Please ensure you have the [Cosmos SDK](/getting-started/installation.md) installed. If you ran a full node on a previous testnet, please skip to [Upgrading From Previous Testnet](#upgrading-from-previous-testnet).
## Setting Up a New Node
These instructions are for setting up a brand new full node from scratch.
First, initialize the node and create the necessary config files:
```bash
gaiad init --name <your_custom_name>
```
::: warning Note
Only ASCII characters are supported for the `--name`. Using Unicode characters will render your node unreachable.
:::
You can edit this `name` later, in the `~/.gaiad/config/config.toml` file:
You can edit the `~/.gaiad/config/gaiad.toml` file in order to enable the anti spam mechanism and reject incoming transactions with less than a minimum fee:
```
# This is a TOML config file.
# For more information, see https://github.com/toml-lang/toml
##### main base config options #####
# Validators reject any tx from the mempool with less than the minimum fee per gas.
Your node is now in a pristine state while keeping the original `priv_validator.json` and `config.toml`. If you had any sentry nodes or full nodes setup before,
your node will still try to connect to them, but may fail if they haven't also
been upgraded.
::: danger Warning
Make sure that every node has a unique `priv_validator.json`. Do not copy the `priv_validator.json` from an old node to multiple new nodes. Running two nodes with the same `priv_validator.json` will cause you to double sign.
Your node needs to know how to find peers. You'll need to add healthy seed nodes to `$HOME/.gaiad/config/config.toml`. Here are some seed nodes you can use:
```toml
# Comma separated list of seed nodes to connect to
If those seeds aren't working, you can find more seeds and persistent peers on the [Cosmos Explorer](https://explorecosmos.network/nodes). Open the the `Full Nodes` pane and select nodes that do not have private (`10.x.x.x`) or [local IP addresses](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_network). The `Persistent Peer` field contains the connection string. For best results use 4-6.
For more information on seeds and peers, you can [read this](https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint/blob/develop/docs/using-tendermint.md#peers).
## Run a Full Node
Start the full node with this command:
```bash
gaiad start
```
Check that everything is running smoothly:
```bash
gaiacli status
```
View the status of the network with the [Cosmos Explorer](https://explorecosmos.network). Once your full node syncs up to the current block height, you should see it appear on the [list of full nodes](https://explorecosmos.network/validators). If it doesn't show up, that's ok--the Explorer does not connect to every node.
## Upgrade to Validator Node
You now have an active full node. What's the next step? You can upgrade your full node to become a Cosmos Validator. The top 100 validators have the ability to propose new blocks to the Cosmos Hub. Continue onto [the Validator Setup](../validators/validator-setup.md).