Run a Validator

Learn how to run a validator node.

Create Your Validator

Your node consensus public key (matchvalconspub...) can be used to create a new validator by staking MATCH tokens. You can find your validator pubkey by running:

matchd tendermint show-validator

To create your validator on testnet, just use the following command:

matchd tx staking create-validator \
  --amount=1000000atmatch \
  --pubkey=$(matchd tendermint show-validator) \
  --moniker="choose a moniker" \
  --chain-id=<chain_id> \
  --commission-rate="0.05" \
  --commission-max-rate="0.10" \
  --commission-max-change-rate="0.01" \
  --min-self-delegation="1000000" \
  --gas="auto" \
  --gas-prices="0.025atmatch" \
  --from=<key_name>

When specifying commission parameters, the commission-max-change-rate is used to measure % point change over the commission-rate. E.g. 1% to 2% is a 100% rate increase, but only 1 percentage point.

Min-self-delegation is a strictly positive integer that represents the minimum amount of self-delegated voting power your validator must always have. A min-self-delegation of 1000000 means your validator will never have a self-delegation lower than 1 atmatch

You can confirm that you are in the validator set by using a third party explorer.

Edit Validator Description​

You can edit your validator's public description. This info is to identify your validator, and will be relied on by delegators to decide which validators to stake to. Make sure to provide input for every flag below. If a flag is not included in the command the field will default to empty (--moniker defaults to the machine name) if the field has never been set or remain the same if it has been set in the past.

The <key_name> specifies which validator you are editing. If you choose to not include certain flags, remember that the --from flag must be included to identify the validator to update.

The --identity can be used as to verify identity with systems like Keybase or UPort. When using with Keybase --identity should be populated with a 16-digit string that is generated with a keybase.io account. It's a cryptographically secure method of verifying your identity across multiple online networks. The Keybase API allows us to retrieve your Keybase avatar. This is how you can add a logo to your validator profile.

matchd tx staking edit-validator
  --moniker="choose a moniker" \
  --website="https://match.org" \
  --identity=6A0D65E29A4CBC8E \
  --details="To infinity and beyond!" \
  --chain-id=<chain_id> \
  --gas="auto" \
  --gas-prices="0.025atmatch" \
  --from=<key_name> \
  --commission-rate="0.10"

Note: The commission-rate value must adhere to the following invariants:

• Must be between 0 and the validator's commission-max-rate

• Must not exceed the validator's commission-max-change-rate which is maximum % point change rate per day. In other words, a validator can only change its commission once per day and within commission-max-change-rate bounds.

Confirm Your Validator is Running​

Your validator is active if the following command returns anything:

matchd query tendermint-validator-set | grep "$(matchd tendermint show-address)"

You should now see your validator in one of Match explorers. You are looking for the bech32 encoded address in the ~/.matchd/config/priv_validator.json file.