1. Install

Use our script for a quick installation:

wget -q -O polkadex.sh https://api.nodes.guru/polkadex.sh && chmod +x polkadex.sh && sudo /bin/bash polkadex.sh

Specify your node name and wait for the installation.

You can check the logs with the command:

journalctl -u polkadexd -f

2. Creating a validator

2.1. Install Polkadot extenstion

To install, go to the website and download the version for your browser:

2.2. Creating an account

First, go to the website and allow access to the extension in the pop-up window:

We need to create an account(s) (you can use existing accounts), to do this click Add account:

Then we enter the name of the wallet (in our case it is stash), save the mnemonic, enter the password and click “Next”:

After that, confirm the creation of the account by clicking on Save and download the json file (the download will start automatically):

2.3. Requesting the funds

Follow the official guide here.

2.4 Staking

Now we need to staking our tokens, to do this, go to the tab Network -> Staking:

Now go to the Account actions tab and click on Stash:

The window for bonding will open, the value bonded will be set automatically, it is not recommended to bond the entire balance:

Approve the tx (Sign and Submit):

2.5. Session key

Now we need to enter the session key for our account, to do this on the server with the node run the following command:

curl -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"id":1, "jsonrpc":"2.0", "method": "author_rotateKeys", "params":[]}' http://127.0.0.1:9933 | jq .result | sed 's/"//g'

The output should looks like the following:

Copy this value (you can use double left mouse click for quick selection) by pressing Enter or by right-clicking the mouse.

Then go back to the site and click Session key:

In the opened window enter the key that we copied and click Set Session Key, confirm the tx. If successful, you output should looks like the following:

2.6. Connecting the validator

Click Validate:

Set the desired amount of commission, confirm the transaction. Now you should see approximately the following:

Now you should see like the following:

Congratulations, you are now a validator candidate (you can see your account in the Waiting tab)! To become a validator you need to wait for the next era (you can check your validator status here).

Good luck!

Additional

Update
Use our script, choose option 2 – update:

wget -q -O polkadex.sh https://api.nodes.guru/polkadex.sh && chmod +x polkadex.sh && sudo /bin/bash polkadex.sh

Then repeat steps from 2.3.