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Become a Validator, the Easy Way

Create a server, paste one block of text, wait ~5 minutes. No coding, no command line.

How it works

  • •Your operator sends you a block of text with your validator keys already filled in.
  • •You create a server on DigitalOcean or Hetzner Cloud and paste that block into one box.
  • •The server installs and starts your validator automatically, you don’t type any commands.

Don’t have your block of text yet? Ask your operator for it before you start.

Option A, DigitalOcean

  1. 1Go to digitalocean.com and sign up.
  2. 2Click the green Create button (top right) → Droplets.
  3. 3Choose image: Ubuntu, version 22.04 (LTS).
  4. 4Choose the region your operator suggested (closest to you).
  5. 5Choose size: Basic, a plan with 8 GB RAM / 4 CPUs (~$48/mo; resizable later).
  6. 6Authentication: Password, set a strong one.
  7. 7Scroll to Advanced options → tick “Add Initialization scripts (user data)”. A text box appears.
  8. 8Paste the whole block your operator sent you into that box.
  9. 9Click Create Droplet. Wait ~5-10 minutes.
  10. 10Message your operator: “my node is up.”

Option B, Hetzner Cloud (often cheaper)

  1. 1Go to hetzner.com/cloud and sign up.
  2. 2Open the Cloud Console → New Project → open it → Add Server.
  3. 3Location: the one your operator suggested.
  4. 4Image: Ubuntu 22.04.
  5. 5Type: a shared-vCPU plan with ~8 GB RAM / 4 vCPU (e.g. CPX41).
  6. 6Scroll to “Cloud config” (the user-data box).
  7. 7Paste the whole block your operator sent you there.
  8. 8Name the server, click Create & Buy Now. Wait ~5-10 minutes.
  9. 9Message your operator: “my node is up.”

If you add a Hetzner Firewall, allow inbound TCP 8333. No firewall = nothing extra needed (the setup opens it inside the server).

Finish: fund & bond (once your node is up)

  1. 1On the Validators page, make sure ≥100 COGN is in your validator address (the exact public key you applied with, not a different wallet). Use the Faucet if needed.
  2. 2Go to Validators → Status, look up your application, and click “Lock stake & bond.”
  3. 3Your validator moves to bonding, then active. Your operator can confirm it on the explorer.

If something looks stuck

  • Waited 15+ min and your operator doesn’t see you? The server may still be installing, or the provider is blocking port 8333, check you didn’t attach a firewall that blocks it.
  • Pasted the wrong text? Destroy the server and create a new one with the correct block, it’s cheap and quick.
  • Not sure it’s running? Ask your operator, they can verify from their side.

Thank you for helping decentralize the post-quantum network.