04 · Step zero Live
Everything at this booth runs on a Bee node. Start yours in five minutes.
The demo
From a clean laptop, start a node with Nook (or run /swarm and let it set up Bee), then make a first upload and open it through your own node.
What it is
A Bee node is how you read from and write to Swarm without a gateway. There are three ways in:
- Nook or Swarm Desktop, if you want an app.
- The /swarm skills, for a guided start inside Claude Code.
- The install script, if you live in a terminal.
A new node starts ultra-light and can only read. With a little xDAI in its wallet, it becomes a light node that can upload.
Behind the scenes
How it works
- Install: Nook and Swarm Desktop bundle Bee in a desktop app, /swarm walks you through it, and the install script does it in one line.
- Start: a new node runs ultra-light. It can read but not upload yet.
- Fund: a little xDAI makes it a light node, and a postage stamp pays for storage (Nook calls it a "drive").
- Upload: add a file or folder, get its Swarm hash, and open it through your own node.
- Keep it alive: stamps and drives have a time to live; extend them before they run out.
Get started
- Nook
A desktop app with its own Bee node. Drives you can extend, encrypted sharing with contacts, messaging, and website publishing with ENS. macOS, Linux and Windows. - Bee install script
- swarm-cli
- /swarm skills: guided setup to a first upload inside Claude Code.
Where your node shows up in the other spaces
- Streaming: watch from your own node instead of the gateway.
- Site with no server: publish and update a site from your own node.
- Agent memory: Swarm MCP talks to a Bee node.
- Livecoding: a light node is the fully native way into the soundbank.
Ask the crew for a gift code if you want to keep testing.
At Devcon
Questions? Ask in the Telegram group.