Quickstart

caution

Charon is in an early alpha state and is not ready to be run on mainnet

There are two ways to test out a distributed validator.

• Running the full cluster alone.
• Running one node in a cluster with a group of other node operators.

Run a cluster alone

1. Clone the starter repo and cd into the directory.

   # Clone the repo
   git clone https://github.com/ObolNetwork/charon-docker-compose.git
   
   # Change directory
   cd charon-docker-compose/

2. Prepare the environment variables

   # Copy the sample environment variables
   cp .env.sample .env

   For simplicities sake, this repo is configured to work with a remote Beacon node such as one from Infura.

   Create an Eth2 project and copy the https URL:

   

   Replace the placeholder value of CHARON_BEACON_NODE_ENDPOINT in your newly created .env file with this URL.

3. Create the artifacts needed to run a testnet distributed validator cluster

   # Create a testnet distributed validator cluster
   docker run --rm -v "$(pwd):/opt/charon" ghcr.io/obolnetwork/charon:latest create cluster --cluster-dir=".charon/cluster" --withdrawal-address="0x000000000000000000000000000000000000dead"

4. Start the cluster

   # Start the distributed validator cluster
   docker-compose up

5. Checkout the monitoring dashboard and see if things look all right

   # Open Grafana
   open http://localhost:3000/d/laEp8vupp

6. Activate the validator on the testnet using the original staking launchpad site with the deposit data created at .charon/deposit-data.json.

   • If you use Mac OS, .charon the default output folder, does not show up on the launchpad's "Upload Deposit Data" file picker. Rectify this by pressing Command + Shift + . (full stop). This should display hidden folders, allowing you to select the deposit file.

Congratulations, if this all worked you are now running a distributed validator cluster on a testnet. Try turning off a single node of the four and see if the validator stays online or begins missing duties, to see for yourself the fault-tolerance that can be added to proof of stake validation with this new Distributed Validator Technology.

tip

Don't forget to be a good testnet steward and exit your validator when you are finished testing with it.*

*Once charon creates validator exit data in an upcoming release.

Run a cluster with others

This section will be completed alongside version v0.7.0. Sit tight.