This guide covers the advanced configuration options available in Argus. For basic setup, see the Quick Start Guide.

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Configuration File Structure

Argus configuration is managed through the standard .NET appsettings.json file. The main sections relevant to Argus are:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    // Database connection settings
  },
  "CardanoNodeConnection": {
    // Cardano node connection settings
  },
  "Sync": {
    // Synchronization and dashboard settings
  }
}

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Database Connection

Configure your database connection in the ConnectionStrings section:

"ConnectionStrings": {
  "CardanoContext": "Host=localhost;Database=argus;Username=postgres;Password=password;Port=5432",
  "CardanoContextSchema": "cardanoindexer"
}

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Connection String Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
Host	PostgreSQL server hostname or IP	Required
Database	Database name	Required
Username	Database user	Required
Password	User password	Required
Port	PostgreSQL server port	5432
CardanoContextSchema	Database schema	"public"

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Node Connection

Configure your connection to the Cardano blockchain in the CardanoNodeConnection section:

"CardanoNodeConnection": {
  "ConnectionType": "UnixSocket",
  "UnixSocket": {
    "Path": "/path/to/node.socket"
  },
  "NetworkMagic": 764824073,  // Mainnet
  "MaxRollbackSlots": 1000,    // Rollback protection
  "RollbackBuffer": 10,        // Extra safety buffer
  "Slot": 139522569,           // Starting slot
  "Hash": "3fd9925888302fca267c580d8fe6ebc923380d0b984523a1dfbefe88ef089b66"  // 🏁 Starting block
}

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Connection Types

Argus supports three connection types:

1. gRPC Provider (U5CProvider)

Remote connection using UtxoRPC:

"ConnectionType": "gRPC",
"gRPC": {
  "Endpoint": "https://cardano-preview.utxorpc-m1.demeter.run",
  "ApiKey": "your_api_key"
}

2. Unix Socket Provider (N2CProvider)

Direct connection to a local Cardano node:

"ConnectionType": "UnixSocket",
"UnixSocket": {
  "Path": "/path/to/node.socket"
}

3. TCP Provider (N2NProvider)

Network connection to a remote Cardano node:

"ConnectionType": "TCP",
"TCP": {
  "Host": "192.168.1.100",
  "Port": 8090
}

Network Magic Values

Set the NetworkMagic parameter according to your target Cardano network:

Network	Magic Value	Use Case
Mainnet	764824073	Production applications
Preview Testnet	2	Testing and development
PreProd Testnet	1	Pre-production testing

Rollback Settings

"MaxRollbackSlots": 1000,  // Maximum number of slots to rollback (hard limit)
"RollbackBuffer": 10,      // Number of recent intersections to maintain

The MaxRollbackSlots parameter sets the limit for how far back your chain can potentially roll back during a chain reorganization. This is a security feature that prevents your application from having to process extremely deep chain reorganizations.

The RollbackBuffer parameter specifies how many recent intersection points (block hash and slot pairs) Argus should maintain. This is critical for the ChainSync protocol to resume synchronization correctly. If you set this too low and the node cannot find any of your saved intersection points in its history, Argus would have to resynchronize from genesis.

Starting Point

You can specify a starting point for synchronization:

"Slot": 139522569,                                                        // Starting slot
"Hash": "3fd9925888302fca267c580d8fe6ebc923380d0b984523a1dfbefe88ef089b66"  // Block hash at that slot

If omitted, Argus will start synchronization from the genesis block, which will process the entire blockchain history.

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Synchronization Settings

Configure synchronization behavior in the Sync section:

"Sync": {
  "Dashboard": {
    "TuiMode": true,             // Terminal-based UI
    "RefreshInterval": 5000,     // Update frequency
    "DisplayType": "sync"        // Dashboard style
  }
}

Dashboard Settings

Setting	Description	Default
TuiMode	Enable terminal-based dashboard	true
RefreshInterval	Dashboard refresh interval (ms)	5000
DisplayType	Dashboard display type ("sync" or "detail")	"sync"

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Complete Configuration Example

Here's a complete configuration example with all available options:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    // Database settings
    "CardanoContext": "Host=localhost;Database=argus;Username=postgres;Password=password;Port=5432",
    "CardanoContextSchema": "cardanoindexer"
  },
  "CardanoNodeConnection": {
    // Blockchain connection
    "ConnectionType": "UnixSocket",
    "UnixSocket": {
      "Path": "/path/to/node.socket"
    },
    "NetworkMagic": 764824073,
    "MaxRollbackSlots": 1000,
    "RollbackBuffer": 10,
    "Slot": 139522569,
    "Hash": "3fd9925888302fca267c580d8fe6ebc923380d0b984523a1dfbefe88ef089b66"
  },
  "Sync": {
    // Synchronization settings
    "Dashboard": {
      "TuiMode": true,
      "RefreshInterval": 5000,
      "DisplayType": "sync"
    }
  }
}