Skip to main content

Running Push Validator

Fast validator setup for Push Chain

🚀 Quick Start​

Step 1: Install & Start​

curl -fsSL https://get.push.network/node/install.sh | bash

Automatically installs and starts your validator using snapshot download (no full sync needed).

Note: Restart terminal or run source ~/.bashrc to use push-validator from anywhere.

Step 2: Verify Sync​

push-validator status

Wait for: ✅ Catching Up: false (snapshot download takes ~5-20 mins depending on connection, then block sync begins)

Step 3: Register Validator​

push-validator register-validator

Wallet Setup: You'll be prompted to either:

  1. Create new wallet — Generates a new recovery phrase (save it securely!)
  2. Import existing wallet — Use your existing 12/24-word recovery phrase

Configuration: You'll also set:

  • Moniker — Your validator's display name (must be unique on the network)
  • Commission Rate — Fee charged to delegators (5-100%, default: 10%)
  • Stake Amount — How much to stake (minimum: 1.5 PC)

Requirements: 2+ PC tokens from faucet

Done! Your validator is running with automatic recovery enabled! 🎉

📊 Dashboard​

Monitor your validator in real-time with an interactive dashboard:

push-validator dashboard

Features:

  • Node Status - Process state, RPC connectivity, resource usage (CPU, memory, disk)
  • Chain Sync - Real-time block height, sync progress with ETA, network latency
  • Validator Metrics - Bonding status, voting power, commission rate, accumulated rewards
  • Network Overview - Connected peers, chain ID, active validators list
  • Live Logs - Stream node activity with search and filtering
  • Auto-Refresh - Updates every 2 seconds for real-time monitoring

The dashboard provides everything you need to monitor validator health and performance at a glance.

📖 Commands​

Core​

push-validator start                # Start node with snapshot sync
push-validator stop                 # Stop node
push-validator status               # Check sync & validator status
push-validator dashboard            # Live interactive monitoring dashboard
push-validator register-validator   # Register as validator (create or import wallet)
push-validator logs                 # View logs

Validator Operations​

push-validator increase-stake       # Increase validator stake and voting power
push-validator unjail               # Restore jailed validator to active status
push-validator withdraw-rewards     # Withdraw validator rewards and commission
push-validator restake-rewards      # Auto-withdraw and restake all rewards to increase validator power

Monitoring​

push-validator sync            # Monitor sync progress
push-validator peers           # Show peer connections (from local RPC)
push-validator doctor          # Run diagnostic checks on validator setup

Management​

push-validator restart         # Restart node
push-validator validators      # List validators (supports --output json)
push-validator balance         # Check balance (defaults to validator key)
push-validator reset           # Reset chain data (keeps address book)
push-validator full-reset      # ⚠️ Complete reset (deletes ALL keys and data)
push-validator backup          # Backup config and validator state
push-validator update          # Update CLI to latest version

⚡ Features​

  • Snapshot Download: Fast sync (~5-20 mins, no full blockchain download required)
  • Interactive Logs: Real-time log viewer with search and filtering
  • Smart Detection: Monitors for sync stalls and network issues
  • Reliable Snapshots: Uses trusted RPC nodes for recovery
  • Multiple Outputs: JSON, YAML, or text format support

🔄 Automatic Upgrades (Cosmovisor)​

Your validator uses Cosmovisor for seamless, zero-downtime upgrades.

How It Works​

  1. Governance Proposal - Network votes on upgrade proposal specifying target block height
  2. Auto-Download - When approved, Cosmovisor automatically downloads the new binary
  3. Checksum Verification - Binary verified via SHA256 before use
  4. Seamless Switch - At upgrade height, node stops, switches binary, and restarts automatically

No manual intervention required - your validator stays up-to-date automatically.

Directory Structure​

~/.pchain/cosmovisor/
├── genesis/bin/pchaind     # Initial binary
├── upgrades/               # Upgrade binaries (auto-populated)
│   └── {upgrade-name}/bin/pchaind
└── current -> genesis/     # Symlink to active version

Commands​

push-validator cosmovisor status    # Check versions & pending upgrades

🔧 Troubleshooting​

Sync Failures / App Mismatch Errors​

If you encounter sync failures or app hash mismatch errors, reset and restart:

push-validator reset
push-validator start

This clears the chain data and downloads a fresh snapshot. Snapshot download takes approximately 15-30 minutes depending on your connection, after which block sync will begin automatically.

📊 Network​

🔄 Updates​

The CLI automatically checks for updates and notifies you:

  • Dashboard: Shows notification in header when update available
  • CLI commands: Shows notification after command completes

Manual Update​

push-validator update              # Update to latest version
push-validator update --check      # Check only, don't install
push-validator update --version v1.2.0  # Install specific version

Updates download pre-built binaries from GitHub Releases with checksum verification.

🔧 Advanced Setup (Optional)​

Setup NGINX with SSL​

bash scripts/setup-nginx.sh yourdomain.com

Creates:

  • https://yourdomain.com - Cosmos RPC endpoint
  • https://evm.yourdomain.com - EVM RPC endpoint
  • Automatic SSL certificates via Let's Encrypt
  • Rate limiting and security headers

Requirements:

  • Domain pointing to your server IP
  • Ports 80/443 open
  • Ubuntu/Debian system

Log Rotation​

bash scripts/setup-log-rotation.sh

Configures daily rotation with 14-day retention and compression.

File Locations​

  • Manager: ~/.local/bin/push-validator
  • Chain Binary: ~/.pchain/cosmovisor/current/bin/pchaind (managed by Cosmovisor)
  • Config: ~/.pchain/config/
  • Data: ~/.pchain/data/
  • Logs: ~/.pchain/logs/pchaind.log
  • Backups: ~/push-node-backups/