Version: v0.12.0

Run a cluster alone

caution

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

Clone the charon-distributed-validator-cluster template repo and cd into the directory.

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/ObolNetwork/charon-distributed-validator-cluster.git

# Change directory
cd charon-distributed-validator-cluster/

Prepare the environment variables
```
# Copy the sample environment variables
cp .env.sample .env
```
.env.sample is a sample environment file that allows overriding default configuration defined in docker-compose.yml. Uncomment and set any variable to override its value.

Create the artifacts needed to run a testnet distributed validator cluster

# Create a testnet distributed validator cluster
docker run --rm -v "$(pwd):/opt/charon" obolnetwork/charon:v0.12.0 create cluster --withdrawal-address="0x000000000000000000000000000000000000dead"

Start the cluster

# Start the distributed validator cluster
docker compose up

Checkout the monitoring dashboard and see if things look all right

# Open Grafana
open http://localhost:3000/d/singlenode/single-charon-node-dashboard?

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

If this all worked, you are now running a distributed validator cluster on a testnet. Congratulations 🎉. Try turning off a single node of the four with docker stop 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.