Mainnet 19 - Akash v2.2.0 | Akash Network - Your Guide to Decentralized Cloud

Upgrade guide for Akash Network Mainnet 19 upgrade to v2.2.0.

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for upgrading your node to Akash v2.2.0 using both Cosmovisor (recommended) and manual upgrade methods.

Governance proposal: Proposal #347

Upgrade Details

Upgrade Information:

Upgrade Name: v2.2.0
Binary Version: v2.2.0
Block Height: 29,399,482
Estimated Time: November 6th, 2026 at ~14:00 UTC
Upgrade Info File: info.json
Binary Links: GitHub Releases

Note: Block times have high variance. Monitor the countdown on Mintscan for more precise timing, and prepare your node to halt at the upgrade height.

Upgrade Features

This upgrade is the first implementation step after Proposal #346: Migrate the Akash Protocol to Solana passed. It installs the Akash side of the portal with transfers turned off; a later parameter proposal opens them at the token launch.

By voting YES on Proposal #347, the network approves the following changes:

1. AKT on Solana: `x/sink` Module

Introduces the implementation of AEP-95: One-Way AKT Sink to Solana as the new x/sink module.

This upgrade only initializes the module and its store; the module is installed disabled. It will be configured and enabled through a separate parameter change proposal.

During the upgrade, any balance already held by the sink module address is moved to the community pool before the module is initialized.

2. Pyth VAA Verifier Contract Update

Akash imports the AKT/USD price for BME through Pyth. The price contract reads prices through a dedicated pyth-vaa verifier contract that checks Pyth router signatures instead of Wormhole guardian signatures.

This upgrade migrates that verifier, akash1zwv6feuzhy6a9wekh96cd57lsarmqlwxdypdsplw6zhfncqw6ftqucuysk, to its current code through MsgStoreAndMigrateContract with governance as the authority. The new code adds:

Guarded router set rotation — A new router set is accepted only through a VAA signed by the current router set, and only at the next sequential index. Router sets cannot be changed through ordinary config updates.
Verification within wasm limits — VAA signature verification stays within the wasm function limits that the chain enforces on every contract.

The contract admin stays the governance module. The price contract address, the price feed ID, and the oracle parameters do not change.

3. Escrow Payment Repair

Closes open escrow payments whose leases have already closed.

The repair changes only the payment state and its index. Balances, debt, prior withdrawals, account settlement heights, and bank balances are left untouched. The upgrade emits an escrow_orphan_payments_repaired event reporting the number of payments closed.

Validator Expectations

To ensure a network upgrade with minimal downtime, Akash Validators should be available as follows:

Timeline:

One hour prior to upgrade - Available and monitoring the Akash Discord server’s #validators and #validator-announcements channels for any late-breaking guidance
During upgrade window – Available throughout the expected downtime
At the upgrade height – Ensure the v2.2.0 binary is in place (or install it and restart if upgrading manually)
One hour post upgrade - Available and monitoring Discord channels for any possible revised strategies or updates deemed necessary

Emergency Coordination

In the event of issues during the upgrade, coordinate via the #validators channel in Discord to reach emergency consensus and mitigate problems quickly.

Discord: discord.akash.network

Hardware Requirements

Recommended specifications for running a node for this upgrade:

This upgrade adds the x/sink store, migrates one CosmWasm contract, and iterates open escrow payments. No existing module state is rewritten. It is recommended that all validators meet the following:

OS: Ubuntu 24.04
RAM: At least 32 GB with swap enabled
CPU: 8+ cores minimum
Storage: Sufficient space for blockchain data (1 TB+ recommended)

As with any upgrade that adds a store, validators are strongly encouraged to snapshot their node prior to the upgrade height.

Upgrade Process

Two upgrade methods are available:

Cosmovisor (Recommended) - Automatic upgrade
Manual - Manual binary replacement

Choose the method that best suits your setup. Full upgrade details and coordination can be found via the Akash Discord #validators channel.

Option 1: Upgrade Using Cosmovisor (Recommended)

The following instructions assume the akash and cosmovisor binaries are already installed and Cosmovisor is set up as a systemd service.

Note: Cosmovisor v1.5.0 or higher is required.

Validators and RPCs supervised by Cosmovisor with DAEMON_ALLOW_DOWNLOAD_BINARIES=true will automatically download upgrade binaries from the upgrade info file.

Step 1: Configure Cosmovisor

Note: Skip this step if Cosmovisor v1.5.0+ is already installed and configured.

Install Cosmovisor:

go install cosmossdk.io/tools/cosmovisor/cmd/[email protected]

Verify installation:

DAEMON_NAME=akash DAEMON_HOME=~/.akash cosmovisor version

Step 2: Configure Systemd Service

Update your Cosmovisor systemd service file with the following recommended settings:

Create/edit /etc/systemd/system/akash.service:

[Unit]
Description=Akash with cosmovisor
Requires=network-online.target
After=network-online.target

[Service]
User=root
Group=root
ExecStart=/root/go/bin/cosmovisor run start

Restart=always
RestartSec=10
LimitNOFILE=4096

Environment="DAEMON_NAME=akash"
Environment="DAEMON_HOME=/root/.akash"
Environment="DAEMON_RESTART_AFTER_UPGRADE=true"
Environment="DAEMON_ALLOW_DOWNLOAD_BINARIES=false"
Environment="DAEMON_LOG_BUFFER_SIZE=512"
Environment="UNSAFE_SKIP_BACKUP=true"
Environment="DAEMON_SHUTDOWN_GRACE=15s"

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Important Environment Variables:

DAEMON_ALLOW_DOWNLOAD_BINARIES=false – It’s recommended to manually place the binary (set to true for auto-download from the upgrade info file)
UNSAFE_SKIP_BACKUP=true - Set to false if you want automatic backup before upgrade
DAEMON_SHUTDOWN_GRACE=15s - Grace period for cleanup before shutdown

Note: It’s preferable to run the service under a dedicated non-system user other than root.

Reload and restart:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart akash
sudo systemctl enable akash

Check status:

sudo systemctl status akash

Step 3: Download Precompiled Binary (Recommended)

Note: Skip this step if you have enabled DAEMON_ALLOW_DOWNLOAD_BINARIES=true in your Cosmovisor configuration.

This upgrade uses an info.json file that references the correct release with pre-built binaries. Download the Akash v2.2.0 binary for your platform from the GitHub releases page.

Select your platform:

Linux AMD64 – akash_2.2.0_linux_amd64.zip
Linux ARM64 – akash_2.2.0_linux_arm64.zip
macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon) – akash_2.2.0_darwin_all.zip

.deb and .rpm packages are also available on the release page.

Verify the checksum against the release’s akash_2.2.0_checksums.txt:

wget https://github.com/akash-network/node/releases/download/v2.2.0/akash_2.2.0_linux_amd64.zip
wget https://github.com/akash-network/node/releases/download/v2.2.0/akash_2.2.0_checksums.txt
sha256sum --ignore-missing -c akash_2.2.0_checksums.txt

If you need to build from source instead, see Build Binary From Source.

Step 4: Prepare Upgrade Binary

Create the folder for the upgrade and copy the binary:

# Create the upgrade directory
mkdir -p $HOME/.akash/cosmovisor/upgrades/v2.2.0/bin

# Copy the downloaded binary (adjust path to your download location)
cp /path/to/downloaded/akash $HOME/.akash/cosmovisor/upgrades/v2.2.0/bin/akash

# Make it executable
chmod +x $HOME/.akash/cosmovisor/upgrades/v2.2.0/bin/akash

# Verify the version
$HOME/.akash/cosmovisor/upgrades/v2.2.0/bin/akash version

Expected output: v2.2.0

Step 5: Wait for Upgrade

At the proposed block height (29,399,482), Cosmovisor will automatically:

Stop the current binary
Set the upgrade binary as the new current binary (v2.2.0)
Restart the node

Monitor the upgrade:

# Watch logs
sudo journalctl -u akash -f

# Check sync status after upgrade
akash status | jq '.sync_info.catching_up'

Option 2: Manual Upgrade Without Cosmovisor

Using Cosmovisor to perform the upgrade is not mandatory. Node operators can manually update the akash binary at the time of the upgrade.

Warning: Do NOT replace the binary before the upgrade height, as this will stop your node.

Manual Upgrade Steps

1. Wait for the chain to halt at block height 29,399,482

2. Stop your node (if not already stopped):

sudo systemctl stop akash

3. Install the v2.2.0 binary:

Either download the precompiled binary from GitHub releases or build from source (see Build Binary From Source).

4. Verify the binary version:

akash version
# Should output: v2.2.0

5. Restart your node:

sudo systemctl start akash

6. Monitor sync status:

akash status | jq '.sync_info.catching_up'

Expected: false when fully synced

Build Binary From Source

Note: We highly recommend downloading a precompiled Akash binary over building from source. Only use this method if precompiled binaries are not available for your platform or if you have specific requirements.

Prerequisites

Ensure the following dependencies are installed before building:

Dependency	Minimum Version	Notes
golang	>= 1.26	Required for compiling Go code
direnv	latest	Environment management - direnv.net
docker	latest	Required for containerized builds
make	latest	Build automation
git	latest	Version control
jq	latest	JSON processing
unzip	latest	Archive extraction
wget	latest	File downloads
curl	latest	HTTP requests
npm	latest	JavaScript package management
readlink	latest	Path resolution
lz4	latest	Compression

Direnv Setup

If using direnv for the first time, you should see the following message after entering the source directory:

direnv: error .envrc is blocked. Run `direnv allow` to approve its content

If you don’t see this message, direnv is likely not hooked to your shell. Visit direnv.net for installation and shell integration instructions.

Build Steps

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/akash-network/node.git

# Navigate to the directory
cd node

# Checkout the release tag
git checkout v2.2.0

# Allow direnv to set up the environment
direnv allow

# Build the release binary
make release

Build Output

After the build completes successfully, binaries will be located in .cache/goreleaser/main.

The directory structure will look like:

.cache/goreleaser/main/
├── darwin_amd64_v1/
│   └── akash
├── darwin_arm64/
│   └── akash
├── linux_amd64_v1/
│   └── akash
├── linux_arm64/
│   └── akash
└── ... (other platforms)

Verify the Build

.cache/goreleaser/main/<YOUR_OS_ARCH>/akash version
# Should output: v2.2.0

Using the Built Binary

For Cosmovisor:

mkdir -p $HOME/.akash/cosmovisor/upgrades/v2.2.0/bin
cp .cache/goreleaser/main/<YOUR_OS_ARCH>/akash $HOME/.akash/cosmovisor/upgrades/v2.2.0/bin/akash
chmod +x $HOME/.akash/cosmovisor/upgrades/v2.2.0/bin/akash

For manual upgrade:

Copy the binary to your system path or use it directly when the upgrade height is reached.

Verification After Upgrade

Check Node Status

akash status | jq '.sync_info'

Important fields:

catching_up: false - Node is synced
latest_block_height – Current block (should be > 29,399,482)

Check Binary Version

akash version

Expected output: v2.2.0

Check Validator Status

akash query staking validator <your-validator-address>

Verify:

jailed: false
status: BOND_STATUS_BONDED (if in active set)

Troubleshooting

Node Not Starting After Upgrade

Check logs:

sudo journalctl -u akash -n 100 --no-pager

Common issues:

Binary not executable: chmod +x /path/to/akash
Wrong binary version: Verify with akash version
Permission issues: Check user/group settings in systemd service

Node Out of Sync

Check peer connections:

akash status | jq '.node_info.other.peers'

If low peer count, add peers from:

Cosmovisor Not Upgrading

Verify upgrade binary exists:

ls -la $HOME/.akash/cosmovisor/upgrades/v2.2.0/bin/akash

Check Cosmovisor logs:

sudo journalctl -u akash -f