Hippo Protocol Mainnet Validator

Chaind ID	Last Version Tag
hippo-protocol-1	v1.0.1

Service	URL
RPC	https://hippo-rpc.linknode.org
API	https://hippo-api.linknode.org
gRPC	https://hippo-grpc.linknode.org
Resource	https://vault.astrostake.xyz/mainnet/hippo
Dashboard	https://www.astrostake.xyz/networks/hippo

Installation

1. Install Dependencies

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install curl git wget htop tmux build-essential jq make lz4 gcc unzip -y

2. Install Go

cd $HOME
VER="1.22.3"
wget "https://golang.org/dl/go$VER.linux-amd64.tar.gz"
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf "go$VER.linux-amd64.tar.gz"
rm "go$VER.linux-amd64.tar.gz"
[ ! -f ~/.bash_profile ] && touch ~/.bash_profile
echo "export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin:~/go/bin" >> ~/.bash_profile
source $HOME/.bash_profile
[ ! -d ~/go/bin ] && mkdir -p ~/go/bin

3. Set Vars

Configuration:

Wallet

Moniker

Port

Generated Code:

Loading...

4. Download Binary

cd $HOME
rm -rf hippo-protocol
git clone https://github.com/hippo-protocol/hippo-protocol.git
cd hippo-protocol
git checkout v1.0.1
make install
hippod version

5. Initialized

hippod init $MONIKER --chain-id $HIPPO_CHAIN_ID
sed -i \
  -e 's|^chain-id *=.*|chain-id = "hippo-protocol-1"|' \
  -e 's|^keyring-backend *=.*|keyring-backend = "os"|' \
  -e "s|^node *=.*|node = \"tcp://localhost:${HIPPO_PORT}657\"|" \
  $HOME/.hippo/config/client.toml

6. Download addrbook & genesis

wget -O $HOME/.hippo/config/genesis.json https://vault.astrostake.xyz/mainnet/hippo-protocol/genesis.json
wget -O $HOME/.hippo/config/addrbook.json https://vault.astrostake.xyz/mainnet/hippo-protocol/addrbook.json

7. Configure Node

Update app.toml ports

sed -i.bak -e "s%:1317%:${HIPPO_PORT}317%g;
s%:8080%:${HIPPO_PORT}080%g;
s%:9090%:${HIPPO_PORT}090%g;
s%:9091%:${HIPPO_PORT}091%g;
s%:8545%:${HIPPO_PORT}545%g;
s%:8546%:${HIPPO_PORT}546%g;
s%:6065%:${HIPPO_PORT}065%g" $HOME/.hippo/config/app.toml

Update config.toml ports

sed -i.bak -e "s%:26658%:${HIPPO_PORT}658%g;
s%:26657%:${HIPPO_PORT}657%g;
s%:6060%:${HIPPO_PORT}060%g;
s%:26656%:${HIPPO_PORT}656%g;
s%^external_address = \"\"%external_address = \"$(wget -qO- eth0.me):${HIPPO_PORT}656\"%;
s%:26660%:${HIPPO_PORT}660%g" $HOME/.hippo/config/config.toml

Configure pruning

sed -i -e "s/^pruning *=.*/pruning = \"custom\"/" $HOME/.hippo/config/app.toml 
sed -i -e "s/^pruning-keep-recent *=.*/pruning-keep-recent = \"100\"/" $HOME/.hippo/config/app.toml
sed -i -e "s/^pruning-interval *=.*/pruning-interval = \"19\"/" $HOME/.hippo/config/app.toml

Set Minimum Gas Fee & Other Parameters

sed -i 's|minimum-gas-prices =.*|minimum-gas-prices = "0.025ulume"|g' $HOME/.hippo/config/app.toml
sed -i -e "s/prometheus = false/prometheus = true/" $HOME/.hippo/config/config.toml
sed -i -e "s/^indexer *=.*/indexer = \"null\"/" $HOME/.hippo/config/config.toml

8. Create Services

sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/hippod.service > /dev/null <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=hippod Daemon
After=network-online.target
[Service]
User=$USER
ExecStart=$(which hippod) start
Restart=always
RestartSec=3
LimitNOFILE=65535
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

9. Start Services

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable hippod
sudo systemctl restart hippod && sudo journalctl -u hippod -fo cat

Useful Commands

INFO

For a complete guide to creating a validator, visit our Cheat Sheet & Key Management page. It covers all the necessary commands and crucial steps for securing your keys.

Check logs

sudo journalctl -u hippod -fo cat

Check Sync

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/astrostake/scripts/refs/heads/main/cosmos_sync_monitor.sh | bash -s -- --directory $HOME/.hippo --public-rpc https://hippo-rpc.linknode.org --interval 5

🛡️ Security

To apply a quick security baseline, you can configure your firewall like this:

sudo ufw allow ${HIPPO_PORT}656/tcp comment 'HIPPO Node p2p Port'

🔐 For a more secure and maintainable setup, check out our Essentials Guide, including SSH key setup, Fail2Ban protection, and a full VPS hardening checklist.