Are you running a Cardano node and noticed that the “Total Tx” and “Pending Tx” metrics aren’t showing up in gLiveView? Here’s the quick fix!

The Problem

By default, gLiveView doesn’t display transaction metrics because the required tracing isn’t enabled in the Cardano node configuration.

You might see:

  • Total Tx: N/A
  • Pending Tx: N/A
  • Processed Tx: 0

The Solution

Enable TraceMempool in your node’s configuration file.

Step 1: Locate Your Config File

Your Cardano node configuration file is typically at:

/opt/cardano/cnode/files/config.json

Or wherever you’ve installed your node.

Step 2: Edit the Configuration

Open the config file:

sudo nano /opt/cardano/cnode/files/config.json

Step 3: Find TraceMempool

Search for TraceMempool in the file. It’s usually in the section with other trace options.

Step 4: Enable the Trace

Change the value from false to true:

Before:

"TraceMempool": false,

After:

"TraceMempool": true,

Step 5: Save and Restart

  1. Save the file (Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter in nano)
  2. Restart your Cardano node:
sudo systemctl restart cardano-node

Or if you’re using the CNTools scripts:

./cnode.sh restart

What You’ll See

After restarting, gLiveView will now display:

  • Total Tx: Total number of transactions processed
  • Pending Tx: Transactions waiting in the mempool
  • Processed Tx: Running count of processed transactions

This gives you better visibility into your node’s transaction processing activity.

Why This Matters

For SPOs

Understanding transaction flow helps you:

  • Monitor node health
  • Identify performance issues
  • Verify your node is processing transactions
  • Debug mempool-related problems

For Block Production

During your slot leadership, you’ll see:

  • Transactions being added to your block
  • Mempool activity
  • Transaction processing rates

Performance Impact

Enabling TraceMempool has minimal performance impact:

  • Slight increase in logging
  • Negligible CPU overhead
  • Small additional disk writes

The benefits of visibility far outweigh any minor overhead.

Other Useful Traces

While you’re in the config file, consider enabling these other useful traces:

TraceBlockFetchDecisions

"TraceBlockFetchDecisions": true,

Shows block fetching activity.

TracePeerSelection

"TracePeerSelection": true,

Displays peer connection decisions.

TraceChainDb

"TraceChainDb": false,

Keep this false unless debugging – it’s very verbose!

Troubleshooting

Still Not Showing?

If you still don’t see the metrics after enabling TraceMempool:

  1. Verify the restart: Make sure your node actually restarted

    sudo systemctl status cardano-node

  2. Check for syntax errors: JSON is sensitive to commas and brackets

    cat /opt/cardano/cnode/files/config.json | jq .

  3. Review logs: Check for error messages

    journalctl -u cardano-node -f

  4. Update gLiveView: Ensure you’re running the latest version

    cd /opt/cardano/cnode/scripts
./guild-deploy.sh -s gliveview

Syntax Errors

Common JSON mistakes:

  • Missing comma between entries
  • Extra comma after last entry
  • Mismatched brackets or braces

Use jq to validate:

cat config.json | jq . > /dev/null && echo "Valid JSON" || echo "Invalid JSON"

Example gLiveView Output

With TraceMempool enabled, you’ll see something like:

Total Tx    : 1,234
Pending Tx  : 5
Processed   : 456,789

During busy periods or slot leadership, these numbers will increase.

Best Practices

Monitoring

  • Check these metrics regularly
  • Watch for unusual spikes in pending transactions
  • Monitor processing rates during your slots

Log Management

With additional tracing enabled:

  • Set up log rotation
  • Monitor disk space
  • Archive old logs regularly

Performance

  • Start with just TraceMempool
  • Add other traces only if needed
  • Disable verbose traces in production

Additional Resources

gLiveView Documentation

Cardano Node Config

Need Help?

If you’re still having issues or want to learn more about Cardano node operations:

Conclusion

Enabling TraceMempool is a simple configuration change that provides valuable insights into your Cardano node’s transaction processing. It’s one of many small optimizations that help you run a more effective stake pool.

Happy monitoring!

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