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Install pre-requisites

# update the local package list and install any available upgrades
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# install toolchain and ensure accurate time synchronization
sudo apt-get install make build-essential gcc git jq chrony -y

Install Go

Follow the instructions here to install Go.

For an Ubuntu LTS, we can use:

# find location of existing GO (if any)
which go
go version

# remove old GO if existing
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go

# install updated GO
wget https://golang.org/dl/go1.19.3.linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.19.3.linux-amd64.tar.gz
rm -rf go1.19.3.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Unless you want to configure in a non standard way, then set these in the .zshrc in the user’s home (i.e. ~/) folder.

nano ~/.zshrc

Add the “export Pathing” rules at the bottom, and then save the file:

# add export PATHS below
export GOROOT=/usr/local/go
export GOPATH=$HOME/go
export GOBIN=$GOPATH/bin
export PATH=$PATH:$GOROOT/bin:$GOBIN

After updating your ~/.zshrc you will need to source it:

source ~/.zshrc

Build Daemon from source

git clone https://github.com/cosmos/gaia cosmos
cd cosmos
git checkout v9.0.1
make install

The <version-tag> will need to be set to either a testnet chain-id or the latest mainnet version tag.

To confirm that the installation has succeeded, you can run:

gaiad version --long

Configuration of Shell Variables

For this guide, we will be using shell variables. This will enable the use of the client commands verbatim. It is important to remember that shell commands are only valid for the current shell session, and if the shell session is closed, the shell variables will need to be re-defined.

If you want variables to persist for multiple sessions, then set them explicitly in your shell .profile, as you did for the Go environment variables.

To clear a variable binding, use unset $VARIABLE_NAME . Shell variables should be named with ALL CAPS.

Choose the required mainnet chain-id

Choose the <chain-id> for the mainnet you would like to join. Set the CHAIN_ID:

export CHAIN_ID=cosmoshub-4

Then source it:

source ~/.zshrc

Set your moniker name

Choose your <moniker-name>, this can be any name of your choosing and will identify your validator in the explorer. Set the MONIKER_NAME (use the random generator to generate a 32-bit hex address for security):

https://numbergenerator.org/hex-code-generator#!numbers=1&length=32&addfilters=

MONIKER_NAME="D447CA6A9CF99DAD8DA2442200B36F2C"

Setting up the Node

These instructions will direct you on how to initialize your node, synchronize to the network and upgrade your node to a validator.

Initialize the chain

gaiad init $MONIKER_NAME --chain-id $CHAIN_ID

This will generate the following files in ~/.gaia/config/

  • genesis.json

  • node_key.json

  • priv_validator_key.json

Download the genesis file

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cosmos/mainnet/master/genesis/genesis.cosmoshub-4.json.gz
gzip -d genesis.cosmoshub-4.json.gz
mv genesis.cosmoshub-4.json ~/.gaia/config/genesis.json

This will replace the genesis file created using gaiad init command with the mainnet genesis.json.

Set persistent peers

Using sed, we can set the persistent_peers easily:

sed -i'' 's/persistent_peers = ""/persistent_peers = "6e08b23315a9f0e1b23c7ed847934f7d6f848c8b@165.232.156.86:26656,ee27245d88c632a556cf72cc7f3587380c09b469@45.79.249.253:26656,538ebe0086f0f5e9ca922dae0462cc87e22f0a50@34.122.34.67:26656,d3209b9f88eec64f10555a11ecbf797bb0fa29f4@34.125.169.233:26656,bdc2c3d410ca7731411b7e46a252012323fbbf37@34.83.209.166:26656,585794737e6b318957088e645e17c0669f3b11fc@54.160.123.34:26656,5b4ed476e01c49b23851258d867cc0cfc0c10e58@206.189.4.227:26656"/' $HOME/.gaia/config/config.toml

Update Node configs

We can use sed to update various node configuration values without having to manually edit each file - which can be a pain.

Replace the values below with your own. These commands will update the following:

  • minimum_gas_prices

  • pruning configs

  • snapshot configs

sed -i -e "s|^minimum-gas-prices *=.*|minimum-gas-prices = \"0.025uatom\"|" $HOME/.gaia/config/app.toml
sed -i -e "s|^pruning *=.*|pruning = \"custom\"|" $HOME/.gaia/config/app.toml
sed -i -e "s|^pruning-keep-recent *=.*|pruning-keep-recent = \"113\"|" $HOME/.gaia/config/app.toml
sed -i -e "s|^pruning-keep-every *=.*|pruning-keep-every = \"0\"|" $HOME/.gaia/config/app.toml
sed -i -e "s|^pruning-interval *=.*|pruning-interval = \"17\"|" $HOME/.gaia/config/app.toml
sed -i -e "s|^snapshot-interval *=.*|snapshot-interval = \"0\"|" $HOME/.gaia/config/app.toml
sed -i -e "s|^snapshot-keep-recent *=.*|snapshot-keep-recent = \"2\"|" $HOME/.gaia/config/app.tom

Updating node ports

We'll use a powerful tool called sed for this process. sed is a stream editor that can perform operations, like substitutions, on a text file.

We will specifically focus on updating the ports to use a standardized prefix for your chain. This ensures consistency and improves overall system organization. It will also allow you to run multiple chains on a single server.

Let's start by understanding what we're updating:

  • proxy_app: This is the address used for inter-process communication between the ABCI application and the consensus engine.

  • laddr: This is the address that your node listens on for incoming connections.

  • pprof_laddr: This is the address for the profiling server to listen on.

  • prometheus_listen_addr: This is the address for the Prometheus metrics server to listen on.

  • address: These are various addresses that your node may use to listen for different types of connections.

Set Your Chain and Port Prefix

Your chain in this case is Cosmos. For Cosmos, we want to set the port prefix as 149. The port prefix will be used to replace the first 2 or 3 digits of the original ports.

# Set the prefix 
export PREFIX=149

Update config.toml

Next, we will update the config.toml file. For 5-digit ports, the first 3 digits will be replaced. Here is how to calculate the new port values and update the config.toml file:

PROXY_APP_PORT=$(echo 26658 | awk -v prefix=$PREFIX '{print prefix substr($0,4)}')
LADDR_PORT1=$(echo 26657 | awk -v prefix=$PREFIX '{print prefix substr($0,4)}')
LADDR_PORT2=$(echo 26656 | awk -v prefix=$PREFIX '{print prefix substr($0,4)}')
PPROF_LADDR_PORT=$(echo 26660 | awk -v prefix=$PREFIX '{print prefix substr($0,4)}')
PROMETHEUS_LISTEN_PORT=$(echo 26660 | awk -v prefix=$PREFIX '{print prefix substr($0,4)}')
sed -i.bak -e "\
s%^proxy_app = \"tcp://127.0.0.1:26658\"%proxy_app = \"tcp://127.0.0.1:$PROXY_APP_PORT\"%; \
s%^laddr = \"tcp://127.0.0.1:26657\"%laddr = \"tcp://0.0.0.0:$LADDR_PORT1\"%; \
s%^pprof_laddr = \"localhost:6060\"%pprof_laddr = \"localhost:$PPROF_LADDR_PORT\"%; \
s%^laddr = \"tcp://0.0.0.0:26656\"%laddr = \"tcp://0.0.0.0:$LADDR_PORT2\"%; \
s%^prometheus_listen_addr = \":26660\"%prometheus_listen_addr = \":$PROMETHEUS_LISTEN_PORT\"%" \
$HOME/.gaia/config/config.toml

Update app.toml

For 4-digit ports, the first 2 digits will be replaced. Here is how to calculate the new port values and update the app.toml file:

sed -i.bak -e "\
s%^address = \"tcp://0.0.0.0:1317\"%address = \"tcp://0.0.0.0:$ADDRESS_PORT1\"%; \
s%^address = \":8080\"%address = \":$ADDRESS_PORT2\"%; \
s%^address = \"0.0.0.0:9090\"%address = \"0.0.0.0:$ADDRESS_PORT3\"%; \
s%^address = \"0.0.0.0:9091\"%address = \"0.0.0.0:$ADDRESS_PORT4\"%" \
$HOME/.gaia/config/app.toml
ADDRESS_PORT1=$(echo 1317 | awk -v prefix=$PREFIX '{print prefix substr($0,3)}')
ADDRESS_PORT2=$(echo 8080 | awk -v prefix=$PREFIX '{print prefix substr($0,3)}')
ADDRESS_PORT3=$(echo 9090 | awk -v prefix=$PREFIX '{print prefix substr($0,3)}')
ADDRESS_PORT4=$(echo 9091 | awk -v prefix=$PREFIX '{print prefix substr($0,3)}')

Create (or restore) a local key pair

Either create a new key pair or restore an existing wallet for your validator:

# Create new keypair
gaiad keys add WhisperNode

# Restore existing gaia wallet with mnemonic seed phrase.
# You will be prompted to enter mnemonic seed.
gaiad keys add WhisperNode --recover

# Query the keystore for your public address
gaiad keys show WhisperNode -a

==After creating a new key, the key information and seed phrase will be shown. It is essential to write this seed phrase down and keep it in a safe place. The seed phrase is the only way to restore your keys.==

Setup cosmovisor

Follow the Setup Cosmovisor instructions to setup cosmovisor and start the node.

Upgrade to a validator

Do not attempt to upgrade your node to a validator until the node is fully in sync as per the previous step.

systemctl restart cpufrequtils journalctl -fu cpufrequtilsTo upgrade the node to a validator, you will need to submit a create-validator transaction:

gaiad tx staking create-validator \
  --amount 1000000uatom \
  --commission-max-change-rate "0.1" \
  --commission-max-rate "0.20" \
  --commission-rate "0.1" \
  --min-self-delegation "1" \
  --details "validators write bios too" \
  --pubkey=$(gaiad tendermint show-validator) \
  --moniker $MONIKER_NAME \
  --chain-id cosmoshub-4 \
  --gas-prices 0.025uatom \
  --from WhisperNode

The above transaction is just an example. There are many more flags that can be set to customise your validator, such as your validator website, or keybase.io id, etc. To see a full list:

gaiad tx staking create-validator --help

Backup critical files

There are certain files that you need to backup to be able to restore your validator if, for some reason, it damaged or lost in some way. Please make a secure backup of the following files located in ~/.gaia/config/:

  • priv_validator_key.json

  • node_key.json

It is recommended that you encrypt the backup of these files.

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