Operator Guide

How to become a Materios validator in one command

This guide covers how to join the Materios network as a validator operator. Validator operators run a full Materios node (block production + finality) and a cert daemon (threshold attestation) — earning rewards for securing the network.

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Prerequisites

Requirement	Details
Docker	Docker Engine 20+ with Compose v2
CPU	2+ vCPU
RAM	2 GB minimum
Disk	50 GB SSD
Network	Port 30333 open inbound (P2P), outbound HTTPS + WSS
OS	Linux (x86_64 only)

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Quick Start

1. Get an invite token

Join the Flux Point Studios Discord and request an invite token in the #materios channel. You will receive a single-use token that looks like a 64-character hex string.

2. Open port 30333

Your node needs port 30333 TCP open for incoming P2P connections. This is how other validators find and communicate with your node.

# UFW example
sudo ufw allow 30333/tcp

# iptables example
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 30333 -j ACCEPT

3. Run the installer

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Flux-Point-Studios/materios-operator-kit/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --token YOUR_INVITE_TOKEN

That's it. The installer handles everything:

• Checks that Docker, Compose v2, disk, and RAM meet requirements

• Pulls the validator node and cert daemon Docker images

• Generates a fresh sr25519 keypair (inside a container — nothing to install on your host)

• Redeems your invite token to register with the Materios gateway

• Writes a fully configured docker-compose.yml with both services

• Starts the validator node and waits for chain sync

• Generates session keys (Aura + Grandpa) for block production and finality

• Reports session keys to the Materios gateway

• Starts the cert daemon for threshold attestation

When it finishes, you'll see:

  Materios Validator Online

  SS58 Address   : 5YourAddress...
  Label          : your-node-name
  Session Keys   : 0x1234abcd...ef56
  Peer ID        : 12D3KooW...
  P2P Port       : 30333 (ensure this is open inbound)
  Node RPC       : http://localhost:9944
  Daemon Health  : http://localhost:8080/status
  Explorer       : https://materios.fluxpointstudios.com/explorer/#/committee
  Mnemonic       : ~/materios-operator/.secret-mnemonic

4. Back up your mnemonic

Your 24-word mnemonic is saved at ~/materios-operator/.secret-mnemonic. Back it up immediately to a password manager or secure offline storage. This is your validator identity — if you lose it, you lose your authority seat.

5. Wait for activation

After your node syncs and reports session keys, the Materios team will:

1. Add you to the attestation committee

2. Add you to the validator authority set (Aura block production + Grandpa finality)

3. Fund your account with MATRA tokens

This typically happens within a few hours. You can check your status at any time:

• Explorer: materios.fluxpointstudios.com/explorer/#/committee — look for your node's label

• Local health: curl http://localhost:8080/status

• Public heartbeat API: curl https://materios.fluxpointstudios.com/blobs/heartbeats/status

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What Your Node Does

Once activated, your operator runs two services:

Validator Node (materios-node)

1. Connects to the Materios P2P network via port 30333

2. Syncs the full blockchain state

3. Produces blocks when it's your turn in the Aura round-robin schedule

4. Participates in Grandpa finality — votes to finalize blocks with BFT consensus

5. Serves RPC locally for the cert daemon

Cert Daemon

1. Polls for new receipts that need attestation

2. Fetches the associated blob data from the gateway

3. Verifies blob integrity (SHA-256 chunk hashes)

4. Signs an attestation and submits it on-chain

5. Sends heartbeats every 30 seconds so the network knows you're online

All of this happens automatically. No manual intervention needed.

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Managing Your Node

All commands are run from ~/materios-operator/:

cd ~/materios-operator

# View validator node logs
docker compose logs -f materios-node

# View cert daemon logs
docker compose logs -f cert-daemon

# Check node sync status
curl -s -X POST http://localhost:9944 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"system_syncState","params":[]}' | python3 -m json.tool

# Check daemon status (JSON)
curl -s http://localhost:8080/status | python3 -m json.tool

# Restart all services
docker compose restart

# Stop all services
docker compose down

# Update to the latest version
docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

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Optional: Custom Label

You can pass a --label flag during installation to set a human-readable name for your node:

curl -sSL .../install.sh | bash -s -- --token YOUR_TOKEN --label "my-datacenter-01"

If omitted, the installer generates a label from your hostname.

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Health Endpoints

The cert daemon exposes a local HTTP server on port 8080:

Endpoint	Purpose
GET /health	Basic liveness check. Returns 200 if the process is running.
GET /ready	Readiness check. Returns 200 if connected to the chain and recently polled. Returns 503 otherwise.
GET /status	Full daemon state: block height, finality gap, pending receipts, substrate connection, uptime, version.
GET /metrics	Prometheus metrics for monitoring integration.

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If Sync Times Out

If your node is still syncing when the installer finishes, session keys won't be generated automatically. Once the node catches up, run:

cd ~/materios-operator
bash generate-session-keys.sh

This generates session keys and reports them to the gateway so the Materios team can activate your authority seat.

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Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
Installer fails at "Pulling image"	Docker not running or no internet	Start Docker: sudo systemctl start docker
"Invalid invite token"	Token already used or mistyped	Request a new token from the Materios team
"Unsupported architecture"	Not running x86_64	The validator node requires amd64 hardware
Node stuck syncing	No peers found	Ensure port 30333 is open: sudo ufw allow 30333/tcp
/ready returns 503	Daemon still connecting	Wait 1–2 minutes. Check logs: docker compose logs -f cert-daemon
Heartbeat not showing in explorer	Authority seat not yet activated	Contact the Materios team to confirm activation
"Permission denied" on Docker	User not in docker group	Run: sudo usermod -aG docker $USER then log out and back in
Blocks not finalizing after activation	Grandpa key mismatch	Check docker compose logs materios-node for Grandpa errors

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Security

• Your mnemonic never leaves your machine. It is generated locally inside a throwaway container and saved to ~/.secret-mnemonic.

• Session keys are generated locally. The author_rotateKeys RPC runs on your local node. Only the public keys are reported to the gateway.

• The invite token is single-use. Once redeemed, it cannot be used again.

• RPC is localhost-only. Port 9944 is bound to 127.0.0.1 — not accessible from the internet.

• P2P port 30333 only carries Substrate protocol traffic. No sensitive data is exposed.

• Heartbeat signatures are verifiable. Your daemon signs each heartbeat with sr25519 — anyone can verify your identity on-chain.

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Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│          Your Machine                    │
│                                          │
│  ┌──────────────┐   ┌──────────────┐    │
│  │ materios-node│   │ cert-daemon  │    │
│  │              │◄──│              │    │
│  │ Block prod.  │ws │ Attestation  │    │
│  │ Finality     │   │ Heartbeats   │    │
│  └──────┬───────┘   └──────┬───────┘    │
│         │                  │             │
│    port 30333         port 8080          │
│    (P2P inbound)     (health, local)     │
└─────────┼──────────────────┼─────────────┘
          │                  │
          ▼                  ▼
    Materios P2P       Blob Gateway
    Network            (HTTPS)

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Requirements Summary

You Need	You Don't Need
Docker + Compose v2	Python, Rust, or Node.js
2+ vCPU, 2 GB+ RAM, 50 GB SSD	To build anything from source
Port 30333 open inbound	Static IP
Outbound HTTPS + WSS	Complex firewall rules
An invite token from the Materios team	Prior blockchain experience