Validator node deployment

Use this guide for LITHO Mainnet only. The full intake, staking, commission, activation, and acceptance process is in LITHO mainnet validator onboarding.

Approved network values

Item	Value
Cosmos chain ID	lithosphere_9005-1
EVM chain ID	9005
Bond denomination	ulitho (18 decimals)
Genesis URL	https://rpc-mainnet.litho.ai/genesis.json
Genesis SHA-256	13e4875b4a9dddc63bdfbd4968c7265f9bbc49218b59c5b49231a56fa313046f
Public CometBFT RPC	https://rpc-mainnet.litho.ai
Public REST/LCD	https://api-mainnet.litho.ai

Do not use Makalu chain IDs, genesis files, peers, snapshots, or binaries for a mainnet validator.

Host baseline

Resource	Minimum	Recommended
Linux	Supported 64-bit release	Ubuntu LTS, x86-64
CPU	8 vCPU	8+ dedicated vCPU
RAM	24 GB	32 GB
Storage	300 GB free NVMe	500+ GB NVMe with growth alerts
Network	100 Mbps	Stable 1 Gbps

Use a private validator behind at least two independently operated sentries. The validator should accept P2P traffic only from approved sentries. Bind RPC, REST, gRPC, EVM RPC/WebSocket, metrics, and administration to loopback or a protected network.

Binary and initialization

Obtain lithod-mainnet-9005 from the KaJ Labs-approved release channel. No public binary URL is currently approved. Stop unless the binary SHA-256 is:

0546677a9cf3a7f458797b65181a46f21c89185933e832d89ce728a144fd258c

sha256sum ./lithod-mainnet-9005
sudo install -o root -g root -m 0755 ./lithod-mainnet-9005 \
  /usr/local/bin/lithod-mainnet-9005

sudo useradd --system --home-dir /var/lib/litho-mainnet-9005-val \
  --shell /usr/sbin/nologin litho
sudo install -d -o litho -g litho -m 0750 \
  /var/lib/litho-mainnet-9005-val
sudo -u litho /usr/local/bin/lithod-mainnet-9005 init \
  <MONIKER> --chain-id lithosphere_9005-1 \
  --home /var/lib/litho-mainnet-9005-val

Genesis verification

curl -fsS https://rpc-mainnet.litho.ai/genesis.json \
  -o /tmp/litho-mainnet-genesis.json
printf '%s  %s\n' \
  '13e4875b4a9dddc63bdfbd4968c7265f9bbc49218b59c5b49231a56fa313046f' \
  /tmp/litho-mainnet-genesis.json | sha256sum --check
sudo install -o litho -g litho -m 0640 \
  /tmp/litho-mainnet-genesis.json \
  /var/lib/litho-mainnet-9005-val/config/genesis.json

Stop if the checksum or embedded chain ID differs.

Keys and double-sign prevention

• The operator account signs staking transactions.

• node_key.json identifies the P2P node.

• priv_validator_key.json is the consensus signing identity.

• priv_validator_state.json prevents signing conflicting heights during a restore or migration.

Use an approved remote signer or HSM where available. Otherwise restrict the consensus key to the service account and maintain at least two encrypted, offline backups under independent custody. Never start the same consensus key on two hosts.

Record only public identities:

sudo -u litho /usr/local/bin/lithod-mainnet-9005 tendermint show-validator \
  --home /var/lib/litho-mainnet-9005-val
sudo -u litho /usr/local/bin/lithod-mainnet-9005 tendermint show-node-id \
  --home /var/lib/litho-mainnet-9005-val

Peering and synchronization

Use only coordinator-approved peers. A private validator normally disables peer exchange and connects only to its sentries:

[rpc]
laddr = "tcp://127.0.0.1:26657"
unsafe = false

[p2p]
laddr = "tcp://0.0.0.0:26656"
pex = false
persistent_peers = "<SENTRY_NODE_ID>@<SENTRY_HOST>:<PORT>"

[instrumentation]
prometheus = true
prometheus_listen_addr = "127.0.0.1:26660"

Start with the approved systemd or Cosmovisor service. Do not activate the consensus key or submit a staking transaction until the node has peers, matches public height, and reports catching_up: false.

curl -fsS http://127.0.0.1:26657/status
curl -fsS https://rpc-mainnet.litho.ai/status

Registration and operation

Registration uses one independently reviewed create-validator transaction. The exact stake, commission rate/maximum/daily change, minimum self-delegation, simulated gas, fee, funding, and UTC window must be approved first. Follow the transaction procedure and acceptance checklist in mainnet onboarding.

After activation, continuously monitor signing, peers, height, finality, disk, memory, clock drift, missed blocks, and service restarts. Maintain primary and backup responders. Test upgrades and restores without cloning a live signer.