How to Create and Submit a Governance Proposal on Gonka

Step-by-step for submitting and voting with inferenced. Aligned with Gonka Transactions & Governance. Replace every placeholder with your own values before running commands.

1. Placeholders and shell exports

Placeholder	Meaning
`<KEY_NAME>`	Your key name in the keyring (not your `gonka1...` address)
`<PATH_TO_PROPOSAL_JSON>`	Path to the proposal JSON file, e.g. `./proposal.json`
`<PUBLIC_RPC>`	RPC URL including `/chain-rpc/`, e.g. `http://node1.gonka.ai:8000/chain-rpc/`
`<PUBLIC_HTTP_API>`	Same host without `/chain-rpc/`, e.g. `http://node1.gonka.ai:8000`
`<CHAIN_ID>`	e.g. `gonka-mainnet` for mainnet

Run once per terminal session (edit the right-hand sides):

export GONKA_RPC="<PUBLIC_RPC>"
export GONKA_API="<PUBLIC_HTTP_API>"
export CHAIN_ID="<CHAIN_ID>"
export ACCOUNT_NAME="<KEY_NAME>"

All later commands assume these variables are set. If a command fails with connection or parse, check that GONKA_RPC ends with exactly one /chain-rpc/.

2. Two URLs (do not mix them)

Task	Variable
`inferenced query / tx`	`$GONKA_RPC` (must include `/chain-rpc/`)
`create-client` (HTTP `.../v1/participants` on the seed)	`$GONKA_API` (no `/chain-rpc/`)

Using $GONKA_RPC for --node-address in create-client is incorrect and will fail or hit the wrong service.

3. Prerequisites

3.1 Install CLI

Download a build for your OS from Gonka releases, unpack, then:

chmod +x inferenced
./inferenced --help

On macOS, if Gatekeeper blocks the binary: System Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Open Anyway.

3.2 Read `min_deposit` and `voting_period` from the chain

Do not rely on a fixed ngonka amount from old docs. Query live values:

./inferenced query gov params \
  --node "$GONKA_RPC" \
  --chain-id "$CHAIN_ID" \
  -o json | jq '{min_deposit: .params.min_deposit, voting_period: .params.voting_period}'

Your proposal JSON deposit must satisfy min_deposit (same denom, amount >= minimum).

3.3 Proposal JSON

Prepare a gov v1 JSON (messages, metadata, deposit, title, summary).

There are two main parts to prepare:

Proposal description fields

Keep the on-chain text short and clear.

Make sure the proposal includes:

A short summary of what the proposal is about.
A link to the full proposal description with all details.
The wallet address where funds should be sent, if the proposal requests funding.
The requested amount and denom, if the proposal requests funding.

Proposal JSON structure

For the JSON structure, the best approach is to inspect previous proposals and use them as references.

You can inspect previous proposal JSONs to see how different proposal types are structured. In many cases, it is easier to start from a similar previous proposal and adapt it.

For messages such as MsgUpdateParams, the chain expects the full params object and correct authority (gov module address). Fetch the gov module address:

./inferenced query auth module-accounts \
  --node "$GONKA_RPC" \
  --chain-id "$CHAIN_ID" \
  -o json | jq -r '.accounts[] | select(.value.name=="gov") | .value.address'

Use that address as authority where the message type requires it.

If the jq line prints nothing, run the same query without jq once and locate the gov module entry manually. The output shape can differ slightly by SDK version.

3.4 Optional: new key + register participant (`create-client`)

This creates a key and calls the seed HTTP API (participant registration). Use $GONKA_API only:

./inferenced create-client "$ACCOUNT_NAME" \
  --node-address "$GONKA_API"

Store the mnemonic safely. If you already have a funded key for governance, skip this and avoid double registration.

Use the same --keyring-backend everywhere (e.g. file) for keys show, tx gov submit-proposal, and tx gov vote.

4. Publish the proposal on-chain

4.1 Check balance

./inferenced query bank balances \
  "$(./inferenced keys show "$ACCOUNT_NAME" -a --keyring-backend file)" \
  --node "$GONKA_RPC" \
  --chain-id "$CHAIN_ID"

Ensure you have enough ngonka (or the fee denom your node expects) for min_deposit and fees.

4.2 Submit

Recommended pattern from the official Gonka doc:

./inferenced tx gov submit-proposal "<PATH_TO_PROPOSAL_JSON>" \
  --from "$ACCOUNT_NAME" \
  --keyring-backend file \
  --chain-id "$CHAIN_ID" \
  --node "$GONKA_RPC" \
  --unordered --timeout-duration=60s \
  --gas 2000000 --gas-adjustment 5.0 \
  --yes

After submission, note the proposal number from the output or find it via query commands. Share the proposal number so the community announcement can go out.

5. Voting and tally

Voting steps are documented on the dedicated page:

Voting on Proposals

That is it. Good luck with your proposal.

If you have comments, suggestions, or anything to add from your own experience, share them and we can keep improving this guide together. If any part feels unclear, refine it before running on mainnet.