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Setup Validator Node

This guide will walk you through setting up a validator node on the Ditto Network. You can choose between running the node directly on your system or using Docker.

Systemd Setup

Docker Setup

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Systemd Unit Setup

All commands in this section should be executed as the root user.

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Prerequisites

  • Root access to your system
  • jq utility installed
  • Basic knowledge of systemd

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Installation Steps

  1. Install jq if not already installed:
apt-get update && apt-get install -y jq
  1. Create the working directory:
mkdir -p /home/kepler

  1. Download the appropriate binary for your OS from Kepler Releases to /home/kepler

  2. Unzip the archive and set up the binary:

cd /home/kepler
chmod +x keplerd
  1. Initialize the node:
mkdir -p /root/.kepler/
/home/kepler/keplerd init "NODENAME" --chain-id testnet

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Configuration

  1. Set the gas price in /root/.kepler/config/app.toml:
minimum-gas-prices = "0.000025ditto"
  1. Configure seeds in /root/.kepler/config/config.toml:
seeds = "66a5fca8a6a7239e0e0afb8b20938bbe555f5c53@espio.testnet.dittonetwork.io:26666,7fd82c652c04213ba6cfff116ffc92dc7728fd51@vector.testnet.dittonetwork.io:26676"
  1. Download the genesis file:
curl -s http://espio.testnet.dittonetwork.io:26667/genesis | jq '.result.genesis' > /root/.kepler/config/genesis.json

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Service Setup

  1. Create the systemd service file at /etc/systemd/system/kepler.service:
[Unit]
Description=Kepler Network
After=network.target

[Service]
User=root
ExecStart=/home/kepler/keplerd start
Restart=always
StartLimitBurst=999

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
  1. Start and enable the service:
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl start kepler.service
systemctl enable kepler.service
  1. Check the service status:
systemctl status kepler.service
  1. Monitor the logs:
journalctl -u kepler.service -f

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Running as a Docker Container

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Prerequisites

  • Docker installed
  • Docker Compose installed
  • jq utility installed
  • Golang installed

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Installation Steps

  1. Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/dittonetwork/kepler.git
  1. Build the binary:
cd kepler
go build -o main ./cmd/keplerd
  1. Build the Docker image:
docker build --pull --rm -f 'Dockerfile' -t 'kepler:testnet' '.'

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Configuration

  1. Create the working directory structure:
mkdir -p /home/testnet/{config,data}
cd /home/testnet
  1. Configure ./config/app.toml:
minimum-gas-prices = "0.000025ditto"
  1. Configure ./config/config.toml:
seeds = "66a5fca8a6a7239e0e0afb8b20938bbe555f5c53@espio.testnet.dittonetwork.io:26666,7fd82c652c04213ba6cfff116ffc92dc7728fd51@vector.testnet.dittonetwork.io:26676"
  1. Download the genesis file:
curl -s http://espio.testnet.dittonetwork.io:26667/genesis | jq '.result.genesis' > ./config/genesis.json
  1. Create required empty files:
echo '{}' > ./config/addrbook.json
echo '{}' > ./data/priv_validator_state.json
  1. Create docker-compose.yml:
services:
  dittonetwork:
    container_name: dittonetwork
    image: kepler:testnet
    network_mode: host
    volumes:
      - ./config:/app/config/config
      - ./data:/app/config/data
    restart: always
  1. Start the node:
docker compose up -d
  1. Monitor the logs:
docker compose logs -f

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Checking Synchronization Status

To verify your node’s synchronization status, run:

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