Starting Rocket Pool and Setting Up a Node Wallet
At this point, you should have the complete Rocket Pool infrastructure running, including the Smartnode stack, an Execution (ETH1) and an Consensus (ETH2) client.
You should also have hardened your operating system from outside attackers.
If you've completed both of these steps, you're ready to create a Rocket Pool node and begin staking.
If not, please review the previous sections and return here once you've completed those steps.
Starting and Stopping the Rocket Pool Services
Now that you have the Smartnode installed, starting the stack is easy.
Simply enter the following command:
This command will create all of the necessary Docker images if they don't already exist, make sure the Rocket Pool docker network and storage volumes have been initialized, and update any containers if they no longer match the configuration settings from rocketpool service config's UI.
The first time you do it, the output should look like this:
If it does, then the Smartnode stack has been successfully initialized and is now running.
If you ever need to stop the services (for example, during an upgrade or because you need to do maintenance), you can use rocketpool service stop to shut everything down.
The output should look like this:
NOTE
Once you call this, Rocket Pool will not automatically start after a system reboot.
You will have to call rocketpool service start to start all of the Docker containers and enable auto-start on reboot again.
Now that you have the Smartnode installed, starting the stack is easy.
Simply enter the following command:
This command will create all of the necessary Docker images if they don't already exist, make sure the Rocket Pool docker network and storage volumes have been initialized, and update any containers if they no longer match the configuration settings from rocketpool service config's UI.
The first time you do it, the output should look like this:
If it does, then the Smartnode stack has been successfully initialized and is now running.
Note that your external Execution (ETH1) and/or Consensus (ETH2) clients will not be listed here, as Rocket Pool does not manage them and thus cannot start them.
You will have to ensure that you've started them separately, using whatever mechanism you originally created them with.
If you ever need to stop the services (for example, during an upgrade or because you need to do maintenance), you can use rocketpool service stop to shut everything down.
The output should look like this:
Again, you will be responsible for manually ensuring that your Execution (ETH1) and Consensus (ETH2) clients are stopped appropriately as well, if you want them to be stopped.
NOTE
Once you call this, Rocket Pool will not automatically start after a system reboot.
You will have to call rocketpool service start to start all of the Docker containers and enable auto-start on reboot again.
In native mode, you already set up and started the Smartnode services as part of the Configuring a Native Rocket Pool Node without Docker section.
Assuming you set them up as systemd services, you can start them with sudo systemctl start ....
For example, if you are using Geth for Execution (ETH1) and Teku for Consensus (ETH2):
Stopping them is the same process, but using sudo systemctl stop ....
Note that stopping the services does not disable autostart; the processes will automatically start upon a reboot.
Confirming the Correct Version and Network
Once the containers or services are up, a good first step is to confirm that you have the correct versions of the clients and are on the network that you expect.
You can do this with the following command:
The output will look like this (note that you may have a newer version than what is displayed here, this is just an example):
The first line will tell you if your Smartnode is configured for the Ethereum mainnet or for the Prater testnet.
NOTE
For Docker / Hybrid users:
If you are not on the network you expect to be on, go back to the Installing Rocket Pool section and review the installation instructions - you may have missed the portion that has different instructions depending on which network you want to use.
For Native users:
If you accepted the default settings when you first ran rp service config, then it's possible that the network reported here is incorrect.
Simply switch it in the rp service config TUI, in the Smartnode section, to the proper network and restart your node and watchtower services.
The second set of lines will tell you which clients you're using, and which versions of them are defined in Rocket Pool's configuration.
Checking the Service Status and Logs
Now that the Smartnode services have been started, it's a good idea to check that they're running correctly without errors.
The first thing to check is whether the Docker containers are running well, or if they are constantly restarting due to an error.
Run the following command:
The results should look like this:
The key thing to check is the STATUS column.
If none of the entries state Restarting..., then the containers should be running properly (see the below note for an exception about the rocketpool_validator container).
NOTE
If you are using Prysm as your Consensus (ETH2) client, you will likely notice the rocketpool_validator container is constantly restarting.
This is okay!
The validator container will fail until a new validator has been created using the rocketpool node deposit command, which we will cover in the Creating a Minipool (ETH2 Validator) section.
Once this is done, the container will function correctly - until then, just ignore it.
Still, it might be useful to check the logs of the various services.
To check on the logs, use the rocketpool service logs <container> command, where <container> is one of eth1, eth2, validator, api, node, or watchtower.
For example, to check the logs for your ETH1 client:
You should do this for both eth1 and eth2 to make sure both clients are running without any errors.
The first thing to check is whether the Docker containers are running well, or if they are constantly restarting due to an error.
Run the following command:
The results should look like this:
The key thing to check is the STATUS column.
If none of the entries state Restarting..., then the containers should be running properly (see the below note for an exception about the rocketpool_validator container).
NOTE
If you are using Prysm as your Consensus (ETH2) client, you will likely notice the rocketpool_validator container is constantly restarting.
This is okay!
The validator container will fail until a new validator has been created using the rocketpool node deposit command, which we will cover in the Creating a Minipool (ETH2 Validator) section.
Once this is done, the container will function correctly - until then, just ignore it.
Still, it might be useful to check the logs of the various services.
To check on the logs, use the rocketpool service logs <container> command, where <container> is one of eth1, eth2, validator, api, node, or watchtower.
You can ignore eth1 and/or eth2 based on which ones you are maintaining externally, but if you are letting Rocket Pool manage one of them, you should check the status of it now using this command.
The easiest way to check the status and logs in native mode is to use the logging scripts that you created when you first set up the Smartnode services.
For example, to check Geth's log, you would just run:
You should see that it is slowly chugging along without any errors.
Do this for your Execution (ETH1) and Consensus (ETH2) clients now to verify that they are working properly.
TIP
When you're done looking at the logs, you can exit and return to the command prompt using Ctrl + C.
Setting up a Wallet
If the Smartnode services are up and running, the next step is to set up an ETH1 wallet for your node.
This is simply an ETH1 address that will hold your node's funds - it will use this to send ETH to your minipool when you begin staking, pay for gas during various transactions, and other various operations.
You have the option of either creating a brand new wallet from scratch, or importing / recovering an existing wallet or address.
Please choose which option you'd like from the tabs below.
The most common way to run a node is to create a new ETH1 address that is dedicated to the node.
The Smartnode CLI provides a way to do this easily:
You will first be prompted for a password to protect your wallet's private key.
Next, you will be presented the unique 24-word mnemonic for your new wallet.
This is the recovery phrase for your wallet.
If you ever lose your machine, you can use this phrase to regenerate your wallet and resurrect all of the Consensus (ETH2) validators attached to it.
NOTE
It is essential that you write this mnemonic down because this is the only time it will be shown to you, but keep it somewhere safe.
Anyone with this phrase can gain control of your wallet.
Once you confirm your mnemonic phrase, you will be presented with the unique ETH1 address for your node wallet.
If you already have a node wallet that you created in a previous installation of the Smartnode, or if you want to import an address that you created elsewhere (such as with Allnodes), please follow the instructions in the Importing an Existing Wallet for your Node guide.
Return here when you're finished.
NOTE
As of the current build, Rocket Pool needs to have access to your wallet's private key in order to perform its automatic duties.
This means that the private key will exist in a file on your machine.
If an attacker manages to gain access to your machine, they could gain access to your node wallet and steal all of the tokens that it contains!
Please ensure that you have followed the security guide in the Securing your Node section before you continue, and are comfortable with your security posture.
Your wallet's private key will be stored in a file located at ~/.rocketpool/data/wallet.
The password used to encrypt your wallet's key will be stored in ~/.rocketpool/data/password.
This is the file that must be protected at all times.
The wallet and password files will be stored in the data directory under the Rocket Pool directory that you set up earlier (e.g. /srv/rocketpool).
Your wallet's private key will be stored in a file located at /srv/rocketpool/data/wallet.
The password used to encrypt your wallet's key will be stored in /srv/rocketpool/data/password.
This is the file that must be protected at all times.
Waiting for Your ETH Clients to Sync
Now that you have a wallet set up, you're going to want to wait until your Execution (ETH1) and Consensus (ETH2) clients have finished syncing with the network before proceeding.
One easy way to check on their status is with the following command:
This command will show how far along your Execution (ETH1) & Consensus (ETH2) clients are in the syncing process, similar to this:
You can call this occasionally to keep tabs on your clients' progress.
To get an actual ETA of the sync time, it's easiest to look at the logs for your clients with rocketpool service logs eth1 and rocketpool service logs eth2 respectively (or the equivalent log script commands if you're using the hybrid / native modes.)
Each client typically provides an ETA on its sync status in its log output.
NOTE
It can take days to fully sync both ETH1 and ETH2 depending on your client selection and your machine's hardware profile.
This is expected.
Sit back, relax, and wait for both of them to finish.
Next Steps
Once you've imported or recovered your node wallet and your clients are done syncing, follow the next steps in the Intro to the Command Line Interface guide.
