> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.fuse.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Getting Started As A Validator On Spark Testnet

# Getting started as a validator on Spark testnet

## Pre-requirements

To be a Spark validator, you first must see that you meet the pre-requirements:

* You know what it means to be a Spark validator.
* You have at least 100K SPARK tokens, or you will have an aggregated delegation of at least 100K SPARK tokens - To apply for SPARK test tokens, kindly send an email to [emmanuel.oaikhenan@fuse.io](mailto:emmanuel.oaikhenan@fuse.io) and [hesham@fuse.io](mailto:hesham@fuse.io)
* You have an always-on hardware that meets the pre-requisites - [How to run network nodes](./run-a-node.mdx)

## How to become a Spark validator

To quickly become a validator, follow these steps:

### Step 1: Download the \`quickstart.sh\` script and an \`.env\` example file:

```
mkdir fuse-validator
cd fuse-validator
wget -O quickstart.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fuseio/fuse-network/master/nethermind/quickstart.sh
chmod 755 quickstart.sh
```

### Step 2: Run the script as a validator:

```
./quickstart.sh
```

:::tip

After running the script successfully, you will see your address on the [health](https://health.fuse.io/) site.
:::

### Step 3: Stake and/or delegate!

#### Stake

To stake SPARK tokens, all you should do is send your SPARK tokens to the Spark Consensus contract address over the Spark Network from the validator address.

:::tip

The Spark Consensus contract address: 0xC8c3a332f9e4CE6bfFFcf967026cB006Db2311c7
:::

The easiest way is to import your private key or key-store file to your favorite wallet (for example, Metamask), switch the network to Spark, and send the SPARK tokens (native testnet tokens) to the Consensus contract address.

:::info

You can find your key-store (containing your private key) and the password for the created account in:

`$HOME/fusenet/config/keys/FuseNetwork/UTC--xxxx`

`$HOME/fusenet/config/pass.pwd`
:::

#### Delegate

To delegate, send the SPARK tokens from any address to the Consensus contract address with the data: `0x5c19a95c000000000000000000000000<address without 0x>`.

:::tip

Example:

For the address: `0xb8ce4a040e8aa33bbe2de62e92851b7d7afd52de`\
Use: `0x5c19a95c000000000000000000000000b8ce4a040e8aa33bbe2de62e92851b7d7afd52de` as the data.

`5c19a95c` is for the `delegate(address)` function signature.

`b8ce4a040e8aa33bbe2de62e92851b7d7afd52de`in this example, is an address you're delegating to (without the `0x` prefix)
:::

### Step 4: Wait for one cycle (approximately 1 hour).

Wait until the next cycle is started.

:::tip

You can see that you are validating both on the[ health](https://health.fusespark.io) site
:::

For live support, contact us on [Telegram](https://t.me/fuseio) or [Discord](https://discord.gg/tz7ArR). Good luck, and happy validating!