Run a Layer Validator

Follow the steps to become a Layer testnet validator.

You will need a node that's fully synced and an account that has a balance (loya). See our instructions on getting testnet TRB for help.

Validator Setup

You will need a fully synced node to use as your validator. If you don't have one, start here.

Replace $ACCOUNT_NAME with whatever name you chose for your account.

-Or-

Set the name of your account as a system variable: export ACCOUNT_NAME="example-name"

1. Open up a new terminal window on your node machine and check if your address has funds:

./layerd query bank balance $ACCOUNT_NAME loya

This outputs something like:

balance:
  amount: "0"
  denom: loya

If you need testnet TRB, see the Getting Testnet TRB section!

1. Retrieve Your Validator Public Key With your layer folder as the active directory, use the command:

./layerd comet show-validator

This returns your validator pubkey. Should look like this:

{"@type":"/cosmos.crypto.ed25519.PubKey","key":"FX9cKNl+QmxtLcL926P5yJqZw7YyuSX3HQAZboz3TjM="}

Copy the pubkey to your clipboard for step 4.

1. Edit the Validator Configuration File

Create (or edit) the validator.json file:

nano validator.json

Edit or add the following code:

{
    "pubkey": {"@type":"/cosmos.crypto.ed25519.PubKey","key":"c+EuycPpudgiyVl6guYG9oyPSImHHJz1z0Pg4ODKveo="},
    "amount": "69666420loya",
    "moniker": "yourmoniker",
    "identity": "optional identity signature (ex. UPort or Keybase)",
    "website": "validator's (optional) website",
    "security": "validator's (optional) security contact email",
    "details": "validator's (optional) details",
    "commission-rate": "0.1",
    "commission-max-rate": "0.2",
    "commission-max-change-rate": "0.01",
    "min-self-delegation": "1"
}

• Edit "pubkey" to match yours from step 4.

• Edit "amount" to be the amount of testnet TRB that you would like to stake with 6 decimals and the "loya" denom. (For example: if you want to stake 99 TRB use "amount": "99000000loya")

• Edit "moniker" with a name you choose for your validator node.

Note: TRB tokens are used for gas on the layer network. As a validator you will need to make transactions to send tokens, become a reporter, unjail, etc. When choosing the amount to stake, it is important to reserve some TRB for gas.

1. Create Your Validator: A few things need to happen (in order) to successfully start a layer validator. You should have two terminal windows open: a command window and a node window.

Staking on layer is limited to 5% of the total staked tokens per 12 hours. You can check the current amount that's allowed to stake here.

• Run the following command to create-validator:

./layerd tx staking create-validator ./validator.json --from $ACCOUNT_NAME --fees 5loya --yes

1. Restart your node, adding the --key-name flag. Head back to the terminal where you're running your node and use ctrl^c to stop it. Then use the command:

./layerd start --key-name $ACCOUNT_NAME

You should see the log quickly catch up. Are you a validator now?

1. Verify Your Validator Creation Ensure your validator was created successfully using the command replacing your_validator_address:

./layerd query staking validator $ACCOUNT_NAME

If status is 3...awesome! If status is 2...still great! If your status is 2, that means that somehow in the process of making your validator you got jailed. It's ok! This is what testnets are for. You can unjail with steps shown in the next section.