Becoming A Validator

How to validate on the Canto Mainnet

(canto_7700-1)

Genesis file Published Peers list Published

Hardware Requirements

Minimum:

• 16 GB RAM
• 100 GB NVME SSD
• 3.2 GHz x4 CPU

Recommended:

• 32 GB RAM
• 500 GB NVME SSD
• 4.2 GHz x6 CPU

Operating System:

• Linux (x86_64) or Linux (amd64)
• Recommended Ubuntu or Arch Linux

Install dependencies

If using Ubuntu:

Install all dependencies:

sudo snap install go --classic && sudo apt-get install git && sudo apt-get install gcc && sudo apt-get install make

Or install individually:

• go1.18+: sudo snap install go --classic
• git: sudo apt-get install git
• gcc: sudo apt-get install gcc
• make: sudo apt-get install make

If using Arch Linux:

• go1.18+: pacman -S go
• git: pacman -S git
• gcc: pacman -S gcc
• make: pacman -S make

Install cantod

Clone git repository

git clone https://github.com/Canto-Network/Canto.git
cd Canto/cmd/cantod
go install -tags ledger ./...
sudo mv $HOME/go/bin/cantod /usr/bin/

Generate and store keys

Replace <keyname> below with whatever you'd like to name your key.

• cantod keys add <key_name>
• cantod keys add <key_name> --recover to regenerate keys with your mnemonic
• cantod keys add <key_name> --ledger to generate keys with ledger device

Store a backup of your keys and mnemonic securely offline.

Then save the generated public key config in the main Canto directory as <key_name>.info. It should look like this:

pubkey: {
  "@type":" ethermint.crypto.v1.ethsecp256k1.PubKey",
  "key":"############################################"
}

You'll use this file later when creating your validator txn.

Set up validator

Install cantod binary from Canto directory:

sudo make install

Initialize the node. Replace <moniker> with whatever you'd like to name your validator.

cantod init <moniker> --chain-id canto_7700-1

If this runs successfully, it should dump a blob of JSON to the terminal.

Download the Genesis file:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Canto-Network/Canto/genesis/Networks/Mainnet/genesis.json -P $HOME/.cantod/config/

_Note: If you later get Error: couldn't read GenesisDoc file: open /root/.cantod/config/genesis.json: no such file or directory put the genesis.json file wherever it wants instead, such as:

sudo wget https://github.com/Canto-Network/Canto/raw/main/Mainnet/genesis.json -P/root/.cantod/config/

Edit the minimum-gas-prices in ${HOME}/.cantod/config/app.toml:

sed -i 's/minimum-gas-prices = "0acanto"/minimum-gas-prices = "0.0001acanto"/g' $HOME/.cantod/config/app.toml

Add persistent peers to $HOME/.cantod/config/config.toml: sed -i 's/persistent_peers = ""/persistent_peers = "ec770ae4fd0fb4871b9a7c09f61764a0b010b293@164.90.134.106:26656"/g' $HOME/.cantod/config/config.toml

Set cantod to run automatically

• Start cantod by creating a systemd service to run the node in the background:
• Edit the file: sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/cantod.service
• Then copy and paste the following text into your service file. Be sure to edit as you see fit.

[Unit]
Description=Canto Node
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=root
WorkingDirectory=/root/
ExecStart=/root/go/bin/cantod start --trace --log_level info --json-rpc.api eth,txpool,net,debug,web3 --api.enable
Restart=on-failure
StartLimitInterval=0
RestartSec=3
LimitNOFILE=65535
LimitMEMLOCK=209715200

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Start the node

Reload the service files:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Create the symlinlk:

sudo systemctl enable cantod.service

Start the node:

sudo systemctl start cantod && journalctl -u cantod -f

You should then get several lines of log files and then see: No addresses to dial. Falling back to seeds module=pex server=node

This is an indicator things thus far are working and now you need to create your validator txn. ^c out and follow the next steps.

Create Validator Transaction

Modify the following items below, removing the <>

• <KEY_NAME> should be the same as <key_name> when you followed the steps above in creating or restoring your key.
• <VALIDATOR_NAME> is whatever you'd like to name your node
• <DESCRIPTION> is whatever you'd like in the description field for your node
• <SECURITY_CONTACT_EMAIL> is the email you want to use in the event of a security incident
• <YOUR_WEBSITE> the website you want associated with your node
• <TOKEN_DELEGATION> is the amount of tokens staked by your node (1acanto should work here, but you'll also need to make sure your address contains tokens.)

cantod tx staking create-validator \
--from <KEY_NAME> \
--chain-id canto_7700-1 \
--moniker="<VALIDATOR_NAME>" \
--commission-max-change-rate=0.01 \
--commission-max-rate=1.0 \
--commission-rate=0.05 \
--details="<DESCRIPTION>" \
--security-contact="<SECURITY_CONTACT_EMAIL>" \
--website="<YOUR_WEBSITE>" \
--pubkey $(cantod tendermint show-validator) \
--min-self-delegation="1" \
--amount <TOKEN_DELEGATION>acanto \
--fees 20acanto