Go Ethereum (Geth)

Go Ethereum, known as Geth, is the most widely used execution-layer client for the Ethereum protocol, written in Go. Running it makes a machine a full Ethereum node: it syncs the blockchain, validates transactions, and lets you query and interact with the network through a console or JSON-RPC instead of a hosted service.

Geth exposes both standard and geth-specific APIs over HTTP, WebSockets, and IPC. It runs in snap-sync mode by default, can be configured with TOML files, and supports private networks, a simulated backend, Dev Mode, and Kurtosis-based test networks.

Binaries are published for stable releases and the unstable master branch. The library code is licensed under LGPLv3, while the command-line binaries are licensed under GPLv3.