanchego-linux-amd64-v1.14.0.tar.gz

Node upgraded, starting service...
New node version:
avalanche/1.14.0 [network=mainnet, database=v1.4.0, commit=...]
Done!

Method 2: Docker

For Docker users, pull the new Granite image:

• Docker Image: avaplatform/avalanchego:v1.14.0

docker pull avaplatform/avalanchego:v1.14.0

Method 3: Pre-Built Binary

1. Go to the AvalancheGo releases page

2. Find version v1.14.0 (Granite release)

3. Download the appropriate file for your system:

   • Linux (AMD64): avalanchego-linux-amd64-v1.14.0.tar.gz
   • Linux (ARM64): avalanchego-linux-arm64-v1.14.0.tar.gz

4. Extract and run:

tar -xvf avalanchego-linux-amd64-v1.14.0.tar.gz
./avalanchego-v1.14.0-linux/avalanchego

Method 4: Build from Source

For developers who want to build from source:

# Clone the repository (skip if already cloned)
git clone https://github.com/ava-labs/avalanchego.git
cd avalanchego

# Fetch and checkout Granite release
git fetch --all --tags
git checkout --force tags/v1.14.0

# Build the binary
./scripts/build.sh

# Verify the version
./build/avalanchego --version

# Run the node
./build/avalanchego

L1s/Subnets Nodes

For nodes running L1s (formerly Subnets), you need to upgrade both AvalancheGo and the Subnet-EVM plugin:

Method 1: Docker (Easiest)

Use the Docker image that includes both AvalancheGo v1.14.0 and Subnet-EVM v0.8.0:

• Docker Image: avaplatform/subnet-evm_avalanchego:v0.8.0_v1.14.0

docker pull avaplatform/subnet-evm_avalanchego:v0.8.0_v1.14.0

Method 2: Manual Binary Update

If running AvalancheGo manually, you need to:

1. Upgrade AvalancheGo using any method from the Primary Network section above
2. Update the Subnet-EVM plugin:

# Stop your node first
sudo systemctl stop avalanchego

# Download the plugin (example for Linux AMD64)
wget https://github.com/ava-labs/subnet-evm/releases/download/v0.8.0/subnet-evm_0.8.0_linux_amd64.tar.gz
tar -xvf subnet-evm_0.8.0_linux_amd64.tar.gz

# Copy to plugins folder and rename to your VM ID
cp subnet-evm ~/.avalanchego/plugins/<YOUR_VM_ID>

# Restart your node
sudo systemctl start avalanchego

Verifying the Upgrade

After upgrading, verify you're running Granite by checking the node version.

API Health Check

Run this curl command on your node machine to get detailed version information. You can also use the API Health Check to check the node version.

curl -X POST --data '{
    "jsonrpc":"2.0",
    "id"     :1,
    "method" :"info.getNodeVersion"
}' -H 'content-type:application/json;' 127.0.0.1:9650/ext/info

You should see a response similar to:

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","result":{"version":"avalanchego/1.14.0","databaseVersion":"v1.4.5","rpcProtocolVersion":"44","gitCommit":"dce38e90b1542fafa3c2b8efa8ef864d7a370eb6","vmVersions":{"avm":"v1.14.0","evm":"v0.15.4","platform":"v1.14.0"}},"id":1}

The version field should show avalanche/1.14.0 confirming your node is running Granite.

Stay Updated

To receive notifications about future upgrades:

1. Avalanche Notify: If you have a node, subscribe to the Avalanche Notify service with your node ID
2. GitHub Notifications: Watch the AvalancheGo repository and select "Releases" under custom notifications
3. For L1s/Subnets: Also watch the Subnet-EVM repository for plugin updates

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues during the upgrade:

• Ensure you've properly backed up your staker files
• Check that your previous node version is completely stopped before upgrading
• For service-based installations, verify the service name (could be avalanchego.service or avalanche.service)
• For L1s/Subnets, ensure the Subnet-EVM plugin is updated to v0.8.0 and renamed to match your VM ID
• Join the Avalanche Discord for community support