Registering Stake Pool

Dingo - Registering Your Stake Pool

✅ This guide assumes your files are in the $HOME/dingo folder. Adjust paths below if necessary.

Step 1 - Create your pool’s metadata JSON file

Update the values below with your pool’s information.

📝 ticker must be between 3-5 characters in length 📝 description cannot exceed 255 characters in length.

cd ~/dingo
cat > preview-pool-metadata.json << EOF
{
"name": "MyPoolName",
"description": "My pool description",
"ticker": "ABC",
"homepage": "https://pool-Website.com"
}
EOF

---

Step 2 - Calculate the metadata hash

Calculate the hash of your metadata file. The hash is saved to previewPoolMetaDataHash.txt

cardano-cli conway stake-pool metadata-hash \
--pool-metadata-file preview-pool-metadata.json \
--out-file previewPoolMetaDataHash.txt

Copy previewPoolMetaDataHash.txt to your air-gapped machine.

---

Step 3 - Upload preview-pool-metadata.json to a public website

Upload your preview-pool-metadata.json file to a website that you administer or a public Web site. For example, you can upload your pool metadata to GitHub. See Coincashew guide here for uploading to GitHub.

---

Step 4 - Verify the metadata hashes

First retrieve the metadata hash from your metadata JSON URL.

Replace https://www.METADATA-URL.com with your actual URL from Step 3.

cardano-cli conway stake-pool metadata-hash --pool-metadata-file <(curl -s -L <https://www.METADATA-URL.com>)

Verify that this hash matches the value here:

cat previewPoolMetaDataHash.txt

---

Step 5 - Create a registration certificate for your stake pool

To simplify future updates to your pool registration certificate, create an environment (env) file containing your pool configuration and a script to generate pool.cert.

Step 5.1 - Create a pool-scripts folder

⚠️ On an air-gapped machine

cd ~/dingo
mkdir pool-scripts

Step 5.2 - Create an env file

Create an environment (env) file for our pool in the pool-scripts folder.

✅ Update the values below with your metadata URL, your relay node IP and port, pool pledge amount and cost (min pool fee) and margin.

cat > $HOME/dingo/pool-scripts/env << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash

PLEDGE=25000000000  # 25,000 ADA
COST=170000000     #  170 ADA
MARGIN=0.01        #    1 %

NET="--testnet-magic 2"  #preview
RELAY1_HOST=55.209.117.58
RELAY1_PORT=6000
RELAY2_HOST=55.23.123.206
RELAY2_PORT=6000
METADATA_URL=https://website.com/preview-pool-metadata.json
METADATA_HASH=$(cat $HOME/dingo/previewPoolMetaDataHash.txt)
EOF

The example above uses IP addresses. If your relay nodes use DNS names instead, use the following options:

--single-host-pool-relay <relaynode1.pool.example.com> \
--pool-relay-port 6000 \
--single-host-pool-relay <relaynode2.pool.example.com> \
--pool-relay-port 6000 \

💡 Tip: Make sure the RELAY_PORT you use on your relays is open in firewall rules.

To see which ports are currently open:

sudo ufw status numbered

Step 5.3 - Create pool-registration.sh script

Create pool-registration.sh script in the pool-scripts folder:

cat > $HOME/dingo/pool-scripts/pool-registration.sh << EOF
#!/bin/bash

source ./env

cardano-cli conway stake-pool registration-certificate \
--cold-verification-key-file $HOME/dingo/cold-keys/node.vkey \
--vrf-verification-key-file $HOME/dingo/vrf.vkey \
--pool-pledge \${PLEDGE} \
--pool-cost \${COST} \
--pool-margin \${MARGIN} \
--pool-reward-account-verification-key-file $HOME/dingo/stake.vkey \
--pool-owner-stake-verification-key-file $HOME/dingo/stake.vkey \
\${NET} \
--pool-relay-ipv4 \${RELAY1_HOST} \
--pool-relay-port \${RELAY1_PORT} \
--pool-relay-ipv4 \${RELAY2_HOST} \
--pool-relay-port \${RELAY2_PORT} \
--metadata-url \${METADATA_URL} \
--metadata-hash \${METADATA_HASH} \
--out-file $HOME/dingo/pool.cert
EOF

Step 5.4 - Add execute permissions

Add execute permissions to the pool-registration.sh script.

chmod +x $HOME/dingo/pool-scripts/pool-registration.sh

Step 5.5 - Execute the Script

The script must be executed in order to generate the new stake pool registration certificate, which will need to be submitted with a transaction.

cd $HOME/dingo/pool-scripts
./pool-registration.sh

Step 5.6 - Copy pool.cert to your hot environment

Copy pool.cert to the ~/dingo directory on your hot environment (block producer or relay node).

---

Step 6 - Pledge stake to your stake pool

⚠️ On an air-gapped machine

cd ~/dingo
cardano-cli conway stake-address stake-delegation-certificate \
--stake-verification-key-file stake.vkey \
--cold-verification-key-file $HOME/dingo/cold-keys/node.vkey \
--out-file deleg.cert

---

Step 7 - Submit the certificates

Build and sign the transaction to submit both the pool.cert and the deleg.cert.

Step 7.1 - Query the current slot

currentSlot=$(cardano-cli conway query tip --testnet-magic 2 | jq -r '.slot')
echo Current Slot: $currentSlot

Step 7.2 - Build the transaction

cd ~/dingo
cardano-cli conway transaction build \
    --tx-in $(cardano-cli query utxo --address $(cat payment.addr) --out-file /dev/stdout | jq -r 'keys[0]') \
    --change-address $(cat payment.addr) \
    --certificate-file pool.cert \
    --certificate-file deleg.cert \
    --invalid-hereafter $(( ${currentSlot} + 1000 )) \
    --witness-override 3 \
    --out-file tx.raw

Step 7.3 - Sign the transaction

Copy tx.raw to the ~/dingo directory on your air-gapped machine.

⚠️ On an air-gapped machine

cd ~/dingo
cardano-cli conway transaction sign \
--tx-body-file tx.raw \
--signing-key-file payment.skey \
--signing-key-file $HOME/dingo/cold-keys/node.skey \
--signing-key-file stake.skey \
--out-file tx.signed

Step 7.4 - Submit transaction

Copy tx.signed to the ~/dingo directory on your hot environment (block producer or relay node).

cd ~/dingo
cardano-cli conway transaction submit --tx-file tx.signed

---

Step 8 - Verify registration

Step 8.1 - Create stakepoolid.txt file

⚠️ On an air-gapped machine

cardano-cli conway stake-pool id \
--cold-verification-key-file $HOME/dingo/cold-keys/node.vkey \
--output-format hex \
> stakepoolid.txt

cat stakepoolid.txt

Step 8.2 - Copy stakepoolid.txt to your hot environment

Copy stakepoolid.txt to the ~/dingo directory on your hot environment (block producer or relay node).

Step 8.3 - Verify that the pool has appeared on-chain:

cd ~/dingo
cardano-cli query stake-snapshot --stake-pool-id $(cat stakepoolid.txt)

---

Step 9 - Update your dingo.yaml with the new KES key, VRF key and operation certificate

⚠️ On Block Producer

Stop the Dingo node by running:

sudo systemctl stop dingo

Add the following lines to your dingo.yaml file by running:

sudo bash -c "cat <<EOF >> /etc/dingo/dingo.yaml
# Validator / block producer (core storage, API ports ignored):
blockProducer: true
shelleyVrfKey: \"$HOME/dingo/vrf.skey\"
shelleyKesKey: \"$HOME/dingo/kes.skey\"
shelleyOperationalCertificate: \"$HOME/dingo/node.cert\"
EOF"

You can view and verify our dingo.yaml file by running:

sudo nano /etc/dingo/dingo.yaml

---

Step 10 - Start Dingo Node

sudo systemctl start dingo

---

Step 11 - Check Status

Verify that Dingo is running:

sudo systemctl status dingo

To follow the logs in real time:

sudo journalctl -u dingo -f

To see recent logs if there is an error:

sudo journalctl -u dingo -n 50 --no-pager

---

💡 Tip: You can use the Cardano faucet to request some test ADA be delegated to your pool. Select the Preview testnet and select receive pool delegation. Then paste your pool id which you can copy from your favorite Cardano Explorer.

---

Congratulations! You are now running a Dingo stake pool on the Preview network.