Run a validator

What a validator does

Validators reach agreement through SecureWeave, NDSR’s BFT voting layer (quorum ⌊2n/3⌋+1, equivocation proofs, vote gossip and persistence).

Executes direct calls (/v1/execute) and keeps every module’s state, with state sync from peers.
Verifies committee votes, audits a random 10 % of rounds plus every contested one, and signs finality records.
Checks and signs miner-set snapshots against its own Sepolia RPC.
Proposes and attests per-project reward receipts; records slashing evidence.

Finality and audits · State sync

Requirements

An always-on Linux server (x86_64 or aarch64) with a public HTTPS URL (validators receive inbound requests from the Hub and from each other). The testnet validators run on 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 10 GB machines.
The ndsr binary built from the runtime’s source (cargo build --release --bin ndsr).
One or more Sepolia JSON-RPC endpoints.
An EVM payout address.

Run it

Create the node identity:

ndsr keygen --data-dir /var/lib/ndsr
# {"key_file":"/var/lib/ndsr/node.key","node_id":"ndsr-…","public_key":"0x…"}

Start the node in committee mode (a non-loopback bind requires an API token of at least 16 characters):

export NDSR_API_TOKEN=$(openssl rand -hex 24)     # keep it secret; the Hub uses it as a bearer token
ndsr serve \
  --data-dir /var/lib/ndsr --bind 0.0.0.0:7070 \
  --ccs https://testnet-rpc.necter.network \
  --hub https://testnet-rpc.necter.network \
  --node-url https://node.example.org \
  --payout-address 0xYOUR_PAYOUT_ADDRESS \
  --chain-rpc https://ethereum-sepolia-rpc.publicnode.com --chain-rpc https://1rpc.io/sepolia \
  --chain-id 11155111 --network necter-testnet \
  --persist-ledger

Put TLS in front of port 7070 (any reverse proxy) so --node-url is reachable over HTTPS.

The node registers itself with a signed request and appears as pending. Once approved and flagged, it syncs the validator set, starts receiving rounds and catches up module state from its peers.

Important flags

Flag (env)	Default
`--data-dir` (`NDSR_DATA_DIR`)	`ndsr-data`	`node.key`, `state.db`, `consensus.db`, `ledger.db`, `modules/`
`--bind` (`NDSR_BIND`)	`127.0.0.1:7070`	non-loopback requires `NDSR_API_TOKEN`
`--ccs` (`NDSR_CCS_URL`)		registration, heartbeats, receipts, artifact fetch
`--hub` (`NDSR_HUB_URL`)	the `--ccs` URL	base URL for `/v1` calls
`--node-url` (`NDSR_NODE_URL`)		public URL the Hub and peers use
`--payout-address` (`NDSR_PAYOUT_ADDRESS`)		EVM address for this node’s rewards
`--chain-rpc` (`NDSR_CHAIN_RPC`)		Sepolia RPC, repeatable, tried in order; enables committee mode
`--chain-confirmations`	32	reorg depth used when `finalized` lags
`--chain-id`	11155111	checked against `eth_chainId`
`--chain-start-block`	0	first block of event replay (the testnet contracts were deployed at block 11870176)
`--staking-contract`, `--registry-contract`	from the Hub’s `GET /`
`--network`	`necter-testnet`
`--network-params FILE`	built-in testnet values	refused if its hash differs from `GET /v1/network/params`
`--epoch-secs`, `--gas-per-unit`	3600, 1000000	network parameters: must match every other validator
`--exec-workers`, `--exec-queue`	CPUs (2..16), 64	execution pool; `/execute` answers 503 beyond it
`--state-sync`	true	attest module state roots and catch up from peers
`--max-gas`	10^10	largest `gas_limit` accepted (must match the network)

ndsr serve --help lists every flag.

Health

Route
`GET /health`, `GET /node`	liveness and identity (open)
`GET /status`	executions, gas, rounds, gossip, rewards, pool, state sync; `capabilities: {committee, receipt_v2, chain_rpc}`; full detail with the bearer token
`GET /consensus/rounds/{round_id}`	tally, finality, own vote
`GET /consensus/evidence`	slashing evidence this node recorded
`GET /ledger?module=&function=&limit=`	recent signed receipts (with `--persist-ledger`)

Committee mode is switched on for the network only when every current validator reports capabilities.committee = true.