Staking Pool Operations

This document describes how to perform staking pool operations. Note that you can stake only when you meet the minimal staking requirement.

Minimum staking requirement

The current required minimum for staking is 1M APT tokens.

Initializing the stake pool

Make sure that this initializing the stake pool step was performed by the owner. See Initialize staking pool in the owner documentation section.

Joining validator set

Errors?

The validator node cannot sync until the stake pool becomes active. If you see errors, see the Issues and Workarounds.

Follow the below steps to set up the validator node using the operator account and join the validator set.

Mainnet vs Testnet

The below CLI command examples use mainnet. See the --rest-url value for testnet or devnet in Aptos Blockchain Deployments.

1. Initialize Aptos CLI

aptos init --profile mainnet-operator \
--private-key <operator_account_private_key> \
--rest-url https://fullnode.mainnet.aptoslabs.com/v1 \
--skip-faucet

tip

The account_private_key for the operator can be found in the private-keys.yaml file under ~/$WORKSPACE/keys folder.

2. Check your validator account balance

Make sure you have enough APT coins to pay for gas. You can check for this either on the Aptos Explorer or using the CLI:

On the Aptos Explorer https://explorer.aptoslabs.com/account/<account-address>?network=Mainnet, or

Use the CLI:

aptos account list --profile mainnet-operator

This will show you the coin balance you have in the validator account. You will see an output like below:

"coin": {
    "value": "5000"
  }

Already in validator set? Skip to Step 6

If you know you are already in the validator set, then skip steps 3, 4, and 5 and go directly to step 6 to confirm it.

3. Update validator network addresses on-chain

aptos node update-validator-network-addresses  \
  --pool-address <pool-address> \
  --operator-config-file ~/$WORKSPACE/$USERNAME/operator.yaml \
  --profile mainnet-operator

Important notes

The network address updates and the consensus key rotation will be applied only at the end of the current epoch. Note that the validator need not leave the validator set to make these updates. You can run the commands for address and key changes. For the remaining duration of the current epoch your validator will still use the old key and addresses but when the epoch ends it will switch to the new key and addresses.

4. Rotate the validator consensus key on-chain

aptos node update-consensus-key  \
  --pool-address <pool-address> \
  --operator-config-file ~/$WORKSPACE/$USERNAME/operator.yaml \
  --profile mainnet-operator

5. Join the validator set

aptos node join-validator-set \
  --pool-address <pool-address> \
  --profile mainnet-operator

The validator set is updated at every epoch change. You will see your validator node joining the validator set only in the next epoch. Both validator and validator fullnode will start syncing once your validator is in the validator set.

When is next epoch?

Run the command aptos node get-stake-pool as shown in Checking your stake pool information. You can also follow these steps: How to find out when the next epoch starts.

6. Check the validator set

When you join the validator set, your validator node will be in "Pending Active" state until the next epoch occurs. During this time you might see errors like "No connected AptosNet peers". This is normal. Run the below command to look for your validator in the "pending_active" list.

aptos node show-validator-set --profile mainnet-operator | jq -r '.Result.pending_active' | grep <pool_address>

When the next epoch happens, the node will be moved into "active_validators" list. Run the below command to see your validator in the "active_validators" list:

aptos node show-validator-set --profile mainnet-operator | jq -r '.Result.active_validators' | grep <pool_address>

Checking your stake pool information

How validation works

Before you proceed, see Validation on the Aptos blockchain for a brief overview.

To check the details of your stake pool, run the below CLI command with the get-stake-pool option by providing the --owner-address and --url fields.

The below command is for an example owner address e7be097a90c18f6bdd53efe0e74bf34393cac2f0ae941523ea196a47b6859edb.

tip

For testnet or devnet --url field values, see Aptos Blockchain Deployments.

aptos node get-stake-pool \
  --owner-address e7be097a90c18f6bdd53efe0e74bf34393cac2f0ae941523ea196a47b6859edb \
  --url https://fullnode.mainnet.aptoslabs.com/v1

Example output:

{
  "Result": [
    {
      "state": "Active", 
      "pool_address": "25c3482850a188d8aa6edc5751846e1226a27863643f5ebc52be4f7d822264e3",
      "operator_address": "3bec5a529b023449dfc86e9a6b5b51bf75cec4a62bf21c15bbbef08a75f7038f",
      "voter_address": "3bec5a529b023449dfc86e9a6b5b51bf75cec4a62bf21c15bbbef08a75f7038f",
      "pool_type": "StakingContract",
      "total_stake": 100525929489123,
      "commission_percentage": 10,
      "commission_not_yet_unlocked": 15949746439,
      "lockup_expiration_utc_time": "2022-10-07T07:12:55Z",
      "consensus_public_key": "0xb3a7ac1491b0165f08f136c2b02739846b6610084984d5298c2983c4f8e5553284bffca2e3fe2b99167da82717501732",
      "validator_network_addresses": [
        "/ip4/35.91.145.164/tcp/6180/noise-ik/0xeddf05470520af91b847f353dd804a04399e1213d130a4260e813527f2c49262/handshake/0"
      ],
      "fullnode_network_addresses": [],
      "epoch_info": {
        "epoch": 594,
        "epoch_interval_secs": 3600,
        "current_epoch_start_time": {
          "unix_time": 1665087178789891,
          "utc_time": "2022-10-06T20:12:58.789891Z"
        },
        "next_epoch_start_time": {
          "unix_time": 1665090778789891,
          "utc_time": "2022-10-06T21:12:58.789891Z"
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Description of output fields

state

"Active": Validator is already in the validator set and proposing.
"Pending_active": Validator will be added to the validator set in the next epoch. Do not try to join the validator set again before the arrival of next epoch, or else you will receive an error.

pool_address

Use this "pool_address" (not the operator address) in you validator.yaml file. If you mistakenly used the operator address, you will receive the message: "Validator not in validator set".

commission_percentage

This can be set only by the stake pool owner. Operator receives the "commission_percentage" of the generated staking rewards. If you request the commission (you can do so by running the command aptos stake request-commission), then at the end of the lockup_expiration_utc_time the commission part of the rewards will go to the operator address while the rest will stay in the stake pool and belong to the owner. Here "the commission part of the rewards" means the value of commission_not_yet_unlocked.
For example, in a scenario with a lock up of one month, you call aptos stake request-commission every month. This will pay out the commission that was accrued during the previous month but only when unlocked at the end of the previous month. Regardless of how often you run aptos stake request-commission during the month, the commission is only paid out upon the completion of lockup_expiration_utc_time.
Compounding
Note that if you do not request commission for multiple months, your commission will accrue more due to compounding of the commission_percentage during these months.

commission_not_yet_unlocked

The amount of commission (amount of APT) that is not yet unlocked. It will be unlocked at the lockup_expiration_utc_time. This is the total commission amount available to the operator, i.e., the staking rewards only to the operator. This does not include the staking rewards to the owner.

lockup_expiration_utc_time

The date when the commission will unlock. However, this unlocked commission will not be auto-disbursed. It will only disburse when the command aptos stake request-commission is called again.

epoch_info

Use the Epoch Converter to convert the unix_time into human readable time.

Requesting commission

Either an owner or an operator can request commission. You can request commission at the end of a lockup period, i.e., at the end of lockup_expiration_utc_time, by running the aptos stake request-commission command. Make sure to provide the operator and the owner addresses. See an example command below:

aptos stake request-commission \
  --operator-address 0x3bec5a529b023449dfc86e9a6b5b51bf75cec4a62bf21c15bbbef08a75f7038f \
  --owner-address 0xe7be097a90c18f6bdd53efe0e74bf34393cac2f0ae941523ea196a47b6859edb

Frequently used staking operations commands

Checking your validator performance

To see your validator performance in the current and past epochs and the rewards earned, run the below command. The output will show the validator's performance in block proposals, and in governance voting and governance proposals. Default values are used in the below command. Type aptos node get-performance --help to see default values used.

aptos node get-performance \ 
  --pool-address <pool address> \
  --url https://fullnode.mainnet.aptoslabs.com/v1

Example output:

{
  "Result": {
    "current_epoch_successful_proposals": 56,
    "current_epoch_failed_proposals": 0,
    "previous_epoch_rewards": [
      "12312716242",
      "12272043711",
      "12312912674",
      "12313011054",
      "12313109435",
      "12180092056",
      "12313305136",
      "12313403519",
      "12313501903",
      "12313600288"
    ],
    "epoch_info": {
      "epoch": 68,
      "epoch_interval": 3600000000,
      "last_epoch_start_time": {
        "unix_time": 1665074662417326,
        "utc_time": "2022-10-06T16:44:22.417326Z",
        "local_time": "Thu Oct  6 16:44:22 2022"
      },
      "next_epoch_start_time": {
        "unix_time": 1665078262417326,
        "utc_time": "2022-10-06T17:44:22.417326Z",
        "local_time": "Thu Oct  6 17:44:22 2022"
      }
    }
  }
}

Description of fields

current_epoch_successful_proposals

Successful leader-validator proposals during the current epoch. Also see Validation on the Aptos blockchain for the distinction between leader-validator and the voter-validator.

previous_epoch_rewards

An ordered list of rewards earned (APT amounts) for the previous 10 epochs, starting with the 10 epoch in the past. In the above example, a reward of 12312716242 APT was earned 10 epochs past and a reward of 12313600288 APT was earned in the most recent epoch. If a reward is 0 for any epoch, then:
- Either the validator was not part of the validator set in that epoch (could have been in either inactive or pending_active validator state), or
- The validator missed all the leader proposals.

Checking the performance for all epochs

To check the performance of all the epochs since the genesis, run the below command. You can filter the results for your pool address with grep, as shown below:

aptos node analyze-validator-performance \
  --analyze-mode detailed-epoch-table \
  --url https://fullnode.mainnet.aptoslabs.com/v1 \
  --start-epoch 0 | grep <pool address>

Staking Pool Operations

Initializing the stake pool​

Joining validator set​

1. Initialize Aptos CLI​

2. Check your validator account balance​

3. Update validator network addresses on-chain​

4. Rotate the validator consensus key on-chain​

5. Join the validator set​

6. Check the validator set​

Checking your stake pool information​

Description of output fields​

Requesting commission​

Frequently used staking operations commands​

Checking your validator performance​

Description of fields​

Checking the performance for all epochs​