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VirtEngine Docs

Running a Validator

Validators run the consensus nodes that produce and finalize VirtEngine blocks. In return they earn block rewards, fee share, commission on delegations, and VEID verification rewards — and they accept slashing risk for misbehavior.

Requirements

Section titled “Requirements”
AreaExpectation
SoftwareThe virtengine binary, built from source (Go 1.25) or a verified release tag
PlatformLinux amd64/arm64 or macOS (Windows amd64 is experimental)
KeysConsensus key (never leaves the signing host), operator key, VEID-verified operator identity
InfrastructureDedicated nodes; in Kubernetes, role=validator labels with dedicated=validator:NoSchedule taints
MonitoringUptime is a reward component — treat missed blocks as an incident

Setup path

Section titled “Setup path”

  1. Build the binary.

    Terminal window
    make virtengine
    # binary lands in .cache/bin

    For releases, verify the tag and posture first — see the repository’s RELEASE.md and VERIFICATION.md, and Mainnet Launch Posture.

  2. Initialize and configure the node. Join the target network with the published genesis for that network (mainnet genesis artifacts are checked in under config/mainnet/ in the repository).

  3. Secure your consensus key. Double-signing is the most severely slashed offense, and it is almost always caused by key handling mistakes — two nodes sharing a key, or careless failover. One consensus key, one active signer, always.

  4. Verify your identity. Validator onboarding is a high-risk action in VEID policy terms — attestation-required verification applies. See Enrollment & Capture Flow.

  5. Create the validator and attract stake. Set your commission honestly, publish your operational practices, and remember delegators share your slashing risk — transparency is your marketing.

  6. Report VEID readiness. Validators report readiness for approved verifier versions (MsgReportValidatorReadiness in x/veidregistry) to participate in identity-verification rewards.

Reference topology

Section titled “Reference topology”

The repository’s deployment guide runs chain nodes as Kubernetes StatefulSets with readiness and liveness probes, dedicated tainted validator nodes, environment separation at the Terraform layer, ArgoCD GitOps sync, and scripted backup/DR:

Terminal window
./scripts/dr/backup-chain-state.sh
./scripts/dr/backup-keys.sh --type all
./scripts/dr/dr-test.sh --environment staging --report

Run DR drills before you need them — the drill wrapper emits an evidence bundle (failover-drill-summary.md, failover-drill-evidence.json) you can keep for your own audits.

Day-2 operations

Section titled “Day-2 operations”
  • Watch your uptime and signing performance — both feed reward calculations and, past thresholds, downtime slashing/jailing.
  • Participate in governance — parameter changes, HPC template approvals, and VEID verifier registry updates all cross your desk as proposals. See Governance Participation.
  • Plan upgrades — coordinate binary upgrades with the network’s upgrade process; an unprepared validator at an upgrade height is a downtime incident.