Connect validator to X1 Mainnet

Step-by-step guide to connect your validator and vote account to the X1 Mainnet using CLI and hardware wallet.

Step 1 — Switch RPC to X1 Mainnet

Set your Solana CLI to use the X1 Mainnet endpoint:

solana config set --url https://rpc.mainnet.x1.xyz

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Step 2 — Verify Validator Airdrop

Check that your id.json or hardware wallet public key has received the validator airdrop:

solana balance <PUBKEY>

Your balance should be greater than 0.

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Step 3 — Fund Local Keypairs

Send 1 XNT (or a small amount) to both:

• id.json — used to manage startup of the validator

• identity.json — your validator identity key

Do this using Backpack Wallet.

To switch Backpack to Mainnet RPC: https://docs.x1.xyz/build-on-x1/resources

To import your hardware wallet in Backpack: Wallets → Add new Solana wallet → Hardware wallet

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Step 4 — Configure Solana CLI Identity

Make sure you’re operating with the correct signer:

solana config set -k ~/.config/solana/id.json

Check balances:

solana balance ~/.config/solana/id.json
solana balance ~/.config/solana/identity.json

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Step 5 — Go to Your Keypair Directory

Navigate to where your keypair files are stored:

cd ~/.config/solana

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6. Create a Vote Account

Create a vote account for vote.json, and assign your hardware wallet (Ledger) as the withdraw authority.

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6.1 Get Your Ledger’s Public Key (on Your Local Machine)

On your local computer, plug in your Ledger, open the Solana app, and run:

solana-keygen pubkey "usb://ledger?key=0/0"

Copy the output — this is your Ledger withdraw authority address:

<LEDGER_PUBKEY>

💡 You only need the public key from your Ledger. The Ledger does not need to be connected to your validator server.

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6.2 Create the Vote Account (on Your Validator Server)

Create a vote account for vote.json, using your identity.json keypair as the signer, and set your Ledger pubkey as the withdraw authority:

solana create-vote-account vote.json identity.json <LEDGER_PUBKEY> --commission 10

• identity.json → signs the vote account creation and becomes the validator identity

• <LEDGER_PUBKEY> → becomes the withdraw authority

• --commission 10 → your validator keeps 10%, and delegators receive 90%

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6.3 Verify the Vote Account

Confirm it was successfully created:

solana vote-account <VOTE_ACCOUNT_PUBKEY>

You should see details such as:

• Identity pubkey

• Withdraw authority

• Commission %

• Epoch credits and status

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Step 7 — Create a Stake Account

Create a stake account and deposit a small amount (e.g. 0.1 XNT):

solana create-stake-account stake.json 0.1

This initializes stake.json using funds from your id.json.

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Step 8 — Secure Stake Account with Hardware Wallet

Authorize your Ledger hardware wallet as the withdraw authority:

solana stake-authorize stake.json --new-withdraw-authority <HW_WALLET_PUBKEY>

Now only your hardware wallet can withdraw or modify the stake account.

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Step 9 — Fund Your Stake Account

Send more XNT to your stake account from your hardware wallet using Backpack.

In Backpack:

• From: your hardware wallet pubkey

• To: your stake.json pubkey

• Amount: the amount you want to stake to your validator

Verify balance:

solana balance ~/.config/solana/stake.json

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Step 10 — Delegate Stake

Link your stake account to your vote account:

solana delegate-stake stake.json vote.json

This command delegates your staked XNT to your validator’s vote account.

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Step 11 — Check Stake Account Status

View your stake account details:

solana stake-account stake.json

Example output:

Balance: 100.1 XNT
Rent Exempt Reserve: 0.00228288 XNT
Delegated Stake: 100.0 XNT
Active Stake: 0 XNT
Activating Stake: 100.0 XNT
Stake activates starting from epoch: 9
Delegated Vote Account Address: <VOTE_PUBKEY>
Stake Authority: <STAKE_AUTHORITY_PUBKEY>
Withdraw Authority: <HW_WALLET_PUBKEY>

The stake will become active starting from the listed epoch once the validator is participating in consensus.

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Step 12 — Reset Local Ledger

Before switching to mainnet, clear your old testnet ledger to avoid conflicts:

rm -rf ~/ledger

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Step 13 — Update Validator Startup Script for Mainnet

Open your validator startup script:

nano $HOME/bin/validator.sh

Replace its contents with:

#!/bin/bash
export RUST_LOG=solana_metrics=warn,info

exec tachyon-validator \
  --identity $HOME/.config/solana/identity.json \
  --vote-account $HOME/.config/solana/vote.json \
  --entrypoint entrypoint0.mainnet.x1.xyz:8001 \
  --entrypoint entrypoint1.mainnet.x1.xyz:8001 \
  --entrypoint entrypoint2.mainnet.x1.xyz:8001 \
  --entrypoint entrypoint3.mainnet.x1.xyz:8001 \
  --entrypoint entrypoint4.mainnet.x1.xyz:8001 \
  --known-validator 7ufaUVtQKzGu5tpFtii9Cg8kR4jcpjQSXwsF3oVPSMZA \
  --known-validator 5Rzytnub9yGTFHqSmauFLsAbdXFbehMwPBLiuEgKajUN \
  --known-validator 4V2QkkWce8bwTzvvwPiNRNQ4W433ZsGQi9aWU12Q8uBF \
  --known-validator CkMwg4TM6jaSC5rJALQjvLc51XFY5pJ1H9f1Tmu5Qdxs \
  --known-validator 7J5wJaH55ZYjCCmCMt7Gb3QL6FGFmjz5U8b6NcbzfoTy \
  --only-known-rpc \
  --log $HOME/validator.log \
  --ledger $HOME/ledger \
  --rpc-port 8899 \
  --full-rpc-api \
  --dynamic-port-range 8000-8020 \
  --wal-recovery-mode skip_any_corrupted_record \
  --limit-ledger-size 50000000 \
  --enable-rpc-transaction-history \
  --enable-extended-tx-metadata-storage \
  --rpc-pubsub-enable-block-subscription \
  --full-snapshot-interval-slots 5000 \
  --maximum-incremental-snapshots-to-retain 10 \
  --maximum-full-snapshots-to-retain 50

Save and exit the editor.

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Step 14 — Start the Validator

From your home directory:

cd $HOME
nohup $HOME/bin/validator.sh &

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Step 15 — Monitor Your Validator

Check validator logs:

tail -f $HOME/validator.log

Check catch-up status:

solana catchup --our-localhost

Monitor validator performance:

tachyon-validator --ledger ./ledger monitor