Run a validator

A validator signs blocks. On sanect only the top 50 by stake sit in the active set at any moment — but registrations are unlimited: anyone can register, the top 50 by stake form the active consensus set, and the rest sit on a waitlist that rotates in when they outstake someone above rank 50. To actually validate you need (a) a running full node with a unique validator key, and (b) enough stake (self or delegated) to crack the top 50. Jailed for downtime? The staking dApp ships a one-click Unjail action.

This page covers a single validator. If you're scaling 1 → 50 (or beyond) on Railway, also read 1 → 50 validators on Railway.

Mental model

A validator is a full node plus a private signing key (priv_validator_key.json) plus an on-chain MsgCreateValidator transaction binding that key to a delegator account with some stake. Each pair of (node, key) is one validator identity. The key must be unique per validator.

Two ways to become a validator

A) Genesis validator

Your validator's gentx is part of genesis.json. The chain starts with you in the active set on block 1. Used when bootstrapping a new chain. Today sanect's testnet was bootstrapped this way with a single validator.

B) Post-genesis validator (more common)

The chain is already running. You spin up a new node, sync to the tip, then submit a MsgCreateValidator transaction. If your stake lands you in the top 50, you're active and start signing the next epoch.

For sanect testnet today, use path B unless you're rebooting the chain.

Hardware requirements

Resource	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	4 cores	8+ cores
RAM	8 GB	16 GB
Storage	200 GB SSD	500 GB+ NVMe SSD
Network	100 Mbps	1 Gbps

NVMe strongly recommended

Mainnet validators should use local NVMe storage (not network-attached or shared ZFS). CometBFT's fsync-heavy write pattern benefits significantly from NVMe IOPS. Shared storage (e.g. Railway ZFS) can push block time from ~400ms to ~700ms due to ZIL contention.

Path B — Add a validator to a running chain

Testnet

# 1. Run a full node that's caught up to the tip.
#    (See "Run a full / RPC node".)  Confirm it's at chain tip:
curl -s localhost:26657/status | jq .result.sync_info.catching_up
# -> false

# 2. Create a delegator key (this account holds your stake).
sanectd keys add mykey --keyring-backend test --home /data/.sanectd
#  ^ for production, use --keyring-backend os or file.

# 3. Fund that address with some SNCT (faucet / transfer from another account).

# 4. Submit the create-validator tx (testnet: min-self-delegation 100 SNCT).
sanectd tx staking create-validator \
  --amount=1000000000000000000000asnct \
  --pubkey=$(sanectd cometbft show-validator --home /data/.sanectd) \
  --moniker="my-validator" \
  --chain-id=sanect_76287-1 \
  --commission-rate=0.10 \
  --commission-max-rate=0.20 \
  --commission-max-change-rate=0.01 \
  --min-self-delegation=100000000000000000000 \
  --from=mykey \
  --keyring-backend=test \
  --home=/data/.sanectd \
  --gas=auto \
  --gas-prices=1000000000asnct \
  --yes

Mainnet

# Same steps as testnet, but with mainnet chain ID and higher min-self-delegation.
# Mainnet min-self-delegation: 1000 SNCT (10^21 asnct).

sanectd tx staking create-validator \
  --amount=10000000000000000000000asnct \
  --pubkey=$(sanectd cometbft show-validator --home /data/.sanectd) \
  --moniker="my-validator" \
  --chain-id=sanect_7628-1 \
  --commission-rate=0.10 \
  --commission-max-rate=0.20 \
  --commission-max-change-rate=0.01 \
  --min-self-delegation=1000000000000000000000 \
  --from=mykey \
  --keyring-backend=os \
  --home=/data/.sanectd \
  --gas=auto \
  --gas-prices=1000000000asnct \
  --yes

If your stake is enough to land in the top 50, you start signing the next block your node sees.

Operational must-haves

• Never run two nodes with the same priv_validator_key.json. They will both sign at the same height and the chain slashes the validator for double-signing. This is the single biggest footgun in BFT validation.
• Back up priv_validator_key.json to somewhere offline. You can rebuild the rest of a node; you can't recover this key.
• Keep priv_validator_state.json in sync with the actual signed state. Don't roll back the volume — it can cause double-sign.
• Monitor liveness. If your validator misses too many blocks in the signed_blocks_window, it gets jailed for downtime. Restart it before the window closes.

Delegation (without running a node)

Anyone can delegate SNCT to an existing validator to share in its rewards (minus the validator's commission). Use any Cosmos-SDK wallet (Keplr, Leap) or the CLI:

# Testnet
sanectd tx staking delegate <validator-address> 1000000000000000000asnct \
  --from=mykey --chain-id=sanect_76287-1 \
  --gas-prices=1000000000asnct --yes

# Mainnet
sanectd tx staking delegate <validator-address> 1000000000000000000asnct \
  --from=mykey --chain-id=sanect_7628-1 \
  --gas-prices=1000000000asnct --yes

Next step

→ 1 → 50 validators on Railway for the operational playbook of adding multiple validators on Railway (including why you must not use replicas).