Skip to main content

Launch Operator Service

With your Vault created and your execution and consensus clients fully synced, let's look at the software that makes it all work.

The Operator Service ↗ is open-source software developed by StakeWise that runs alongside your node infrastructure and automates the day-to-day operations of your Vault.

The Operator Service connects to your Execution and Consensus nodes to read on-chain state and submit transactions to your Vault contract.

Core Functions​

Once started, the Operator Service automatically handles:

  • Validator Registration — Monitors Vault balance, prepares deposit data, obtains oracle approval, and submits registration transactions (requires at least 32 ETH in the Vault).
  • Validator Funding — Tops up existing 0x02 compound validators1 (up to 2048 ETH effective balance) before registering new ones.
  • Withdrawals — Processes exit queue requests via partial withdrawals from 0x02 validators first, then full exits if needed.

Additional Capabilities​

The Operator Service also includes commands and flags to automate additional tasks and simplify day-to-day Vault management:

  • CLI Commands — Key generation, wallet setup, remote signer configuration, manual exits, performance analytics, and validator consolidations.
  • Vault State Update — Use --harvest-vault to keep your Vault synced by calling updateState every 12 hours.
  • Automated Fee Claims — Use --claim-fee-splitter to claim earned fees and send them to fee recipients.
IconDeep Dive

For a deeper understanding of how Vaults work under the hood — validator registration, withdrawals, rewards, MEV, and more — see the Concepts → section.

Installation​

IconVault Version Requirements

This guide requires Vault version 5 (Ethereum) or version 3 (Gnosis). You can find your Vault version in the Details section of your Vault page. If your Vault is below the required version, log in as a Vault Admin and click Upgrade at the top of the Vault page.

The Operator Service can be installed as a binary, via Docker, or built from source.

  1. Go to the releases page ↗ and find the latest version
  2. Select the binary file for your node's hardware
  3. Download and decompress the file

To install the latest release, run:

curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stakewise/v3-operator/master/scripts/install.sh | sh -s

The binary will be placed in ~/bin. Add it to your PATH:

export PATH=$PATH:~/bin

To install a specific version to a custom location:

curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stakewise/v3-operator/master/scripts/install.sh | sh -s -- -b <custom_location> vX.X.X

Run commands using this format:

./operator COMMAND --flagA=123 --flagB=xyz

1. 0x01 and 0x02 refer to withdrawal credential types that determine validator capabilities: 0x01 validators (Type 1) use the current 32 ETH limit with automatic sweeps of excess balance, while 0x02 validators (Type 2) support higher effective balances up to 2048 ETH with compounding rewards and partial withdrawals. Converting from 0x01 to 0x02 is irreversible. By default, the 0x02 validators are registered. To register 0x01 validators, add the flag --validator-type=0x01. ↩

Last updated on