Guides
Configure a cheqd node as validator
This document provides guidance on how configure and promote a cheqd node to validator status. Having a validator node is necessary to participate in staking rewards, block creation, and governance.
Pre-requisites to promoting a node to validator on cheqd testnet
While the instructions listed here are specific to the cheqd testnet, a similar process is applicable to any network.
Preparation steps
- 1.Ensure you have a cheqd node installed as a serviceYou must already have a running
cheqd-nodeinstance installed using one of the supported methods.Please also ensure the node is fully caught up with the latest ledger updates.- 2.
- 3.
- 2.Generate a new account key1cheqd-noded keys add <alias>Copied!When you create a new key, a
mnemonic phraseandaccount addresswill be printed. Keep the mnemonic phrase safe as this is the only way to restore access to the account if they keyring cannot be recovered. - 3.Get your node ID1cheqd-noded tendermint show-node-idCopied!
- 4.Get your validator account addressThe validator account address is generated in Step 1 above when a new key is added. To show the validator account address, follow the cheqd CLI guide on managing accounts.1cheqd-noded keys listCopied!(The assumption above is that there is only one account / key that has been added on the node. In case you have multiple addresses, please jot down the preferred account address.)
Requesting CHEQ tokens for cheqd mainnet
When you have a node successfully installed, please fill out our mainnet node operator onboarding form. You will need to have the following details on hand to fill out the form:
- 1.Node ID for your node
- 2.IP address / DNS record that points to the node (if you're using an IP address, a static IP is recommended)
- 3.Peer-to-peer (P2P) connection port (defaults to
26656) - 4.Validator account address (begins with
cheqd1) - 5.Moniker (nickname/moniker that is set for your mainnet node)
Requesting CHEQ tokens for cheqd testnet
Once you have successfully completed the steps above, please fill out our node operator onboarding form so that you can acquire CHEQ testnet tokens required for staking on the network. The tokens will be send to your (validator) account address generated above.
You will need to have the following details on hand to fill out the form:
- 1.Node ID for your node
- 2.IP address / DNS record that points to the node (if you're using an IP address, a static IP is recommended)
- 3.Peer-to-peer (P2P) connection port (default is
26656) - 4.Validator account address (begins with
cheqd)
Promote a node to validator after acquiring CHEQ tokens for staking
- 1.Ensure your account has a positive balanceFollow the guidance on using cheqd CLI to manage accounts to check that your account is correctly showing the CHEQ testnet tokens provided to you.1cheqd-noded query bank balances <address>Copied!
- 2.Get your node's validator public keyThe node validator public key is required as a parameter for the next step. More details on validator public key is mentioned in the cheqd CLI guide on managing nodes.1cheqd-noded tendermint show-validatorCopied!
- 3.Promote your node to validator status by staking your token balanceYou can decide how many tokens you would like to stake from your account balance. For instance, you may want to leave a portion of the balance for paying transaction fees (now and in the future).To promote to validation, submit a
create-validatortransaction to the network:1cheqd-noded tx staking create-validator --amount <amount-staking> --from <key-name> --chain-id <chain-id> --min-self-delegation <min-self-delegation> --gas auto --gas-adjustment <multiplication-factor> --gas-prices <price-gas> --pubkey <validator-pubkey> --commission-max-change-rate <commission-max-change-rate> --commission-max-rate <commission-max-rate> --commission-rate <commission-rate>Copied!Parameters required in the transaction above are:amount: Amount of tokens to stakefrom: Key alias of the node operator account that makes the initial stakemin-self-delegation: Minimum amount of tokens that the node operator promises to keep bondedpubkey: Node'sbech32-encoded validator public key from the previous stepcommission-rate: Validator's commission ratecommission-max-rate: Validator's maximum commission rate, expressed as a number with up to two decimal points. The value for this cannot be changed later.commission-max-change-rate: Maximum rate of change of a validator's commission rate per day, expressed as a number with up to two decimal points. The value for this cannot be changed later.chain-id: Unique identifier for the chain.- For cheqd's current mainnet, this is
cheqd-mainnet-1 - For cheqd's current testnet, this is
cheqd-testnet-2
gas: Maximum gas to use for this specific transaction. Usingautouses Cosmos's auto-calculation mechanism, but can also be specified manually as an integer value.- gas-adjustment (optional): If you're using
autogas calculation, this parameter multiplies the auto-calculated amount by the specified factor, e.g.,1.2. This is recommended so that it leaves enough margin of error to add a bit more gas to the transaction and ensure it successfully goes through. gas-prices: Maximum gas price set by the validator
Example transaction:1cheqd-noded tx staking create-validator --amount 1000ncheq --from eu-node-operator --moniker node1-eu-testnet-cheqd --chain-id cheqd-mainnet-1 --min-self-delegation="1" --gas="300000" --gas-prices="25ncheq" --pubkey '{"@type":"/cosmos.crypto.ed25519.PubKey","key":"4anVUO8WhmRMqG1t4z6VxqmqZL3V7q6HqucjwZePiUw="}' --commission-max-change-rate="0.02" --commission-max-rate="0.02" --commission-rate="0.01" --node http://sentry1.eu.cheqd.net:26657Copied! - 4.Check that your validator node is bondedChecking that the validator is correctly bonded can be checked via any node:1cheqd-noded query staking validators --node <any-rpc-url>Copied!Find your node by
monikerand make sure thatstatusisBOND_STATUS_BONDED. - 5.Check that your validator node is signing blocks and taking part in consensus1cheqd-noded tendermint show-addressCopied!Query the latest block. Open
<node-address:rpc-port/blockin a web browser. Make sure that there is a signature with your validator address in the signature list.
Using Ledger Nano device
To use your Ledger Nano you will need to complete the following steps:
- Set-up your wallet by creating a PIN and passphrase, which must be stored securely to enable recovery if the device is lost or damaged.
- Connect your device to your PC and update the firmware to the latest version using the Ledger Live application.
- Install the Cosmos application using the software manager (Manager > Cosmos > Install).
- Adding a new key In order to use the hardware wallet address with the cli, the user must first add it via
cheqd-noded. This process only records the public information about the key.
To import the key first plug in the device and enter the device pin. Once you have unlocked the device navigate to the Cosmos app on the device and open it.
To add the key use the following command:
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cheqd-noded keys add <name for the key> --ledger
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Note
The
--ledger flag tells the command line tool to talk to the ledger device and the --index flag selects which HD index should be used.When running this command, the Ledger device will prompt you to verify the genereated address. Once you have done this you will get an output in the following form:
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$ cheqd-noded keys add test --ledger
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- name: test
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type: ledger
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address: cheqd1zx9a7rsrmy5a2hakas0vnfwpadqwp3m327f2yt
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pubkey: ‘{“@type”:“/cosmos.crypto.secp256k1.PubKey”,“key”:“Akm0MdDZpTVltoCpRmmWd/wxiosA9edjPlbNcirs4YO1"}’
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mnemonic: “”
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Next steps
On completion of the steps above, you would have successfully bonded a node as validator to the cheqd testnet and participating in staking/consensus.
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