Confirm the CoNET period-18 checkpoint

Evidence level: Production reference. This page is a complete join for an operator who does not administer the existing CoNET hosts. It uses the published genesis, a local geth, and a local Prysm beacon. The confirmation is the local beacon's own answer for slot 155646.

Follow Run an L1 node for the network facts. This page repeats the commands so the join can be completed from here.

What counts as your confirmation

Your beacon HTTP API on 127.0.0.1:4100 must return:

A peer_id already used by the publishing operator does not add an independent confirmation. Those consensus identities are:

DHT identities on port 4110 are a different set. Do not mix them with the beacon peer_id from port 4100.

Machine

Use a host you administer, with at least 8 CPU cores, 16 GiB RAM, and 1 TiB free disk. A 1 vCPU VPS cannot hold geth. Open inbound 8400/tcp, 8400/udp, 4200/tcp, and 4300/udp on the host firewall and the cloud security group. Bind geth HTTP, the Engine API, and the beacon REST API to 127.0.0.1.

1. Download genesis

BASE=https://gitbook.conet.network/l1/network
mkdir -p "$HOME/conet-l1" && cd "$HOME/conet-l1"
curl -fsSL \
  -O "$BASE/genesis.json" \
  -O "$BASE/genesis.ssz" \
  -O "$BASE/config.yml" \
  -O "$BASE/SHA256SUMS"
shasum -a 256 -c SHA256SUMS
openssl rand -hex 32 > jwtsecret
chmod 600 jwtsecret

Expected checksums:

Stop if a checksum fails. Do not edit these files. config.yml already sets EPOCHS_PER_ETH1_VOTING_PERIOD: 4. Prysm reads that value from the file.

2. Start geth 1.17.5

Use geth 1.17.5. Older geth rejects the published genesis because the Cancun blobSchedule entry is missing. Initialize once, then start it in its own terminal. Replace <YOUR_PUBLIC_IP>.

cd "$HOME/conet-l1"
geth init --datadir ./execution --state.scheme=hash ./genesis.json

cd "$HOME/conet-l1"
geth \
  --datadir ./execution \
  --state.scheme=hash \
  --networkid 224422 \
  --syncmode full \
  --gcmode full \
  --port 8400 \
  --discovery.port 8400 \
  --nat extip:<YOUR_PUBLIC_IP> \
  --bootnodes "enode://e5fe89d9ad924db6e4699480242a12fccba2c00e35772db706e46190c0ded9bb2b7e0d996826f5e46d369e01336213ef263c5038f94552e5f5e6e8ec76573a3f@38.102.126.30:8400,enode://d9243095bca94720f88d38c93ae4ccefc8b67651c66b4c93c915f845f6abfd39a091465db02db32b1a5b8061566c1558d2e6842f75620bf533480bab8a180168@38.102.126.50:8400,enode://8e09d44bb4c29543a172e53dd8a74677a2a63d3d98a3d530f9d8b6f6bd6802a542f5b79d509ff737a9a764a66ab44a81403597cb50e350178ddd91f487e28f2d@216.225.202.22:8400,enode://f1e249c97ce861441b3bd4832213cc634dd5c23d1a8722cd9c1aea28492779f6b64e012e8d97d56006d69be5224903ea5a787d8af68e9542db82ac1f76491dd5@216.225.202.82:8400" \
  --http --http.addr 127.0.0.1 --http.port 8545 --http.api eth,net,web3 \
  --authrpc.addr 127.0.0.1 --authrpc.port 8551 \
  --authrpc.jwtsecret ./jwtsecret \
  --authrpc.vhosts localhost

Geth stays at block 0 until the beacon sends execution payloads. That is expected. Do not point this geth at another operator's Engine API, and do not import another operator's datadir.

3. Start Prysm v7.1.8

cd "$HOME/conet-l1"
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/OffchainLabs/prysm/master/prysm.sh -o prysm.sh
chmod +x prysm.sh

Fetch live beacon ENRs, then start the beacon. The checkpoint URL only helps the node reach the current tip. Slot 155646 still has to be stored locally before the confirmation commands succeed.

cd "$HOME/conet-l1"
ENR=$(curl -fsS http://216.225.202.22:4100/eth/v1/node/identity \
  | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['data']['enr'])")
USE_PRYSM_VERSION=v7.1.8 ./prysm.sh beacon-chain \
  --accept-terms-of-use \
  --chain-id=224422 \
  --genesis-state=./genesis.ssz \
  --chain-config-file=./config.yml \
  --checkpoint-sync-url=http://216.225.202.22:4100 \
  --genesis-beacon-api-url=http://216.225.202.22:4100 \
  --execution-endpoint=http://127.0.0.1:8551 \
  --jwt-secret=./jwtsecret \
  --deposit-contract=0x4242424242424242424242424242424242424242 \
  --p2p-host-ip=<YOUR_PUBLIC_IP> \
  --p2p-tcp-port=4200 \
  --p2p-udp-port=4300 \
  --rpc-host=127.0.0.1 \
  --grpc-gateway-host=127.0.0.1 \
  --grpc-gateway-port=4100 \
  --bootstrap-node="$ENR"

Use the beacon identity on port 4100. That ENR already contains the beacon P2P address. Do not substitute a DHT peer id from port 4110. Add more live beacon ENRs from port 4100 with repeated --bootstrap-node flags. Keep the beacon running. Historical sync back to slot 155646 can take about a day after the tip is reached.

4. Read the local confirmation

Run this on the same machine. A 404 on the header means slot 155646 is not in the local database yet.

curl -s http://127.0.0.1:4100/eth/v1/node/identity
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:4100/eth/v1/beacon/headers/155646
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:4100/eth/v1/node/syncing

Send both JSON documents to the operator who invited you. The identity peer_id must be the beacon you started, and the header must show slot 155646, block root 0x442a5f8c64592b4e45820e0e27398f0532b15a2e22456bc02f8c74df8b591336, and state root 0x70001a2f373450a6057e506c89bb7a3b502c58bb7ae6ed97cfeea45f590a1410.

The inviting operator sees a new consensus node when that peer_id appears in a public beacon's peer list and is absent from the operator table above. The two JSON documents are the checkpoint confirmation.

Optional Lighthouse build

Stock Lighthouse hashes this chain with a 64-epoch eth1 voting period and rejects a valid CoNET checkpoint. Prysm does not need that change. Use Lighthouse only when you want a second client.

Clone tag v5.3.0 and change the first MainnetEthSpec block in consensus/types/src/eth_spec.rs:

type EpochsPerEth1VotingPeriod = U4;
type SlotsPerEth1VotingPeriod = U128; // 4 epochs * 32 slots

Leave MinimalEthSpec unchanged. Build lighthouse, then run it with --testnet-dir containing genesis.ssz and config.yml, --execution-endpoint http://127.0.0.1:8551, --execution-jwt ./jwtsecret, --checkpoint-sync-url http://216.225.202.22:4100, --genesis-backfill, and a live --boot-nodes ENR. Read the same local REST paths on port 5052 if you keep Lighthouse's default HTTP port.

Do not

• Copy another operator's chain data, JWT, or beacon database.
• Attach your beacon to another host's Engine API.
• Restart or wipe a node you do not administer.
• Treat a peer-list entry alone as the slot 155646 confirmation.

Related

• Run an L1 node
• AAC proof-driven cross-chain settlement