Running a Validator on the Testnet

Prerequisites

1. Docker  or Podman  installed on your machine.

Step 1: Install and Run the Timechain Node

1.1 Pull the Docker Image

docker pull analoglabs/timenode-test:latest

If you are using Podman, just run:

podman pull docker.io/analoglabs/timenode-test:latest

1.2 Start the Node

Run the following command to start your validator node:

docker run -d -p 30333:30333 -p 9944:9944 \
-v  /path/to/data:/root/.local/share/timechain-node/ analoglabs/timenode-test:latest \
--name 'INSERT_YOUR_NODE_NAME' rotateKeys --validator \
--unsafe-rpc-external \
--rpc-methods=unsafe

Key Flags Explained:

• -v /path/to/data:...: Persists chain data to the host directory (/path/to/data). Replace this with your preferred path.
• --name: Sets your node’s display name on Analog Telemetry .
• --unsafe-rpc-external and --rpc-methods=unsafe: Enable RPC interactions (use only in secure environments).

Step 2: Sync Chain Data

Your node will sync the full chain history by default. To use Warp Sync (faster), add --sync=warp to the command in Step 1.2:

- "--port=30333"
- "--rpc-port=9933"
...
- "--sync=warp"

Example command with Warp Sync enabled:

docker run -d -p 30333:30333 -p 9944:9944 \
-v  /path/to/data:/root/.local/share/timechain-node/ analoglabs/timenode-test:latest \
--name 'INSERT_YOUR_NODE_NAME' rotateKeys --validator \
--unsafe-rpc-external \
--rpc-methods=unsafe
--sync=warp

Wait until your node is fully synced. Monitor progress via logs:

docker logs -f [CONTAINER_ID]

Step 3: Set Session Keys

Session keys link your node to your controller account:

3.1 Generate Keys

Call the RPC method author_rotateKeys on your running node:

echo '{"id":1,"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"author_rotateKeys","params":[]}' | websocat -n1 -B 99999999 ws://127.0.0.1:9944

This returns a hex-encoded key string (e.g., {"jsonrpc":"2.0","result":"0x0cef998a81357e73e79e2ed98e1d3ff81dfabf55444c14e3291ca9beaebfe9754483d09abf1021358280713b90fb96497ac6a2f22575f8421ffd7287fc1225440e521f344f34afc396bd4ee26164ce1962957d2a553f0d968a02068863c08375","id":1})

The string is the concatenation of the three public keys. Save this result for a later step. If you do not have Websocat installed, read this article  to learn more about how to install it.

3.2 Submit Keys via Polkadot.js

1. Go to Network>Staking > Accounts Actions.
2. Click on Set Session Key for the bonding account you set earlier.
3. Paste the key string from Step 4.1.
4. Submit the transaction.

Your node is now registered as a validator candidate.

Step 4: Verify Node on Telemetry

Check if your node is active on the network:

1. Visit Analog Telemetry .
2. Search for your node name (set via --name in Step 1.2).
3. Confirm it shows as "Active" under the validator list.

Step 6: Monitor Your Validator

To monitor detailed metrics (CPU, memory usage, chain height, peer count), use Prometheus and Grafana:

Prometheus Setup:

• Install Prometheus (official docs ).
• Add the flag --prometheus-external to your Docker command to expose metrics on port 9615.
• Configure prometheus.yml with targets pointing to your Analog node metrics endpoint.

Example configuration snippet:

scrape_configs:
  - job_name: 'analog-validator'
    static_configs:
      - targets: ['localhost:9615']

Grafana Setup:

• Install Grafana (official docs ).
• Add Prometheus as data source in Grafana:
  • Navigate to Settings > Data Sources > Add Data Source.
  • Select Prometheus; set URL (http://localhost:9090)
• Click Save & Test

Coming soon.

Coming soon.