id	title	sidebar_label
staking	Running a Validator Node	Running the Node

Running a Validator

Staking on NEAR

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READ THIS QUICKSTART GUIDE BEFORE YOU START

Wait until your node is fully synced before you send a staking transaction. An out of sync node cannot produce or validate blocks, so if you're chosen as a validator, you're at risk of being kicked out of the validator pool and losing your rewards if your node doesn't maintain the appropriate uptime (i.e. validate / produce the number of assigned blocks for that epoch).

You can test your validator infrastructure on NEAR TestNet. You can generate an account with a few tokens from the NEAR wallet, and use it to deploy your staking pool. Then, contact NEAR Core-dev on Discord to request sufficient stake to become a validator on TestNet.

For this current session: run the command export NODE_ENV=testnet
Add this same line (export NODE_ENV=testnet) to the end of the file ~/.bashrc if you want to ensure this environment variable persists at machine restarts.

TestNet is running on separate URLs for the explorer, the wallet and the Json RPC:

⛔️ MainNet	✅ TestNet
https://explorer.near.org	https://explorer.testnet.near.org
https://wallet.near.org	https://wallet.testnet.near.org
https://rpc.near.org	https://rpc.testnet.near.org

Every new TestNet account receives automatically a few hundred tokens to deploy smart contracts and test your APIs.

You can use nearup to easily deploy your TestNet node on a VPS. If you plan to deploy on MainNet, you can't use nearup, and we suggest following the guidelines here. Join NEAR validator channels on Discord to receive technical support by NEAR team and the rest of the community.

NEAR Validators should:

Know how to compile, deploy and configure NEAR Validator nodes
Understand the difference between account_key, node_keyand validator_key (see the keys on NEAR Platform doc)
Understand how to deploy a NEAR contract, and the difference between view and call methods. Know how to leverage them via near-cli and near RPC
Have a monitoring platform in place, to measure the generated and missed blocks, peers and connectivity, current node version, along with the typical CPU, memory, storage, and networking performance
Understand the state of a validator: proposals, next and current
Use the information above to control if the validator is falling outside of the active set, and what needs to be done to fix the issue
Know where to find information about upcoming nearcore releases and other tooling upgrades

Node hardware requirements

The minimum requirements to run a validator node on NEAR are:

At least 4 CPU cores
At least 16GB RAM
At least 100GB SSD (Note: HDD will not work)

More information is on the Hardware Requirements docs.

Setting up your environment

IMPORTANT: Make sure you have the latest version of NEAR CLI and Node Version 12.x

You can install and upgrade Near CLI by using npm:

# Download Near CLI with npm:
npm i -g near-cli

Note: The default network for near-cli is testnet. If you would like to change this to mainnet or betanet, please see near-cli network selection for instructions.

Once Near CLI is installed, go ahead and run your node.

Pro Tip

You don't have to run near-cli on your validator node: all staking commands are issued to the staking pool, which is a normal smart contract.

Run the Node

Please follow Nearup documentation to start your TestNet node. Remember that nearup doesn't support MainNet, so you will have to build your startup scripts and follow the mainnet deployment guide.

At the first start, nearup will ask for your validator account ID. Put a placeholder, like coming_soon, to let the node sync with the network while you deploy the staking pool:

$ nearup run testnet --account-id coming_soon
2020-10-16 14:02:29.190 INFO nearup - run: Home directory is /home/nearkat/.near/testnet...
2020-10-16 14:02:29.191 INFO nodelib - setup_and_run: Using officially compiled binary
2020-10-16 14:02:30.027 INFO util - download_binaries: Downloading latest deployed version for testnet
2020-10-16 14:02:30.028 INFO util - download_binaries: Downloading near to /home/nearkat/.nearup/near/testnet/near from nearcore/Linux/1.16.0/974d93dc657f620d98de6589a2b5bc97be1db816/near...
2020-10-16 14:02:33.755 INFO util - download_binaries: Downloaded near to /home/nearkat/.nearup/near/testnet/near...
2020-10-16 14:02:33.758 INFO util - download_binaries: Making the near executable...
2020-10-16 14:02:33.758 INFO util - download_binaries: Downloading genesis-csv-to-json to /home/nearkat/.nearup/near/testnet/genesis-csv-to-json from nearcore/Linux/1.16.0/974d93dc657f620d98de6589a2b5bc97be1db816/genesis-csv-to-json...
2020-10-16 14:02:34.710 INFO util - download_binaries: Downloaded genesis-csv-to-json to /home/nearkat/.nearup/near/testnet/genesis-csv-to-json...
2020-10-16 14:02:34.710 INFO util - download_binaries: Making the genesis-csv-to-json executable...
2020-10-16 14:02:34.712 INFO nodelib - check_and_setup: Setting up network configuration.
2020-10-16 14:02:34.712 INFO nodelib - init_near: Initializing the node configuration using near binary...
Oct 16 14:02:34.726  INFO near: Version: 1.16.0-rc.1, Build: 974d93dc-modified, Latest Protocol: 39
Oct 16 14:02:34.727  INFO near: Use key ed25519:4msyQstQ3Z7Gq1qrwE78HPTRYdLFtCmJ9dydrrbUtrer for coming_soon to stake.
Oct 16 14:02:34.727  INFO near: Downloading config file from: https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/build.nearprotocol.com/nearcore-deploy/testnet/genesis.json ...

While the sync is in progress, you have to retrieve your validator key from ~/.near/testnet/validator_key.json:

{
  "account_id": "coming_soon",
  "public_key": "ed25519:4msyQstQ3Z7Gq1qrwE78HPTRYdLFtCmJ9dydrrbUtrer",
  "secret_key": "ed25519:<PRIVATE_KEY>"
}

This key will be needed to do the pairing between your validator node and its staking pool.

Authorize `near-cli` to your TestNet account

Configure near-cli to use TestNet, issuing the command export NODE_ENV=testnet
Authenticate near-cli with your NEAR Wallet account, by running the command near login

You will be asked to navigate to a URL to authenticate your staking account. You can expect a result similar to the one below:

$ near login

Please authorize NEAR CLI on at least one of your accounts.

If your browser doesn't automatically open, please visit this URL
https://wallet.testnet.near.org/login/?title=NEAR+CLI&public_key=ed25519%3A7xuBXjTabXM1yZ8WQB1Ezj95BjDnqX63cKj6RBgYa3it&success_url=http%3A%2F%2F127.0.0.1%3A5000
Please authorize at least one account at the URL above.

Which account did you authorize for use with NEAR CLI?
Enter it here (if not redirected automatically):

Be careful to specify the same TestNet account ID in the browser and near-cli:

Which account did you authorize for use with NEAR CLI?
Enter it here (if not redirected automatically):

Once you completed the login in the browser and put the account id in the input field above, you should expect a message like the one below:

nearkat.testnet
Logged in as [ nearkat.testnet ] with public key [ ed25519:7xuBXj... ] successfully

Heads Up!

If you get an ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED error, double-check that your browser is not trying to open the address http://127.0.0.1:5000. This is a wrong redirect of near-cli running on a remote instance, and can be ignored.

To test if your near-cli is capable to control your testnet account, issue the command: $ near send nearkat.testnet testnet 0.1, where nearkat.testnet is the sender, and testnet the recipient of 0.1 NEAR tokens. You can expect a result similar to this one:

$ near send quato.testnet testnet 0.1
Sending 0.1 NEAR to testnet from quato.testnet
Transaction Id Hm6hRz8NS9sXV6yPzeyYJZwqTSUTYcifws3iu3VcbkyW
To see the transaction in the transaction explorer, please open this url in your browser
https://explorer.testnet.near.org/transactions/Hm6hRz8NS9sXV6yPzeyYJZwqTSUTYcifws3iu3VcbkyW

Deploy the staking pool

NEAR Protocol provides a staking pool smart contract from the initial contracts Github repository.

Deploy your staking pool by sending the call method below to the staking pool factory:

near call pool.f863973.m0 create_staking_pool '{"staking_pool_id":"<POOL_ID>", "owner_id":"<OWNER_ID>", "stake_public_key":"<VALIDATOR_KEY>", "reward_fee_fraction": {"numerator": <X>, "denominator": <Y>}}' --account_id <OWNER_ID> --amount 50 --gas 300000000000000

Where:

pool.f863973.m0 is the staking pool factory mentioned above
<POOL_ID> is the name of the staking pool contract. If you pass the parameter heyheyhey the result will be heyheyhey.pool.f863973.m0
<OWNER_ID> is the account authorized to send the owner methods to the pool, such as the validator key or the fees
<VALIDATOR_KEY> is the public key stored at ~/.near/testnet/validator_key.json on your validator node (see staking#run-the-node step above)
{"numerator": <X>, "denominator": <Y>} set the validator fees. 10% of fees requires x=10 and y=100
--amount 50 attaches 50 $NEAR to the transaction, as a reserve to pay the contract storage
--gas 300000000000000 specifies the gas for the transaction (optional)

You can expect a result similar to this one:

$ near call pool.f863973.m0 create_staking_pool '{"staking_pool_id":"quato", "owner_id":"quato.testnet", "stake_public_key":"ed25519:4msyQstQ3Z7Gq1qrwE78HPTRYdLFtCmJ9dydrrbUtrer", "reward_fee_fraction": {"numerator": 5, "denominator": 100}}' --account_id quato.testnet --amount 50 --gas 300000000000000
Scheduling a call: pool.f863973.m0.create_staking_pool({"staking_pool_id":"quato", "owner_id":"quato.testnet", "stake_public_key":"ed25519:4msyQstQ3Z7Gq1qrwE78HPTRYdLFtCmJ9dydrrbUtrer", "reward_fee_fraction": {"numerator": 5, "denominator": 100}}) with attached 50 NEAR
Receipt: ByuKqFBuQY4oBu7GypRWEwUjAvxHacTJLGLfwUNjRunV
  Failure [pool.f863973.m0]: Error: {"index":0}
Receipts: 3Y8yjPkd894WSTaapyURe1moMtY8Yvbrjwmz3Pv3N2RZ, EeCy4HyRs8cuxsraxcaiW53gmvWL55xzTqDjfUaPcoXM
  Log [pool.f863973.m0]: The staking pool @quato.pool.f863973.m0 was successfully created. Whitelisting...
Transaction Id BYAffkmrssiErMDbmDrF2AoHKDLCQrcCe1Vk1CGEnBZB
To see the transaction in the transaction explorer, please open this url in your browser
https://explorer.testnet.near.org/transactions/BYAffkmrssiErMDbmDrF2AoHKDLCQrcCe1Vk1CGEnBZB
true

The true statement in the last line and the explorer link provide proof that the staking pool is deployed and ready to receive the stake

Configure your node's `validator_key.json` and restart nearup

Once the staking pool is deployed, manually edit the file ~/.near/testnet/validator_key.json on your validator node and replace coming_soon with your staking pool account name:

{
  "account_id": "quato.pool.f863973.m0",
  "public_key": "ed25519:4msyQstQ3Z7Gq1qrwE78HPTRYdLFtCmJ9dydrrbUtrer",
  "secret_key": "ed25519:<PRIVATE_KEY>"
}

Once done, you can stop and restart nearup, with the command: nearup stop

followed by: nearup run testnet

Heads Up!

Be sure that your node downloaded entirely the genesis.json file before giving the stop command to nearup.

Becoming a Validator in the active set

Once the staking pool is deployed, you can stake tokens using any of the methods offered in the delegation docs. Make sure that you are using a tool that supports TestNet and not only MainNet.

NEAR TestNet and MainNet require at least 24 hours bonding period to accept your staking pool bid. You can verify if you are a validator when in the logs of the node you see "V/" - where V means this node is currently a validator:

The 0/0/40 shows the total validators: connected peers / up to date peers / my peers. This number may change over time.

To learn more about how validators are chosen, take a look at the Staking FAQ.

See the list of current and future validators

You can use near-cli to review the validator set in the next three epochs:

Command	Meaning
`near proposals`	All validators that sent a staking transaction (`Proposal(Accepted)`), or are re-elected (`Rollover`)
`near validators next`	All validators that will produce blocks in the next epoch. Can be `New`, `Rewarded` or `Kicked out`
`near validators current`	All Validators that are producing blocks in the current epoch, and the number of blocks they produced

Heads Up!

You have to wait at least 2 epochs (43,200 blocks each) before your

Note: The default network for near-cli is testnet. If you would like to change this to mainnet or betanet, please see near-cli network selection for instructions.

Automatically re-staking

NEAR Protocol automatically re-stakes all inflationary rewards, unless you decide to manually unstake some of the funds.

Additional links

Lockup contracts explained
NEAR Core Contracts on Github
NEAR Stake Wars

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running-a-validator.md

running-a-validator.md

Running a Validator

Staking on NEAR

Translations

READ THIS QUICKSTART GUIDE BEFORE YOU START

Node hardware requirements

Setting up your environment

Run the Node

Authorize `near-cli` to your TestNet account

Deploy the staking pool

Configure your node's `validator_key.json` and restart nearup

Becoming a Validator in the active set

See the list of current and future validators

Automatically re-staking

Additional links

Files

running-a-validator.md

Latest commit

History

running-a-validator.md

File metadata and controls

Running a Validator

Staking on NEAR

Translations

READ THIS QUICKSTART GUIDE BEFORE YOU START

Node hardware requirements

Setting up your environment

Run the Node

Authorize near-cli to your TestNet account

Deploy the staking pool

Configure your node's validator_key.json and restart nearup

Becoming a Validator in the active set

See the list of current and future validators

Automatically re-staking

Additional links

Authorize `near-cli` to your TestNet account

Configure your node's `validator_key.json` and restart nearup