tezos-baker

Boilerplate code to set up a minimalistic Tezos baker capable of baking, accusing, and paying its delegators.

This code:

• installs octez-node, octez-baker, octez-accuser, and Tezpay on a single machine
• provides some basic maintenance tools.

Disclaimer

This repository is not intended to provide perfect code, but code as simple as possible and sufficient to start a baking activity. It can be used as a tutorial.

As a result, it is not state-of-the-art in terms of automation, high availability, or security. We will address these aspects throughout this documentation when relevant. In any case, we decline all responsibility in the event of damages, theft of crypto-assets, operational or security incidents, as detailed further in the LICENSE.txt file.

Additionally, this code doesn't leverage all the options provided by octez and Tezpay. We encourage you to read the documentation for these tools and enhance your setup, transforming this basic configuration into something remarkable.

• octez: https://tezos.gitlab.io/index.html
• Tezpay: https://docs.tez.capital/tezpay/tutorials/

Release management

• Versions are numbered in the same way as those of the Tezos Gitlab repository, on which they are based. (See https://gitlab.com/tezos/tezos/-/releases). Before v20.0, they were based on Serokell's 'tezos-packaging' repository (See https://github.com/serokell/tezos-packaging).
• Underlying tags are named according to the same version number, with references to the active and replaced protocol names. Before v18.1-1, only the major version number was used.

Prerequisites

This code is designed to run on a x86_64 Linux platform.

Hardware requirements:

• 2 CPU cores
• Preferably 8GB RAM
• 300GB SSD drive

Before using this code, you should also have:

• a Tezos account set up to become the baker, and funded with a sufficient amount of XTZ.
• a Tezos account set up to handle the payouts.

Operating instructions

For simplicity, both the initial setup and maintenance processes are designed to be executed by the 'root' user. While this is convenient, it is not best practice from a security standpoint. Ideally, one should minimize operations performed as 'root' and designate one or more users specifically for Tezos-related tasks. Because user management configurations can vary widely, we've opted not to make assumptions about your preferences in this area. This approach allows you to easily modify these scripts and procedures according to your own criteria and preferences.

Initial setup

• Ensure /usr/local/bin is part of the PATH environment variable on your machine.
• Copy the files located in the usr/local/bin directory of this repository to the /usr/local/bin directory on your machine.
• Make sure all the install-*.sh, start-*.sh, stop-*.sh, and tezos-*.sh files located there are executable by the users intended to run them (see Operating instructions above).
• Create a file /usr/local/bin/tezos-env.sh by copying /usr/local/bin/tezos-env.sh.template. Some variables need configuration and should persist over upgrades:
  • DATA_DIR: The directory where the data needed by octez and Tezpay will be stored (requires large storage space).
  • KEY_BAKER: This should be the friendly name you would like to use as an alias for your baker address when managing your baker. This name is not shared publicly; it is used only locally.
  • BAKER_ACCOUNT_HASH: The tzXXX address of your baker.
  • BAKER_LIQUIDITY_BAKING_SWITCH: The liquidity baking vote (off, on, or pass). See https://tezos.gitlab.io/active/liquidity_baking.html for more details.
  • BAKER_LIMIT_STAKING_OVER_BAKING: How many times your stake (0 to 5) you allow others to stake with your baker.
  • BAKER_EDGE_BAKING_OVER_STAKING: Proportion (0 to 1) of the reward that your baker receives from the amount staked by stakers.
  • TEZPAY_ACCOUNT_HASH: The tzYYY address of your payout account.
  • TEZPAY_FEES: The baking fee you wish to charge your delegators, ranging from 0 (0%) to 1 (100%).
• Make /usr/local/bin/tezos-env.sh executable by the users intended to run it (see Operating instructions above).
• Next, follow the step-by-step instructions in the initial-setup.sh file from this repository. Don't execute this file as a script. Instead, copy and run the instructions one at a time, as you'll be prompted to take several actions throughout the process. These actions are described in the comments appearing in this file.

Maintenance

The maintenance-cheat-sheet.sh file includes the following sections:

• Restart/Reboot: Instructions for when you need to restart, possibly due to reasons such as Linux distribution maintenance.
• Upgrade octez: Steps for updating when a new version of octez is released. This section also covers Tezos protocol upgrades.
• Upgrade TezPay: Procedures for when a new version of TezPay is available.
• Stake management: Guidelines on setting your baker's deposit limit and replenishing your payout account.
• Voting process: Help on how to vote at the various stages of the Tezos amendment and voting process (https://tezos.gitlab.io/active/voting.html).

Don't execute this file as a script. Instead, copy and run the instructions of the section that interests you one at a time, as you'll be prompted to take several actions throughout the process. These actions are described in the comments appearing in this file.

Upgrade from previous version

This version introduces structural changes to the environment variable configuration files to facilitate future upgrades:

• Some variables previously defined in usr/local/bin/tezos-env.sh have been moved to usr/local/bin/tezos-constants.sh. This change is made because these variables do not depend on your local configuration, but rather on the Tezos protocol and tools. This adjustment allows you to upgrade your baker setup without needing to manually edit your local configurations to reflect protocol-related changes, such as version names or numbers.
• usr/local/bin/tezos-env.sh is no longer included in this repository. It has been replaced by a template file (usr/local/bin/tezos-env.sh.template) to prevent your actual /usr/local/bin/tezos-env.sh from being overwritten during upgrades.

However, for this specific version, these changes will require some extra work on your part (steps 3 and 4 below):

• Copy the files located in the usr/local/bin directory of this repository to the /usr/local/bin directory on your machine.
• Make sure all the install-*.sh, start-*.shand stop-*.sh files located there are executable by the users intended to run them.
• Remove the following environment variables from /usr/local/bin/tezos-env.sh by simply deleting the corresponding lines:
  • PROTOCOL
  • PROTOCOL_VERSION
  • PROTOCOL_FORMER
  • OCTEZ_DOWNLOAD_URL
  • ZCASH_DOWNLOAD_URL
  • TEZPAY_DOWNLOAD_URL
• Add the following line to this file just before the Environment variables for octez block (if in doubt, please refer to usr/local/bin/tezos-env.sh.template for guidance):
  • . `which tezos-constants.sh`
• And finally, reflect the Paris protocol changes to this file:
  • BAKER_ADAPTIVE_ISSUANCE_SWITCH should be removed as this is no longer needed in Paris B.
  • BAKER_LIMIT_STAKING_OVER_BAKING should be added: how many times your stake (0 to 5) you allow others to stake with your baker.
  • BAKER_EDGE_BAKING_OVER_STAKING should be added: proportion (0 to 1) of the reward that your baker receives from the amount staked by stakers.

Should you wish to support us

You can send a donation:

• to our baker's address: tz1aJHKKUWrwfsuoftdmwNBbBctjSWchMWZY
• or to its Tezos domain name: laboulange.tez

Or just click here:

 

This is not mandatory, but it is greatly appreciated!

Contact

Feel free to contact us with any questions or suggestions. We can be reached through the following channels:

• MailChain: laboulange@mailchain
• E-mail: la.boulange.tezos@gmail.com
• DNS: https://dns.xyz/fr/LaBoulange
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaBoulangeTezos
• Telegram: https://t.me/laboulangetezos

We are also active in various Telegram and Discord groups related to Tezos.