# Codex Decentralized Durability Engine > The Codex project aims to create a decentralized durability engine that allows persisting data in p2p networks. In other words, it allows storing files and data with predictable durability guarantees for later retrieval. > WARNING: This project is under active development and is considered pre-alpha. [![License: Apache](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-Apache%202.0-blue.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/Apache-2.0) [![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-blue.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT) [![Stability: experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/stability-experimental-orange.svg)](#stability) [![CI](https://github.com/status-im/nim-codex/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg?branch=main)](https://github.com/status-im/nim-codex/actions?query=workflow%3ACI+branch%3Amain) [![Codecov](https://codecov.io/gh/status-im/nim-codex/branch/main/graph/badge.svg?token=XFmCyPSNzW)](https://codecov.io/gh/status-im/nim-codex) [![Discord](https://img.shields.io/discord/895609329053474826)](https://discord.gg/CaJTh24ddQ) ## Build and Run For detailed instructions on preparing to build nim-codex see [*Building Codex*](BUILDING.md). To build the project, clone it and run: ```bash make update && make ``` The executable will be placed under the `build` directory under the project root. Run the client with: ```bash build/codex ``` ### CLI Options ``` build/codex --help Usage: codex [OPTIONS]... command The following options are available: --log-level Sets the log level [=INFO]. --metrics Enable the metrics server [=false]. --metrics-address Listening address of the metrics server [=127.0.0.1]. --metrics-port Listening HTTP port of the metrics server [=8008]. -d, --data-dir The directory where codex will store configuration and data.. -i, --listen-addrs Multi Addresses to listen on [=/ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/0]. -a, --nat IP Addresses to announce behind a NAT [=127.0.0.1]. -e, --disc-ip Discovery listen address [=0.0.0.0]. -u, --disc-port Discovery (UDP) port [=8090]. --net-privkey Source of network (secp256k1) private key file path or name [=key]. -b, --bootstrap-node Specifies one or more bootstrap nodes to use when connecting to the network.. --max-peers The maximum number of peers to connect to [=160]. --agent-string Node agent string which is used as identifier in network [=Codex]. -p, --api-port The REST Api port [=8080]. --repo-kind backend for main repo store (fs, sqlite) [=fs]. -q, --storage-quota The size of the total storage quota dedicated to the node [=8589934592]. -t, --block-ttl Default block timeout in seconds - 0 disables the ttl [=86400]. -c, --cache-size The size in MiB of the block cache, 0 disables the cache - might help on slow hardrives [=0]. --persistence Enables persistence mechanism, requires an Ethereum node [=false]. --eth-provider The URL of the JSON-RPC API of the Ethereum node [=ws://localhost:8545]. --eth-account The Ethereum account that is used for storage contracts [=EthAddress.none]. --eth-deployment The json file describing the contract deployment [=string.none]. Available sub-commands: codex initNode ``` ### Example: running two Codex clients To get acquainted with Codex, consider running the manual two-client test described [HERE](docs/TWOCLIENTTEST.md). ## API The client exposes a REST API that can be used to interact with the clients. Overview of the API can be found on [api.codex.storage](https://api.codex.storage).