Stake a Validator

Follow these steps to stake on a node in the Allora network. This process includes running and syncing a full node, funding your account, and setting up your Validator for staking.

Prerequisites

Successfully run and synced a full allorad node. Refer to Running a Full Node for detailed instructions.
Basic command-line and Docker knowledge.
Access to the node's terminal or command line.

1. Verify Node Sync

Ensure your node is fully synced with the network by executing the following command:

curl -s http://localhost:26657/status | jq .result.sync_info.catching_up

Wait until the output returns false, indicating your node has caught up with the network.

2. Fund Your Account

After initializing your node, scripts/l1_node.sh generates key and account information, found in data/*.account_info. Locate your account address within this file to fund it.

cat data/validator0.account_info
 
- address: allo1xxxxx
  name: validator0
  pubkey: xxx
  type: local
[...]

For testnet environments, use the appropriate faucet at https://faucet.testnet.allora.network/ (opens in a new tab). Instructions on using the faucet can be found here.

3. Stake as a Validator

To become a validator, perform the following inside the validator's Docker container environment. You can choose your validator's name by setting a custom moniker (with --moniker=...). We will take the example of validator0 with 10000000 uallo.

Access the Validator's Shell

Use docker compose to access the validator's shell environment:

docker compose exec validator0 bash

Note: You can list all available keys with:

allorad --home=$APP_HOME keys --keyring-backend=test list

Prepare Stake Information

Within the validator's shell, create a JSON file named stake-validator.json with your validator's stake information. Replace values with your actual data:

cat > stake-validator.json << EOF
{
    "pubkey": $(allorad --home=$APP_HOME comet show-validator),
    "amount": "1000000uallo",
    "moniker": "$(echo $MONIKER)",
    "commission-rate": "0.1",
    "commission-max-rate": "0.2",
    "commission-max-change-rate": "0.01",
    "min-self-delegation": "1"
}
EOF

Execute the Stake Command

With your stake information file ready, execute the following command to stake as a Validator:

allorad tx staking create-validator ./stake-validator.json \
    --chain-id=testnet \
    --home="$APP_HOME" \
    --keyring-backend=test \
    --from="$MONIKER"

This command outputs a transaction hash, which can be checked on the network's explorer: https://explorer.testnet.allora.network/allora-testnet/tx/$TX_HASH.

4. Verify Validator Setup

Ensure your validator is properly registered and staked with the network by executing the following commands:

Check Registration and Stake

Retrieve and verify your validator's information by running these 2 commands:

VAL_PUBKEY=$(allorad --home=$APP_HOME comet show-validator | jq -r .key)

allorad --home=$APP_HOME q staking validators -o=json | \
    jq '.validators[] | select(.consensus_pubkey.value=="'$VAL_PUBKEY'")'

This command outputs detailed information about your validator. If it's correctly set up, it will look like this:

{
  "operator_address": "allovaloper1n8t4ffvwstysveuf3ccx9jqf3c6y7kte48qcxm",
  "consensus_pubkey": {
    "type": "tendermint/PubKeyEd25519",
    "value": "gOl6fwPc19BtkmiOGjjharfe6eyniaxdkfyqiko3/cQ="
  },
  "status": 3,
  "tokens": "1000000",
  "delegator_shares": "1000000000000000000000000",
  "description": {
    "moniker": "val2"
  },
  "unbonding_time": "1970-01-01T00:00:00Z",
  "commission": {
    "commission_rates": {
      "rate": "100000000000000000",
      "max_rate": "200000000000000000",
      "max_change_rate": "10000000000000000"
    },
    "update_time": "2024-02-26T22:50:31.187119394Z"
  },
  "min_self_delegation": "1"
}

Check Voting Power

Verify that your Validator's voting power is greater than 0, indicating active participation in the Network:

allorad --home=$APP_HOME status | jq -r '.validator_info.voting_power'

Note: Please allow 30-60 seconds for the information to update. A voting power greater than 0 signifies a successful stake setup. Congratulations!

Run a Full Node Validator Operations