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Validator Guide

This guide covers setting up and running a Bittensor validator using agcli.

What Validators Do

Validators evaluate miners by setting weights, which determines emission distribution. In return, validators earn dividends proportional to their stake and performance.

Setup

1. Create Wallet and Keys

# Create a coldkey (spending key — keep the mnemonic safe)
agcli wallet create --name validator

# Create a hotkey (operational key — used for on-chain validator operations)
agcli wallet create-hotkey --name validator --hotkey-name default

2. Fund Your Coldkey

Transfer TAO to your coldkey address:

agcli wallet show -w validator
# Note the coldkey SS58 address, then fund it from an exchange or another wallet

3. Register on Subnets

# Burn register on subnet 1
agcli subnet register-neuron 1 -w validator

# Register on root network (for emission governance)
agcli root register -w validator

4. Stake TAO

# Stake on subnet 1 using your hotkey
agcli stake add 1000.0 --netuid 1 -w validator

# Or use the wizard for guided staking
agcli stake wizard -w validator

Setting Weights

This is the core validator activity — ranking miners based on their performance:

# Rate miners: UID 0 gets weight 500 (best), UID 3 gets 200, UID 7 gets 100
agcli weights set --netuid 1 "0:500,3:200,7:100" -w validator

Commit-Reveal (if required by the subnet)

# Commit your weights (save the generated salt!)
agcli weights commit --netuid 1 "0:500,3:200,7:100" -w validator

# After the commit-reveal interval, reveal
agcli weights reveal --netuid 1 "0:500,3:200,7:100" YOUR_SALT -w validator

Delegation (Attracting Nominators)

Nominators delegate TAO to validators. Set a competitive take rate:

# View your current delegate status
agcli delegate show -w validator

# Lower your take to attract more nominators (takes effect immediately)
agcli delegate decrease-take 9.0 -w validator

# View who delegates to you
agcli view nominations --hotkey YOUR_HOTKEY_SS58

Monitoring

# Your portfolio (balance + all stakes)
agcli view portfolio -w validator

# Staking analytics (APY, daily yield projections)
agcli view staking-analytics -w validator

# Subnet metagraph (see your rank, trust, dividends)
agcli subnet metagraph 1

# Live metagraph with auto-refresh
agcli subnet metagraph 1 --live 60

# Account explorer (full overview of any address)
agcli view account --address YOUR_COLDKEY_SS58

# Chain events for your subnet
agcli subscribe events --filter stakes

Multi-Subnet Validation

Top validators run on multiple subnets:

# Register on additional subnets
agcli subnet register-neuron 3 -w validator
agcli subnet register-neuron 8 -w validator

# Stake across subnets
agcli stake add 500.0 --netuid 3 -w validator
agcli stake add 500.0 --netuid 8 -w validator

# Set weights on each subnet
agcli weights set --netuid 3 "0:100,1:200" -w validator
agcli weights set --netuid 8 "0:300,2:100,5:50" -w validator

# Set root weights (governs emission flow to subnets you support)
agcli root weights "1:100,3:200,8:150" -w validator

Childkey Delegation

Delegate part of your validator work to child keys:

# Set childkey take to 5%
agcli stake childkey-take 5.0 --netuid 1 -w validator

# Delegate 50/50 to two child validators
agcli stake set-children --netuid 1 --children "50:5ChildA...,50:5ChildB..." -w validator

Automation (Agent/Script Mode)

All commands support non-interactive flags for automation:

# Environment setup
export AGCLI_WALLET=validator
export AGCLI_PASSWORD=mypassword
export AGCLI_YES=1

# Now all commands run non-interactively
agcli stake add 10.0 --netuid 1
agcli weights set --netuid 1 "0:100,1:200"

# JSON output for parsing in scripts
agcli view portfolio --output json | jq '.positions[].netuid'

Key Metrics to Watch

  • VTrust — your validator trust score (higher = more trusted by other validators)
  • Dividends — your share of subnet emissions (proportional to VTrust and stake)
  • Stake — total TAO staked through your hotkey (your own + nominators)
  • APY — estimated annual yield from agcli view staking-analytics
  • Emission — raw emission per block for your UID from the metagraph