Prysm

Create a service user for the validator service, as this improves security, then create data directories.

sudo adduser --system --no-create-home --group validator
sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/prysm/validators

Storing your keystore password in a text file is required so that Prysm can decrypt and load your validators automatically.

Create a file to store your keystore password. Type your password in this file.

sudo nano /var/lib/prysm/validators/password.txt

To exit and save, press Ctrl + X, then Y, then Enter.

Confirm that your keystore password is correct.

sudo cat /var/lib/prysm/validators/password.txt

Import your validator keys by importing your keystore file. When asked to create a new wallet password, enter your keystore password. When prompted for the imported accounts password, enter your keystore password again.

sudo /usr/local/bin/validator accounts import \
  --accept-terms-of-use \
  --mainnet \
  --wallet-dir=/var/lib/prysm/validators \
  --keys-dir=$HOME/staking-deposit-cli/validator_keys

WARNING: Do not import your validator keys into multiple validator clients and run them at the same time, or you might get slashed. If moving validators to a new setup or different validator client, ensure deletion of the previous validator keys before continuing.

Verify that your keystore file was imported successfully.

sudo /usr/local/bin/validator accounts list \
  --wallet-dir=/var/lib/prysm/validators \
  --mainnet

Once successful, you will be shown your validator's public key. For example:

Showing 2 validator accounts
View the eth1 deposit transaction data for your accounts by running `validator accounts list --show-deposit-data`

Account 0 | gently-learning-chamois
[validating public key] 0x95d39860a0d6ea3b92cba78069d21f3a987988f3b8417b14f0945353d79ed9e338bbe6e9d63d487abc044a710ce34866

Account 1 | presumably-powerful-lynx
[validating public key] 0x82b225f66476962b161ed015786df00a0b7b28231915e6d09e81ba8d5c4ae8502b6d5337e3bf101ad72741dc69f0a7cf

Setup ownership permissions, including hardening the access to this directory.

sudo chown -R validator:validator /var/lib/prysm/validators
sudo chmod 700 /var/lib/prysm/validators

Create a systemd unit file to define your validator.service configuration.

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/validator.service

Paste the following configuration into the file.

[Unit]
Description=Prysm Validator Client service for Mainnet
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target
Documentation=https://nodebridgeafrica.com

[Service]
Type=simple
User=validator
Group=validator
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=3
KillSignal=SIGINT
TimeoutStopSec=900
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/validator \
  --mainnet \
  --accept-terms-of-use \
  --datadir=/var/lib/prysm/validators \
  --beacon-rpc-provider=localhost:4000 \
  --beacon-rpc-gateway-provider=localhost:5052 \
  --wallet-dir=/var/lib/prysm/validators \
  --wallet-password-file=/var/lib/prysm/validators/password.txt \
  --graffiti="🏠🥩🪙🛡️" \
  --monitoring-port=8009 \
  --suggested-fee-recipient=<0x_CHANGE_THIS_TO_MY_ETH_FEE_RECIPIENT_ADDRESS>

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

• Replace<0x_CHANGE_THIS_TO_MY_ETH_FEE_RECIPIENT_ADDRESS> with your own Ethereum address that you control. Tips are sent to this address and are immediately spendable.

• If you wish to customize a graffiti message that is included when you produce a block, add your message between the double quotes after --graffiti. Maximum length is 16 characters.

To exit and save, press Ctrl + X, then Y, then Enter.

Run the following to enable auto-start at boot time.

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable validator

Finally, start your validator client and check it's status.

sudo systemctl start validator
sudo systemctl status validator

Check your logs to confirm that the validator clients are up and functioning.

sudo journalctl -fu validator | ccze

For example when using 2 validators, logs will show the following:

level=info msg="Validating for public key" prefix=validator publicKey=0x95d39860a0d6
level=info msg="Validating for public key" prefix=validator publicKey=0x82b225f66476

Press Ctrl + C to exit the logs.

Example of Synced Prysm Validator Client Logs

• Once the validator is active and proceeded through the validator activation queue, attestation messages will appear indicating successful attestations.

• Notice the key words "INFO validator: Submitted new attestations".

[2022-11-21 1:21:21]  INFO validator: Submitted new attestations AggregatorIndices=[12412] AttesterIndices=[73613] BeaconBlockRoot=0xca3213f1a3 CommitteeIndex=12 Slot=12422 SourceEpoch=12318 SourceRoot=0xd9ddeza1289 TargetEpoch=121231 TargetRoot=0xff313419acaa1

Cleanup leftover validator_keys

Verify that you have backups of validator_keys directory. The contents are the keystore files.

Having backup copies of your validator_keys directory on USB media can make recovery from node problems quicker. Validator keys can always be regenerated from secret recovery mnemonic phrase.

You may safely delete the directory.

# Remove default validator_key directory
sudo rm -r $HOME/staking-deposit-cli/validator_keys