docs: new validator docs (+ updated docs for gnoland cli)

docs/gno-tooling/gno-tooling.md

@@ -4,5 +4,27 @@ id: gno-tooling
 
 # Gno Tooling
 
-Welcome to the **Gno Tooling** section for Gno. This section outlines programs & tools
-that are commonly used when developing applications with Gno.
+Welcome to the **Gno Tooling** section for Gno. This section outlines programs & tools that are commonly used when developing applications with Gno.
+
+## Gno Command Syntax Guide
+
+### gno [subcommand] [flags] [arg...]
+
+#### Subcommand
+
+The gno command consists of various purpose-built subcommands.
+
+- `gno {mod}` : manage gno.mod
+- `gno {mod} {download} : download modules to local cache
+
+#### Flags
+
+Options of the subcommand.
+
+- `gno mod download [-remote]` : remote for fetching gno modules
+
+#### Arg
+
+The actual value of the flag .
+
+- `gno mod download -remote {rpc.gno.land:26657}`

docs/validator/faq.md

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+---
+id: faq
+---
+
+# FAQ
+
+### What is a Gno.land validator?
+
+Gno.land is based on [Tendermint2](https://docs.gno.land/concepts/tendermint2) that relies on a set of validators selected based on [Proof of Contribution](https://docs.gno.land/concepts/proof-of-contribution) (PoC) to secure the network. Validators are tasked with participating in consensus by committing new blocks and broadcasting votes. Validators are compensated with a portion of transaction fees generated in the network. In Gno.land, the voting power of all validators are equally weighted to achieve a high nakamoto coefficient and fairness.
+
+### What is Tendermint2?
+
+[Tendermint2](https://docs.gno.land/concepts/tendermint2) (TM2) is the consensus engine that powers Gno.land. TM2 is a successor of [Tendermint Core](https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint2), a de facto consensus framework for building Proof of Stake blockchains. The design philosophy of TM2 is to create “complete software” without any vulnerabilities with development focused on minimalism, dependency removal, and modularity.
+
+### What is Proof of Contribution?
+
+[Proof of Contribution](https://docs.gno.land/concepts/proof-of-contribution) (PoC) is a novel consensus mechanism that secures Gno.land. PoC weighs expertise and alignment with the project to evaluate the contribution of individuals or teams who govern and operate the chain. Unlike Proof of Stake (PoS), validators are selected via governance of Contributors based on their reputation and technical proficiency. The voting power of the network is equally distributed across all validators for higher decentralization. A portion of all transaction fees paid to the network are evenly shared between all validators to provide a fair incentive structure.
+
+### How does Gno.land differ from the Cosmos Hub?
+
+In Cosmos Hub, validators are selected based on the amount of staked `ATOM` tokens delegated. This means that anyone with enough capital can join as a validator only to seek economic incentives without any alignment or technical expertise. This system leads to an undesirable incentive structure in which validators are rewarded purely based on the capital delegated, regardless of the quality of their infrastructure or service. On the contrary, validators in Gno.land are reviewed and verified to have made significant contributions, in order to join the validator set. All validators are evenly rewarded to ensure that the entire validator set is fairly incentivized.
+
+### What is a full node and a pruned node?
+
+A full node fully validates transactions and blocks of a blockchain and keeps a full record of all historic activity. A pruned node is a lighter node that processes only block headers and does not keep all historical data of the blockchain post-verification. Pruned nodes are less resource intensive in terms of storage costs. Although validators may run either a full node or a pruned node, it is important to retain enough blocks to be able to validate new blocks.
+
+### How do I join the testnet as a validator?
+
+Out of many official Gno testnets, Testnet4 (`test4`) is the purpose-built network for testing the multi-node validator environment prior to mainnet launch. Testnet4 is scheduled to go live in Q2 2024 with genesis validators consisting of the Gno Core Team, partners, and external contributors.
+
+For more information about joining testnet4, visit (add link to the criteria issue/discussion). For more information about different testnets, visit the [Gno Testnet](https://docs.gno.land/concepts/testnets) section.
+
+### What are the incentives for running a validator?
+
+Network transaction fees paid on the Gno.land in `GNOT` are collected, from which a portion is directed to reward validators for their work. All validators fairly receive an equal amount of rewards.
+
+### What are the different types of keys?
+
+1. **Tendermint ( Tendermint2 ) Key :** A unique key used for voting in consensus during creation of blocks. A Tendermint Key is also often called a Validator Key. It is automatically created when running the `gnoland secrets init` command. A validator may check their Tendermint Key by running the `gnoland secrets get ValidatorPrivateKey` command.
+
+2. **Application Key :** A key that is generated when a new account is created using the `gnokey` command. It is used to sign transactions.
+
+### What stage is the Gno.land project in?
+
+Gno.land is currently in Testnet 3, the single-node testnet stage. The next version, Testnet 4, is scheduled to go live in Q2 2024, which will include a validator set implementation for a multinode environment.
+
+### How many validators will there be in mainnet?
+
+The exact plans for mainnet are still TBD. Based on the latest discussions between contributors, the mainnet will likely have a validator set size of 20~50, which will gradually scale with the development and decentralization of the Gno.land project.
+
+### How do I make my first contribution?
+
+Gno.land is in active development and external contributions are always welcome! If you’re looking for tasks to begin with, we suggest you visit the [Bounties & Worx](https://github.com/orgs/gnolang/projects/35/views/3) board and search for open tasks up for grabs. Start from small challenges and work your way up to the bigger ones. Every contribution is acknowledged and highly regarded in PoC. We look forward to having you onboard as a new Contributor!

docs/validator/running-a-validator.md

@@ -0,0 +1,252 @@
+---
+id: running-a-validator
+---
+
+# Running a Validator
+
+## Becoming a Gno.land validator
+
+The Gno.land blockchain is powered by the [Tendermint2](https://docs.gno.land/concepts/tendermint2) (TM2) consensus, which involves committing of new blocks and broadcasting votes by multiple validators selected via governance in [Proof of Contribution](https://docs.gno.land/concepts/proof-of-contribution) (PoC). While traditional Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchains such as the Cosmos Hub required validators to secure a delegation of staked tokens to join the validator set, no bonding of capital is involved in Gno.land. Rather, the validators on Gno.land are expected to demonstrate their technical expertise and alignment with the project by making continuous, meaningful contributions to the project. Furthermore, the voting power and the transaction fee rewards between validators are distributed evenly to achieve higher decentralization. From a technical perspective, the validator set implementation in Gno.land as its abstracted away into the `r/sys/val` realm ([work in progress](https://github.com/gnolang/gno/issues/1824)), as a form of smart-contract, for modularity, whereas existing blockchains include the validator management logic within the consensus layer.
+
+# Start a New Gno Chain and a Validator
+
+## 1. Initialize the configurations (required)
+
+```bash
+gnoland config init
+```
+
+## 2. Initialize the secrets (required)
+
+```bash
+gnoland secrets init
+```
+
+## 3. Set a moniker (optional)
+
+```bash
+gnoland config set moniker node01
+```
+
+## 4. Set the rpc connection address (required for connecting with other nodes)
+
+```bash
+gnoland config set rpc.laddr "tcp://0.0.0.0:26657"
+
+# similar behavior for cosmos validator
+# gaiad tx staking create-validator `--node string (default:tcp://localhost:26657)`
+```
+
+## 5. Set the validator private key (required)
+
+:::tip
+
+The key file path is relative by default.
+
+:::
+
+```bash
+gnoland config set priv_validator_key_file secrets/priv_validator_key.json
+```
+
+## 6. Set the validator state (required)
+
+:::tip
+
+The key file path is relative by default.
+
+:::
+
+```bash
+gnoland config set priv_validator_state_file secrets/priv_validator_state.json
+```
+
+## 7. Set the node key (required)
+
+:::tip
+
+The key file path is relative by default.
+
+:::
+
+```bash
+gnoland config set node_key_file secrets/node_key.json
+```
+
+## 8. Set the genesis file (required)
+
+```bash
+gnoland genesis generate
+```
+
+## 9. Add a validator (required)
+
+```bash
+# check the secrets file generated in step (2)
+$ gnoland secrets get
+[Node P2P Info]
+Node ID:  g19d8x6tcr2eyup9e2zwp9ydprm98l76gp66tmd6
+
+[Validator Key Info]
+Address:     g1lnha5yem9dmj0yfzysfqsnvrm6j2ywshq83qdf
+Public Key:  gpub1pggj7ard9eg82cjtv4u52epjx56nzwgjyg9zpleysamt23ar025757uepld60xztnw7ujc3gwtjuy4pwv6z9sh4g284h3q
+
+[Last Validator Sign State Info]
+Height:  0
+Round:   0
+Step:    0
+
+# add the validator to the genesis file using the address and the public key in the Validator Key Info section
+$ gnoland genesis validator add -address g1lnha5yem9dmj0yfzysfqsnvrm6j2ywshq83qdf -name node01 -power 10 -pub-key gpub1pggj7ard9eg82cjtv4u52epjx56nzwgjyg9zpleysamt23ar025757uepld60xztnw7ujc3gwtjuy4pwv6z9sh4g284h3q
+```
+
+## 10. Start the chain
+
+```bash
+gnoland start
+```
+
+:::warning
+
+Slashing policies for downtimes, double signing or any manipulation using the validator membership will be introduced in the near future.
+
+Setting up the Sentry Node Architecture minimizes the risks of DDoS targetting the validator node. Configuring the `unconditional_peer_ids` is essential. Refer to [this issue](https://github.com/gnolang/gno/issues/1923) for further information. :::
+
+# Connect to an Existing Gno Chain
+
+## 1. Initialize the configurations (required)
+
+```bash
+gnoland config init
+```
+
+## 2. Initialize the secrets (required)
+
+```bash
+gnoland secrets init
+```
+
+## 3. Set a moniker (optional)
+
+```bash
+gnoland config set moniker node02
+```
+
+## 4. Set the rpc connection address (required for connecting with other nodes)
+
+```bash
+gnoland config set rpc.laddr "tcp://0.0.0.0:26657"
+```
+
+## 5. Set the validator private key (required)
+
+:::tip
+
+The key file path is relative by default.
+
+:::
+
+```bash
+gnoland config set priv_validator_key_file secrets/priv_validator_key.json
+```
+
+## 6. Set the validator state (required)
+
+:::tip
+
+The key file path is relative by default.
+
+:::
+
+```bash
+gnoland config set priv_validator_state_file secrets/priv_validator_state.json
+```
+
+## 7. Set the node key (required)
+
+:::tip
+
+The key file path is relative by default.
+
+:::
+
+```bash
+gnoland config set node_key_file secrets/node_key.json
+```
+
+## 8. Obtain the genesis file of the chain to connect to
+
+:::info
+
+The genesis file will be [easily downloadable from GitHub](https://github.com/gnolang/gno/issues/1836#issuecomment-2049428623) in the future.
+
+For now, obtain the file by
+
+1. Sharing via scp or ftp
+2. Getting from `{chain_rpc:26657}/genesis` (might result in time-out error due to large file size)
+
+:::
+
+```bash
+## TODO: Add link to download the file from GitHub
+```
+
+## 9. Add the new validator to existing chain
+
+::: info
+
+This step is currently unavailable. It will be supported in the future after complete implementation of validator set injection with the `r/sys/val` realm.
+
+:::
+
+```bash
+## TODO: Add a new validator
+```
+
+## 10. Confirm the validator information of the first node.
+
+```bash
+# Node ID
+$ gnoland secrets get NodeKey
+
+[Node P2P Info]
+Node ID:  g19d8x6tcr2eyup9e2zwp9ydprm98l76gp66tmd6
+
+# The Public IP of the Node
+$ curl ifconfig.me/ip
+1.2.3.4 # USE YOUR OWN IP
+```
+
+## 11. Configure the persistent_peers list
+
+Configure a list of nodes that your validators will always retain a connection with.
+
+```bash
+$ gnoland config set p2p.persistent_peers "g19d8x6tcr2eyup9e2zwp9ydprm98l76gp66tmd61.2.3.4:26656"
+```
+
+## 12. Configure the seeds
+
+Configure the list of seed nodes. Seed nodes provide information about other nodes for the validator to connect with the chain, enabling a fast and stable initial connection.
+
+:::info
+
+This is an option to configure the node set as the Seed Mode. However, the option to activate the Seed Mode from the node is currently missing.
+
+:::
+
+```bash
+gnoland config set p2p.seeds "g19d8x6tcr2eyup9e2zwp9ydprm98l76gp66tmd6@1.2.3.4:26656"
+```
+
+## 13. Start the second node
+
+```bash
+gnoland chain start
+```
+
+## Results After Starting the Chain and Two Nodes
+
+![1st_node](../assets/validator/running-a-validator/1st_node.png) The 1st node at height 12263.
+
+![2nd_node](../assets/validator/running-a-validator/2nd_node.png) The 2nd node at height 12263 (synced with the 1st node)