Guide: How to stake on ETH2 Medalla Testnet with Lighthouse on Ubuntu
Lighthouse is an Eth2.0 client with a heavy focus on speed and security. The team behind it, Sigma Prime, is an information security and software engineering firm who have funded Lighthouse along with the Ethereum Foundation, Consensys, and private individuals. Lighthouse is built in Rust and offered under an Apache 2.0 License.
As a validator for eth2, you will typically have the following abilities:
operational knowledge of how to set up, run and maintain a eth2 beacon node and validator continuously
a commitment to maintain your validator 24/7/365
basic operating system skills
and have read the 8 Things Every Eth2 validator should know.
Operating system: 64-bit Linux (i.e. Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS)
Processor: Dual core CPU
Memory: 4GB RAM
Storage: 20GB SSD
Internet: 24/7 broadband internet connection with speeds at least 1 Mbps.
Power: 24/7 electrical power
ETH balance: at least 32 Goerli ETH
Wallet: Metamask installed
Operating system: 64-bit Linux (i.e. Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS)
Processor: Octa core CPU
Memory: 32GB RAM
Storage: 2 TB SSD
Internet: Multiple 24/7 broadband internet connections with speeds at least 100 Mbps (i.e. fiber + cellular 4G)
Power: Redundant 24/7 electrical power with uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
ETH balance: at least 32 Goerli ETH
Wallet: Metamask installed
If you need to install Ubuntu, refer to
If you need to install Metamask, refer to
Ethereum 2.0 requires a connection to Ethereum 1.0 in order to monitor for 32 ETH validator deposits. Hosting your own Ethereum 1.0 node is the best way to maximize decentralization and minimize dependency on third parties such as Infura.
Your choice of either OpenEthereum, Geth, Besu or Nethermind.
sudo apt install openjdk-11-jdk
cdwget -O besu.tar.gz https://bintray.com/hyperledger-org/besu-repo/download_file?file_path=besu-1.5.0.tar.gztar -xvf besu.tar.gzrm besu.tar.gzcd besu-1.5.0/bin
./besu --network=goerli --data-path="$HOME/Goerli"
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install libsnappy-dev libc6-dev libc6 unzip -y
mkdir ~/nethermind && cd ~/nethermindwget -O nethermind.zip https://nethdev.blob.core.windows.net/builds/nethermind-linux-amd64-1.8.77-9d3a58a.zipunzip nethermind.zip
./Nethermind.Launcher
Select Ethereum Node
Select Goerli select Fast sync
No to configure
Syncing the node could take up to 1 hour.
You are fully sync'd when you see the message: Imported new chain segment
Join the Prysmatic Labs Discord and send a request for ETH in the -request-goerli-eth channel
!send <your metamask goerli network ETH address>
Otherwise, visit the 🚰 Goerli Authenticated Faucet.
Install dependencies, the ethereum foundation deposit tool and generate keys.
sudo apt install python3-pip git -y
mkdir ~/gitcd ~/gitgit clone https://github.com/ethereum/eth2.0-deposit-cli.gitcd eth2.0-deposit-clisudo ./deposit.sh install
./deposit.sh --chain medalla
2. Follow the prompts and pick a password. Write down your mnemonic and keep this safe, preferably offline.
3. Follow the steps at https://medalla.launchpad.ethereum.org/ but skip the steps you already just completed. Study the eth2 phase 0 overview material. Understanding eth2 is the key to success!
4. Back on the launchpad website, upload the deposit_data.json found in the validator_keys directory.
5. Connect your metamask wallet, review and accept terms.
6. Confirm the transaction.
Be sure to safely save your mnemonic seed offline.
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
In case of compilation errors, runrustup update
Enter '1' to proceed with the default install.
Update your environment variables.
echo export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH" >> ~/.bashrcsource ~/.bashrc
Install rust dependencies.
sudo apt install -y git gcc g++ make cmake pkg-config libssl-dev
cd ~/gitgit clone https://github.com/sigp/lighthouse.gitcd lighthousemake
This build process may take up to an hour.
Verify lighthouse was installed properly.
lighthouse --version
lighthouse account validator import --directory=$HOME/git/eth2.0-deposit-cli/validator_keys
Accept default locations and enter a password to your imported accounts.
WARNING: DO NOT USE THE ORIGINAL KEYSTORES TO VALIDATE WITH ANOTHER CLIENT, OR YOU WILL GET SLASHED.
Specific to your networking setup or cloud provider settings, ensure your beacon node's ports are open and reachable. Use https://canyouseeme.org/ to verify.
Lighthouse beacon chain requires port 9000 for tcp and udp
geth node requires port 30303 for tcp and udp
If you participated in any of the prior test nets, you need to clear the database.
rm -rf $HOME/.lighthouse
In a new terminal, start the beacon chain.
lighthouse beacon --eth1 --http --graffiti "ETH TO THE MOON WITH LIGHTHOUSE"
Allow the beacon chain to fully sync with eth1 chain before continuing.
Continue when you see the "Beacon chain initialized" message.
lighthouse vc
Validator client - Responsible for producing new blocks and attestations in the beacon chain and shard chains.
Beacon chain client - Responsible for managing the state of the beacon chain, validator shuffling, and more.
Congratulations. Once your beacon-chain is sync'd, validator up and running, you just wait for activation. This process takes up to 8 hours. When you're assigned, your validator will begin creating and voting on blocks while earning ETH staking rewards.
Use beaconcha.in and register an account to create alerts and track your validator's performance.
Because beacon chain relies on accurate times to perform attestations and produce blocks, your computer's time must be accurate to real NTP or NTS time within 0.5 seconds.
Setup Chrony with the following guide.
chrony is an implementation of the Network Time Protocol and helps to keep your computer's time synchronized with NTP.
cd ~/git/lighthousegit pullmake
Restart beacon chain and validator as per normal operating procedures.
