Troubleshooting

TezGov Troubleshooting

TezGov (https://gov.tez.capital) is used for protocol voting, staking management, and baker configuration. Most issues involve Ledger connectivity or understanding the two different voting systems.

Ledger Connection Issues

“Transaction Not Trusted” Warning

Cause: Voting from your baking machine while the baker is running. The new Ledger Wallet app can’t share the device with the running baker process.

Solution:

tezbake stop
# Perform voting via TezGov
tezbake start

Alternative: Use a secondary Ledger with the same seed on a different machine.

“Failed to Open Device”

  1. Ensure Wallet app is open (not Baking app)
  2. Reconnect USB cable
  3. Try different USB port
  4. Restart browser
  5. Try incognito/private window

Browser Requirements

  • Use Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Brave, Edge)
  • Firefox may have WebUSB issues with Ledger
  • Clear cache with Ctrl+Shift+R (or Cmd+Shift+R on Mac) if UI is stale

Expert Mode Required

Some operations require Expert Mode in Ledger settings:

  • Settings → Expert mode → Enable

Two Types of Voting (Important!)

Tezos has two completely different voting mechanisms. Don’t confuse them!

1. Protocol Amendment Voting (via TezGov)

  • What: Voting on protocol upgrades (e.g., Paris, Quebec)
  • When: During Exploration and Promotion periods
  • How: Cast YAY/NAY/PASS ballot on TezGov
  • URL: https://gov.tez.capital

2. Per-Block Voting (via vote-file.json)

  • What: Liquidity Baking toggle + Adaptive Issuance toggle
  • When: Every block you bake
  • How: Edit config file on your baking node
  • Location: /bake-buddy/node/data/vote-file.json
{
  "liquidity_baking_toggle_vote": "on",
  "adaptive_issuance_vote": "on"
}

What is Adaptive Issuance?

Adaptive Issuance is a Tezos protocol feature that dynamically adjusts block rewards based on the global staking ratio. When more tez is staked, rewards decrease; when less is staked, rewards increase. This creates an equilibrium that balances security with inflation.

  • "on" = Support adaptive issuance
  • "off" = Oppose adaptive issuance
  • "pass" = Abstain

After editing, restart: tezbake stop && tezbake start

⚠️ TezGov does NOT handle per-block votes - those are configured on your node.

Protocol Voting Issues

Vote Not Counting

Common mistake: Clicking “Signal” instead of the actual vote button.

  • Signal (bottom of page): Shows preference to delegators only, NOT an on-chain vote
  • UPVOTE/YAY/NAY/PASS (top): Actual on-chain vote

Solution: Click the actual vote button at the top of the proposal.

Voting Periods

Period Can Vote? Duration
Proposal UPVOTE only ~14 days
Exploration YAY/NAY/PASS ~14 days
Cooldown No voting ~14 days
Promotion YAY/NAY/PASS ~14 days
Adoption No voting ~14 days

Check Current Voting Period

tezbake node client show voting period

Staking Issues

Setting Staking Parameters

Via TezGov:

  1. Login at https://gov.tez.capital
  2. Navigate to Baker Management
  3. Set your parameters:
    • limit_of_staking_over_baking: 0-9x your stake
    • edge_of_baking_over_staking: 0.0-1.0 (your fee, e.g., 0.1 = 10%)

Via CLI:

tezbake signer client set delegate parameters for <tz_address> \
  --limit-of-staking-over-baking 5 \
  --edge-of-baking-over-staking 0.10

Parameters Not Taking Effect

  • Changes take 2-3 cycles (~3-5 days) to activate
  • External stakes are treated as delegation until parameters are set
  • Default: Stakers NOT accepted until you explicitly set parameters

Decimal Unstaking Issues

If unstaking decimal amounts fails:

  • Workaround: Try whole numbers instead

Pending Balance Quirks

  • TezGov may not display pending balance correctly
  • Staking a small amount may pull from pending balance unexpectedly

Key Management

Setting Consensus/Companion Keys

  1. Generate POP on your baker:

    tezbake signer client create bls proof for baker
tezbake signer client create bls proof for companion

  2. Go to https://gov.tez.capital → Baker Management

  3. Set consensus key: Paste tz4 address + POP

  4. Set companion key: Paste tz4 address + POP

Key Activation Timing

Common Key Mistakes

  • ❌ Setting keys in wrong order (consensus vs companion)
  • ❌ Running same consensus key on two machines simultaneously
  • ✅ Always verify on TzKT before and after changes

Baker Reactivation

If your baker becomes inactive:

  1. Go to https://gov.tez.capital
  2. Click “TezGov” in top left
  3. Find “Reactivate” button
  4. Confirm transaction on Ledger

Note: You can also reactivate by simply resuming baking - if you attest >67% of assigned work, the baker automatically reactivates.

Browser Issues

UI Not Loading or Stale Data

  1. Hard refresh: Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac)
  2. Try incognito mode
  3. Check browser console (F12) for errors
  4. Try a different Chromium-based browser

CORS or Network Errors

  • Check if you’re behind a corporate firewall
  • Try from a different network
  • Disable browser extensions temporarily

Alternative Interfaces

If TezGov isn’t working, you can use CLI commands directly:

# Check voting period
tezbake node client show voting period

# Submit proposal (Proposal period only)
tezbake node client submit proposals for <delegate> <proposal_hash>

# Cast ballot (Exploration/Promotion only)
tezbake node client submit ballot for <delegate> <proposal_hash> <yea|nay|pass>

For staking operations, you can also use https://stake.tezos.com as an alternative.

MiCA / EU Considerations

  • MiCA regulations cover custodial services only
  • Decentralized non-custodial staking is NOT covered
  • Staking-only mode (no payouts) is legally simpler for EU bakers
  • You cannot disable delegations (protocol limitation)

Any questions/comments/concerns? Please contact the Tez Capital team on Discord or Telegram