Validator Node States
Shardeum Validator Node States
This guide explains the various states a Shardeum validator node can be in during its lifecycle. Understanding these states will help you monitor and troubleshoot your validator node effectively.
A validator node transitions through different states as it participates in the Shardeum network. Each state represents a specific operational condition of your node.
Operational States
Active
- The node is fully operational and participating in the network
- Processing transactions and contributing to consensus
- Receiving rewards for participation
- Can be transitioned to standby during rotation
Standby
- Node is ready to become active but currently not processing transactions
- Maintains network connection
- Part of the standby pool waiting for rotation
- No rewards earned in this state
Selected
- Node has been chosen from the standby pool to become active
- Will transition to syncing state to catch up with network
- Temporary state before becoming active
- Part of the rotation process
Syncing
- Node is catching up with the network state
- Downloading and processing historical data
- Temporary state before becoming active
- Cannot process new transactions while syncing
Ready
- Node has completed syncing all network data
- Fully synchronized with the network
- Waiting to transition into active state
- Final state before becoming fully operational
Initialization States
Stopped
- Node is not running
- Not connected to the network
- Not processing transactions
- Can be started to enter initialization state
Initializing
- Temporary state during node startup
- Setting up connections with network
- Transitions to either:
need-stakeif no stake is presentwaiting-for-networkif stake is present
Need Stake
- Node requires stake to participate
- Occurs when node is initialized with less than minimum required stake
- Must stake SHM tokens to proceed
Waiting for Network
- Node has stake but is waiting to join the network's standby list
- Ready to transition to standby
- Occurs after initialization with stake present
Exit States
Exit with Warning
- Node stopped with non-critical issues
- May require attention but not immediate action
- Check logs for specific warnings
Exited Cleanly
- Normal shutdown
- No issues detected
- Can be restarted normally
Exit with Error
- Node stopped due to critical error
- Requires troubleshooting before restart
- Check logs for specific error messages
You can check your node's current state using the operator-cli status command in the validator CLI or through the validator dashboard GUI.