Validator & Attestation

Register a Starknet Mainnet validator and run attestations.

Mainnet · staking and block attestations

A synchronized Pathfinder node is the prerequisite. Validator onboarding also needs three deployed accounts: staker, rewards and operational. Install Starknet Foundry sncast, configure the staker account, and fund the operational account for attestation fees. Keep the staker key offline when possible.

The official tutorial demonstrates Sepolia. The commands below explicitly target Mainnet. Verify contract addresses against Starknet chain information before signing. The reviewed minimum is 20,000 STRK, plus transaction fees. Recheck the current minimum stake in staking specifications rather than assuming the tutorial’s sample amount is sufficient.

Set contract addresses

Use the contracts for this network.

STAKING_CONTRACT=0x00ca1702e64c81d9a07b86bd2c540188d92a2c73cf5cc0e508d949015e7e84a7
STRK_CONTRACT=0x04718f5a0fc34cc1af16a1cdee98ffb20c31f5cd61d6ab07201858f4287c938d

Set your accounts

Replace each value with a deployed account address on this network.

STAKING_ADDRESS="YOUR_STAKER_ADDRESS"
REWARDS_ADDRESS="YOUR_REWARDS_ADDRESS"
OPERATIONAL_ADDRESS="YOUR_OPERATIONAL_ADDRESS"

Choose the stake

Set the amount in base units: 1 STRK is 10^18 units. Enter an amount meeting the current minimum.

read -rp "Stake amount in STRK base units: " STAKE_AMOUNT

Approve the transfer

Authorize only the chosen amount for the staking contract.

sncast --account staker invoke --network mainnet \
  --contract-address "$STRK_CONTRACT" --function approve \
  --arguments "$STAKING_CONTRACT,$STAKE_AMOUNT"

Stake

Wait for approval to succeed, then lock the selected amount.

sncast --account staker invoke --network mainnet \
  --contract-address "$STAKING_CONTRACT" --function stake \
  --arguments "$REWARDS_ADDRESS,$OPERATIONAL_ADDRESS,$STAKE_AMOUNT"

Set commission

This example sets 1% (100 of 10,000). Choose your rate before submitting.

sncast --account staker invoke --network mainnet --contract-address "$STAKING_CONTRACT" --function set_commission --arguments 100

Open STRK delegation

Allow delegators to use your STRK pool.

sncast --account staker invoke --network mainnet --contract-address "$STAKING_CONTRACT" --function set_open_for_delegation --arguments "$STRK_CONTRACT"

Verify registration

Check the returned account, stake and pool information.

sncast call --network mainnet --contract-address "$STAKING_CONTRACT" --function get_staker_info_v1 --arguments "$STAKING_ADDRESS"

The local signer requires a compatible deployed operational account without additional guardian or hardware-signing requirements. Use a dedicated operational account; keep your staker account’s custody setup intact.

Run the attestation service

The attestation tool signs with the operational account and talks to your own synchronized Pathfinder RPC. Its current source requires JSON-RPC 0.10; use the versioned endpoint below.

Open the node directory

Keep the attestation environment next to the node configuration.

cd "$HOME/pathfinder-mainnet"

Enter the operational private key

Enter only the operational key; the prompt hides input.

read -rsp "Operational private key: " OPERATIONAL_PRIVATE_KEY; printf "\n"

Store it privately

Create a restricted environment file. Do not share this file.

(umask 077; printf 'VALIDATOR_ATTESTATION_OPERATIONAL_PRIVATE_KEY=%s\n' "$OPERATIONAL_PRIVATE_KEY" > attestation.env)

Clear the temporary key

Remove the key from the current shell variable.

unset OPERATIONAL_PRIVATE_KEY

Pull the attestation image

Download the reviewed release.

sudo docker pull ghcr.io/software-mansion/starknet-validator-attestation:v0.5.2

Check supported options

Check release options and RPC requirements before starting.

sudo docker run --rm ghcr.io/software-mansion/starknet-validator-attestation:v0.5.2 --help

Start attestations

The host network lets the service reach your localhost Pathfinder endpoint.

sudo docker run -d --name attest-mainnet --restart unless-stopped \
  --network host --env-file "$HOME/pathfinder-mainnet/attestation.env" \
  --log-opt max-size=20m --log-opt max-file=5 \
  ghcr.io/software-mansion/starknet-validator-attestation:v0.5.2 \
  --staking-contract-address 0x00ca1702e64c81d9a07b86bd2c540188d92a2c73cf5cc0e508d949015e7e84a7 \
  --attestation-contract-address 0x10398fe631af9ab2311840432d507bf7ef4b959ae967f1507928f5afe888a99 \
  --staker-operational-address "$OPERATIONAL_ADDRESS" \
  --node-url http://127.0.0.1:9545/rpc/v0_10 \
  --metrics-address 127.0.0.1:9090 \
  --local-signer

Verify confirmed attestations

Look for confirmed transactions, not just a running container.

sudo docker logs --tail 100 -f attest-mainnet

Monitor the operational STRK balance, node lag and missed epochs. Docker administrators can read container environment variables; use the tool’s remote signer option if your custody design requires it.

Validator onboarding · Attestation quickstart · Attestation tool.