Why
Most Farcaster apps read the network through someone else's servers, with someone else's API keys, rate limits and terms. create-fc gives you your own copy of the network instead: it rents a server in your Hetzner account, loads a full Snapchain node onto it, and installs fameboy, a client that talks to that node and nothing else. You see exactly which node calls are behind every screen, and your keys stay on your computer or in your browser.
- Your node, your account. The server, the volume and the bill are yours. Delete them with one command when you're done.
- No API keys. fameboy reads from and writes to your node directly.
- Fast setup. A streamed snapshot load peaks at 556 GB on disk instead of ~1.5 TB, and the node is readable in about 2 hours.
- Keys stay with you. Sign in by approving in the Farcaster app; your seed phrase never has to leave your phone.
- Share it. Host fameboy on your node so friends can use Farcaster in a browser, with no install.
- Agent friendly. AGENTS.md lets an AI agent run the setup for you, with guardrails around money and secrets.
Contents
Requirements
| You need | Why | Get it |
|---|
| A Hetzner Cloud project and an API token with Read & Write access | The node runs on a server in your account | New accounts may need ID verification first |
The hcloud CLI, logged in | Command 0 uses it to create the server | brew install hcloud, then hcloud context create fc-node and paste the token |
| An SSH key | To reach the server | ssh-keygen -t ed25519 if ~/.ssh/ has none |
| Node.js 22.18+ and git | fameboy runs TypeScript directly | nodejs.org |
| About $0.16/hour | A cx43 server with a 1000 GB volume, about $105/month, billed until you delete it | See docs/Costs.md |
Quickstart
0. Create a server. Takes about 30 seconds.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eucalyptus-viminalis/create-fc/main/provision/hetzner.sh | bash
It ends with a line like this. Note the IP:
Server fc-node is up at 203.0.113.7 (cx43, 1000 GB volume, fsn1).
Hetzner sometimes sells out of cx43. The script then tries other locations, then cpx41 (~$0.20/hour), and tells you which it got.
1. Set up the read node on it, about a minute after the server boots. Use the IP from command 0:
ssh root@<ip> 'curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eucalyptus-viminalis/create-fc/main/node/setup.sh | bash'
This returns in seconds and keeps working in the background: about 2 hours to load the snapshot, then about 4½ more to catch up (6 h 20 min in total on our last run). Check on it any time:
ssh root@<ip> fc-node status
While catching up it says how far behind it is and how long to go. When it's done:
shard 0: 1s behind
shard 1: 1s behind
shard 2: 0s behind
in sync. Run command 2 on your own computer.
2. Install the client on your computer, pointed at your node. This already works while the node is catching up; only the newest casts are missing until it's in sync.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eucalyptus-viminalis/create-fc/main/client/install.sh | bash -s -- http://<ip>:3381
Then open it:
fameboy ui
It opens in your browser on a sign-in page. See Signing in.
[!WARNING]
There is no npm package. npm create fc and npx create-fc run an unrelated package that someone else published in 2022. Use the commands above.
Try it without a node
Open demo.createfc.org: @fameboyclear, the copy we host. Sign in by approving in the Farcaster app, or with your seed phrase; nothing to install.
The demo runs on a small server with no node of its own. It reads from and posts through Hypersnap's public node, which follows the same network as Farcaster's own (ADR 007).
Or install fameboy on your computer, pointed at our server, then run fameboy ui:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eucalyptus-viminalis/create-fc/main/client/install.sh | bash -s -- http://91.99.76.223:3381
You can also point it straight at a public node, with no server of ours in between:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eucalyptus-viminalis/create-fc/main/client/install.sh | bash -s -- https://haatz.quilibrium.com
A public node has no companion, so sign in with your seed phrase or your own app account (fameboy app-account). Image uploads and who's online need a companion, so they're off. Whoever runs a public node can see which accounts you look up.
Let your AI agent do it
Paste this into an agent that can run commands on your computer (Claude Code, Codex and the like). It follows AGENTS.md:
Set up my own Farcaster read node and client with create-fc. Read https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eucalyptus-viminalis/create-fc/main/AGENTS.md and follow it step by step. Check with me before spending money or deleting anything. Never ask me for a seed phrase, private key or API token: when a step needs one, tell me the command to run in my own terminal.
Two steps stay with you: creating the Hetzner API token, and signing in if you want to post. Neither secret should go into a chat.
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