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How to run a Cysic Validator Node

How to Run a Cysic Validator Node

This guide will help you set up and run a Cysic Network validator node, including system requirements, installation configuration, node startup, private key generation, staking operations, and node monitoring.

Table of Contents

  1. System Requirements
  2. Download Configuration Files
  3. Get Docker Image
  4. Start Node with Docker Compose
  5. Generate Private Key
  6. Staking Operations to Increase Validator Power
  7. Node Health Monitoring
  8. Common Commands
  9. Troubleshooting

System Requirements

Minimum Hardware Requirements

  • CPU: 4 cores (8 cores recommended)
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM (16 GB recommended)
  • Storage: 500 GB SSD (2TB recommended for long-term operation)
  • Network: Stable internet connection with P2P communication support

Software Requirements

  • Operating System: Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+ recommended)
  • Docker: >= 20.10.0
  • Docker Compose: >= 1.29.0
  • Git: Latest version

Port Requirements

Ensure the following ports are available:

  • 26657: Tendermint RPC
  • 26656: Tendermint P2P
  • 8545: Ethereum JSON-RPC
  • 8546: Ethereum WebSocket
  • 1317: Cosmos REST API
  • 9090: gRPC API
  • 6065: Metrics (optional)

Staking Requirements

To run a validator node on Cysic Network, you need to meet the following staking requirements:

  • Minimum Staking Amount: 1,000,000 CGT
  • This is the minimum amount required to create and operate a validator node
  • The staking amount determines your validator's voting power and potential rewards
  • You can delegate additional tokens to increase your validator's power after creation

Before starting the node, you need to send the node's exit IP address to the Cysic team for whitelist configuration.

Download Configuration Files

# Create data directory
mkdir -p /data/mainent && cd /data
# Download validator repo
git clone https://github.com/cysic-labs/validator
# Copy mainent folder to data
cp -rf validator/mainent/* /data/mainent
# Change directory to /data/mainent
cd /data/mainent

Pull Docker Image

1. Install docker

sudo apt remove $(dpkg --get-selections docker.io docker compose docker-compose-v2 docker-doc podman-docker containerd runc | cut -f1)
# Add Docker's official GPG key:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install ca-certificates curl
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc

# Add the repository to Apt sources:
sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.sources <<EOF
Types: deb
URIs: https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu
Suites: $(. /etc/os-release && echo "${UBUNTU_CODENAME:-$VERSION_CODENAME}")
Components: stable
Signed-By: /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
EOF

sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin
sudo systemctl status docker

And then pull the docker image

docker compose pull

2. Download snapshot data

Before starting the node, you need to update the app.toml configuration file:

wget https://cysic-data-mainnet.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/cysic_data_mainnet_20260203.tar.gz
tar -zxvf cysic_data_mainnet_20260203.tar.gz -C /data/mainnet/data

3. Start Node

# Start validator node
docker compose up -d node

# View node logs
docker compose logs -f node

4. Verify Node Running Status

# Check node status
curl http://localhost:26657/status

# Check node information
curl http://localhost:26657/abci_info

Generate Private Key

1. Generate Key in Container

Important: write this mnemonic phrase in a safe place. It is the only way to recover your account if you ever forget your password.

# Enter running container
docker exec -it node bash

# Generate new validator key
./cysicmintd keys add validator-xxx --home ./cysicmint --keyring-backend test

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# Verify generated node ID and validator public key
./cysicmintd tendermint show-node-id --home ./cysicmint --keyring-backend test
./cysicmintd tendermint show-validator --home ./cysicmint --keyring-backend test

2. Backup Private Key

# Export private key (Important: Keep it safe!)
./cysicmintd keys export validator-xxx --home ./cysicmint --keyring-backend test

3. Get Validator Address

# Get validator address
./cysicmintd keys show validator-xxx --home ./cysicmint --keyring-backend test -a

# Get validator operator address
./cysicmintd keys show validator-xxx --home ./cysicmint --keyring-backend test --bech=val -a

Staking Operations to Increase Validator Power

1. Get Tokens

Check balance

# Check account balance
./cysicmintd query bank balances $(./cysicmintd keys show validator-xxx --home ./cysicmint --keyring-backend test -a)

Please contact the Cysic team to obtain mainent staking tokens

2. Create Validator

Use the stake-as-validator command to create a validator and self-stake:

# Create validator (example parameters)
./cysicmintd tx staking create-validator \
    --amount=100000000000000000000CGT \
    --moniker="james" \
    --details="james's validator" \
    --chain-id cysicmint_4399-1 \
    --commission-rate="0.05" \
    --commission-max-rate="0.20" \
    --commission-max-change-rate="0.01" \
    --min-self-delegation=1000000000000000000 \
    --pubkey=$(./cysicmintd tendermint show-validator --home ./cysicmint) \
    --from validator-xxx \
    --home=./cysicmint \
    --keyring-backend test \
    --gas auto \
    --gas-adjustment 1.2 \
    --gas-prices=300000CYS \
    --yes

Parameter description:

  • 10000000000000000000: Staking amount (10 CGT)
  • "My Validator": Validator name
  • "A reliable Cysic validator": Validator description
  • "0.05": Initial commission rate (5%)
  • "0.20": Maximum commission rate (20%)
  • "0.01": Commission change rate (1%)
  • 1000000000000000000: Minimum self-stake (1 CGT)

3. Delegate More Tokens

# Delegate additional tokens to validator
./cysicmintd tx staking delegate \
    $(./cysicmintd keys show validator-xxx --home ./cysicmint --keyring-backend test --bech=val -a) \
    10000000000000000000CGT \
    --from validator-xxx \
    --home=./cysicmint \
    --keyring-backend test \
    --chain-id cysicmint_4399-1 \
    --gas auto \
    --gas-adjustment 1.2 \
    --gas-prices=300000CYS

4. View Validator Status

# View validator information
./cysicmintd query staking validator $(./cysicmintd keys show validator-xxx --home ./cysicmint  --keyring-backend test --bech=val -a)

# View validator set
./cysicmintd query staking validators

# View delegation information
./cysicmintd query staking delegations $(./cysicmintd keys show validator-xxx --home ./cysicmint  --keyring-backend test -a)

Node Health Monitoring

1. Monitoring Endpoints

  • Node Status: http://localhost:26657/status
  • Network Information: http://localhost:26657/net_info
  • Validator Information: http://localhost:26657/validators
  • Prometheus Metrics: http://localhost:6065/debug/metrics/prometheus

2. Key Monitoring Metrics

# Check node sync status
curl -s http://localhost:26657/status | jq '.result.sync_info'

# Check latest block height
curl -s http://localhost:26657/status | jq '.result.sync_info.latest_block_height'

# Check validator voting power
curl -s http://localhost:26657/validators | jq '.result.validators[] | select(.address=="YOUR_VALIDATOR_ADDRESS")'

# Check number of peer connections
curl -s http://localhost:26657/net_info | jq '.result.n_peers'

Common Commands

Node Operations

# Stop node
docker compose down

# Restart node
docker compose restart node

# View node logs
docker compose logs -f --tail=100 node

# Start node
docker compose up -d

Key Management

# List all keys
./cysicmintd keys list --keyring-backend test

# Recover key
./cysicmintd keys add validator-xxx --recover --keyring-backend test

# Delete key
./cysicmintd keys delete validator-xxx --keyring-backend test

Staking Management

# Unbond stake
./cysicmintd tx staking unbond \
    $(./cysicmintd keys show validator-xxx --keyring-backend test --bech=val -a) \
    1000000000000000000CGT \
    --from validator \
    --keyring-backend test \
    --chain-id cysicmint_4399-1

# Withdraw rewards
./cysicmintd tx distribution withdraw-all-rewards \
    $(./cysicmintd keys show validator-xxx --keyring-backend test --bech=val -a) \
    --from validator \
    --keyring-backend test \
    --chain-id cysicmint_4399-1

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

  1. Node Cannot Sync
    1. Check network connection
    2. Verify configuration files
    3. Clear data and resync
  2. Validator Not in Active Set
    1. Check if staking amount is sufficient
    2. Confirm validator is not jailed
    3. Check staking status of other validators in the network
  3. Container Startup Failure
    1. Check if ports are occupied
    2. Verify configuration file paths
    3. Check container logs

Log Analysis

# View detailed logs
docker compose logs --tail=100 node

# Filter error logs
docker compose logs node | grep -i error

# Real-time log monitoring
docker compose logs -f node | grep -E "(error|failed|panic)"

Emergency Recovery

If the node encounters issues, follow these steps to recover:

  1. Backup important data
  2. Stop the node
  3. Check configuration files
  4. Restart the node
  5. Verify sync status

For more help, please refer to the official documentation or contact the Cysic community.