Updated on April 27, 2021
Connect to a testnet
The following instructions describe the process to connect Teku to an Ethereum 2.0 testnet.
Important
This example connects to the Pyrmont testnet. If connecting to a different testnet,
update the --network option in the examples
accordingly.
Networks can experience stability issues and are prone to regular resets. We recommend you regularly check network and client documentation for updates.
Prerequisites:
- Install the latest stable version of Teku using a binary distribution, or with Docker.
- If running validators, install any Ethereum 1.0 client (for example Hyperledger Besu), or access a cloud-based service such as Infura.
Teku allows you run a beacon chain client only, or you can run the beacon chain client with validators on a public testnet.
Run validators on a testnet
Ethereum 2.0 validators need to access an Ethereum 1.0 client to onboard new validators. Validators make deposits into Ethereum 1.0, and existing Ethereum 2.0 validators must process the deposits to allow the validators to join Ethereum 2.0.
Deposits are made into a deposit contract on the Goerli Ethereum 1.0 testnet.
The steps to run an Ethereum 2.0 validator on a testnet are:
-
If using a local Ethereum 1.0 client, sync the Ethereum 1.0 network containing the deposit contract.
Note
This step is only required if using a local Ethereum 1.0 client such as Besu. If using a cloud-based service such as Infura, proceed to fund your deposit account.
-
Generate the validator keys and send the deposit to the deposit contract.
Sync the Ethereum 1.0 network
This step is only required if using a local Ethereum 1.0 client.
This example uses Besu to connect to Ethereum 1.0, but any client can be used. Configure Besu to connect to Goerli and expose the RPC-HTTP APIs.
Example
besu --network=goerli --data-path=./goerli --rpc-http-enabled=true --rpc-http-port=8545 \
--rpc-http-api=ETH,NET,WEB3 --sync-mode=FAST --fast-sync-min-peers=2
Load the deposit account with ETH
You need an Ethereum 1.0 Goerli testnet account that contains the amount of
Goerli ETH (plus gas) required to activate the validator. The pyrmont testnet
requires 32 Goerli ETH per validator.
Generate the validators and send the deposits
Use the Pyrmont Launchpad to guide you through a step-by-step process to generate your keys and send the deposits.
Note
Remember the passwords that you used to create the validator keys, because you need it to create the validator password files.
Create a password file for each validator key
For each validator key, create a text file containing the password to decrypt the key. The password
file must have the same name as the key, but use the .txt extension.
Example
If the Launchpad creates a key named keystore-m_12381_3600_0_0_0-1596485378.json, then
the password file must be named keystore-m_12381_3600_0_0_0-1596485378.txt.
Info
The password file format follows EIP-2335
requirements (UTF-8 encoded file, unicode normalization, and control code removal).
Start the validator
Run Teku and specify the validator key files created earlier, and the text files containing the password to decrypt the validator key.
Example
teku --network=pyrmont --eth1-endpoint=http://localhost:8545 \
--validator-keys=validator/keys/validator_888eef.json:validator/passwords/validator_888eef.txt \
--rest-api-enabled=true --rest-api-docs-enabled=true \
--metrics-enabled
Note
If using a cloud-based service such as Infura, then set
--eth1-endpoint to the
supplied URL. For example, https://goerli.infura.io/v3/<Project_ID>.
Alternatively, use --validator-keys to
specify the directory to load multiple keys and passwords from.
Example
teku --network=pyrmont --eth1-endpoint=http://localhost:8545 \
--validator-keys=validator/keys:validator/passwords \
--rest-api-enabled=true --rest-api-docs-enabled=true \
--metrics-enabled
Once the validator is activated, view it on the beacon chain explorer at
https://pyrmont.beaconcha.in/validator/<validatorPublicKey>.
Run a beacon chain client only
You can run a Teku beacon chain node on a network without any validators.
Example
teku --network=pyrmont --metrics-enabled --rest-api-enabled --rest-api-docs-enabled
Finding help
-
The
#pyrmontchannel on the Ethereum Foundation Discord. Invite link -
The
#tekuchannel on the ConsenSys Discord. Invite link -
Please raise any bugs or errors on the Teku GitHub repository.