Lodestar Setup Guide v2 - Overview

We have a new quick setup guide to utilize our Lodestar Quickstart scripts which quickly starts up Lodestar with either Nethermind, Besu, Erigon or Geth: https://hackmd.io/@philknows/rJegZyH9q

Lodestar Setup Guide v3 is currently LIVE with updated parameters for reference: https://hackmd.io/@philknows/HkROkZW55. This guide is officially deprecated.
Please use v3.

Last Updated: January 17, 2022

Table of Contents

• Lodestar Setup Guide v2 - Overview
  • Support
  • Prerequisites
  • Testnet to Mainnet
  • Hardware Requirements
• Overview
  • Full Disclaimer

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NOTE: For the new Quick Setup Guide using the new lodestar/merge-scripts for near instantaneous Lodestar + Geth/Nethermind/Besu setup, click here.

This is a step-by-step guide to setup the ChainSafe Lodestar consensus client on the Ethereum Beacon Chain. This is an adaptation of Somer Esat's guides and CoinCashew's Security Guide specifically for Lodestar users and testers. It is based on the following technologies:

• Ubuntu v20.04.3 (LTS) x64 server
• Go-Ethereum Execution Node (Geth) | Github
• ChainSafe's Lodestar Ethereum Consensus Client | Github
• Docker Engine and Docker Compose (For Docker Setup)
• MetaMask Crypto Wallet & Browser Extension

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WARNING: Staking requires at least 32 ETH + gas fees. DO NOT send ETH anywhere without knowing what you are doing. This guide includes instructions to safely deposit your ETH for staking on the Ethereum Beacon Chain (testnets and mainnet) using official methods. Never send your ETH to anyone.

DISCLAIMER: This article (the guide) is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. The author does not guarantee accuracy of the information in this article and the author is not responsible for any damages or losses incurred by following this article. A full disclaimer can be found at the bottom of this page — please read before continuing.

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Support

For technical support please reach out to:

• The Lodestar team actively develops and collaborates on the ChainSafe Discord Server under #-lodestar-general channel.
• Please subscribe to our Discord server announcements on the ChainSafe Discord Server under #lodestar-announcements channel.
• Please subscribe to our Lodestar Development Updates mailing list to update users and developers about Lodestar updates, announcements and any critical information about our software. This mailing list is used for informational purposes only and will not contain any promotional content.

Prerequisites

This guide assumes knowledge of Ethereum, ETH, Docker, staking, Linux, and MetaMask (or Portis or Fortmatic).

This guide also requires the following before getting started:

• Ubuntu server v20.04.3 (LTS) amd64 or newer, installed and running on a local computer or in the cloud. A locally running computer is encouraged for greater decentralization — if the cloud provider goes down then all nodes hosted with that provider go down.
• MetaMask crypto wallet browser extension (or Portis or Fortmatic), installed and configured. A computer with a desktop (Mac, Windows, Linux, etc.).
• An internet browser (Brave, Safari, FireFox, etc.) is required.

Testnet to Mainnet

If moving from a testnet setup to a mainnet setup it is strongly recommended that you start on fresh (newly installed) server instance. This guide has not been tested for migration scenarios and does not guarantee success if you are using an existing instance with previously installed testnet software.

Hardware Requirements

	Minimum	Recommended
Processor	Intel Core i5–760 or AMD FX-8100	Intel Core i7–4770 or AMD FX-8310
Memory	4GB RAM	8GB+ RAM
Storage	20GB available space SSD	100GB+ available space SSD
Internet	Broadband connection	Broadband connection

NOTE: Check your available disk space. Even you have a large SSD there are cases where Ubuntu is reporting only 200GB free. If this applies to you then take a look at Appendix A — Expanding the Logical Volume.

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Overview

This guide will cover the following topics:

• Generate the staking validator keys and deposit data
• Prepare the Ubuntu Server (firewall, security, etc.)
• Set up the Go-Ethereum Execution Node (Geth) and sync it with the selected blockchain (testnet or mainnet)
• Install and configure the Lodestar client (Setup with Docker Compose or NPM Coming Soon!)
• Deposit ETH to activate validator keys

This guide is separated into a series of parts, grouped by related steps to setup a full Lodestar consensus beacon node and validator client from start to finish. The topics are separated as follows:

• Lodestar Setup Guide Overview
• Part 1: Generating Staking Data
• Part 2: Set up and Secure your Server
• Part 3a: Setup Lodestar with Docker Compose
• Part 3b: Setup Lodestar with Systemd and NPM Coming Soon!
• Part 4: Funding your Validator Keys
• Final Remarks, Next Steps & Appendix

It is recommended that you go through this process on a Testnet using Testnet Ether (Ether without any real-world value used for testing purposes). Instructions within this guide will be very similar to a mainnet setup experience.

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Full Disclaimer

This article (the guide) is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. The author does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, integrity, quality, completeness, currency, or validity of any information in this article. All information herein is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind and is subject to change at any time without notice. The author disclaims all express, implied, and statutory warranties of any kind, including warranties as to accuracy, timeliness, completeness, or fitness of the information in this article for any particular purpose. The author is not responsible for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or any other damages arising out of or in connection with the use of this article or in reliance on the information available on this article. This includes any personal injury, business interruption, loss of use, lost data, lost profits, or any other pecuniary loss, whether in an action of contract, negligence, or other misuse, even if the author has been informed of the possibility.