Run a Validator

Download and extract

curl -LO https://forerunnerprotocol.xyz/releases/forerunner-validator-latest-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
tar xzf forerunner-validator-latest-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
chmod +x validator-node

Verify

./validator-node --version
# validator-node 0.1.47

Generate a wallet

Creates ~/.forerunner/validator-wallet.json. Keep this file safe.

./validator-node get-license

Copy the wallet address — you'll need it for licensing.

Get licensed

Fund wallet with 500,000 MON, pay treasury, and submit proof:

curl -X POST https://licenses.forerunnerprotocol.xyz/purchase/validator \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"address":"0xYOUR_WALLET","tx_hash":"0xPAYMENT_TX"}'

Open firewall ports

# P2P consensus + HTTP API
sudo ufw allow 9000/tcp
sudo ufw allow 8080/tcp

Initialize and start

# Initialize data directory
./validator-node init --data-dir ./validator-data --name "my-validator"

# Start
./validator-node start \
  --config validator.toml \
  --discovery-gateway https://api.forerunnerprotocol.xyz

(Recommended) Set up systemd service

sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/forerunner-validator.service <<'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=Forerunner Validator
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=$USER
WorkingDirectory=$HOME/forerunner
ExecStart=$HOME/forerunner/validator-node start \
  --config validator.toml \
  --discovery-gateway https://api.forerunnerprotocol.xyz
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
LimitNOFILE=65536

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now forerunner-validator

Verify

curl http://localhost:8080/health
curl http://localhost:8080/api/v1/stats
journalctl -u forerunner-validator -f