Convert a Subnet to an L1

Learn how to convert a subnet to an L1 on the P-Chain.

The node you have just launched is tracking the Subnet but is not yet a validator. In fact, since the Subnet does not have any validators yet it cannot process any transactions. In this step we will do two things at once:

  1. Convert the Subnet to an L1
  2. Add your node as a validator

Converting a Subnet to an L1 requires the Subnet owner issuing a ConvertSubnetToL1Tx transaction on the P-Chain. This transaction establishes a new validator set for your blockchain and transforms it from a Subnet into a sovereign L1 chain. The ConvertSubnetToL1Tx transaction is a one-time transaction that can only be executed once by the Subnet owner(s).

After the conversion the subnet owner looses all privileges and the L1 is controlled by a validator manager contract, that manages the validator set. You will learn more about this in the next chapter.

The ConvertSubnetToL1Tx has the following parameters:

  • Subnet ID - The unique identifier of your Subnet
  • Validator Manager Blockchain ID - The ID of the blockchain where the Validator Manager contract will be deployed. This blockchain can belong to the L1, be the C-Chain or belong to any other L1 in the Avalanche network
  • Validator Manager Address - The address of the contract on that blockchain
  • Validators - The initial set of validators for the L1

The Validator Manager Address is initially set to an OpenZeppelin TransparentUpgradeableProxy contract pre-deployed in the genesis.json. After conversion, you'll deploy the actual ValidatorManager implementation contract and update the proxy to point to it.

Conversion Tool

Use the following tool to convert your Subnet to an L1:

Logo

Convert Subnet to L1

This will convert your subnet to an L1 chain.

Initial Validators
Fetch node credentials:
1curl -X POST --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"info.getNodeID"}' -H "content-type:application/json;" 127.0.0.1:9650/ext/info

If converting a pre-existing Subnet with validators, you must establish a completely new validator set for the L1 conversion. The existing Subnet validators cannot be automatically transferred.

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