SLV Validator Skill

Ansible playbooks and Jinja2 templates for deploying and managing Solana validators (mainnet and testnet).

Supported Validator Types

Type	Description
`jito`	Jito MEV client (default for mainnet)
`jito-bam`	Jito with Block Awareness Module
`agave`	Standard Agave validator
`firedancer-agave`	Firedancer with Agave consensus
`firedancer-jito`	Firedancer with Jito consensus

Directory Structure

ansible/
  mainnet-validator/   — Mainnet validator playbooks
  testnet-validator/   — Testnet validator playbooks
  cmn/                 — Shared common playbooks
jinja/
  mainnet-validator/   — Mainnet Jinja2 templates
  testnet-validator/   — Testnet Jinja2 templates
  cmn/                 — Shared templates

CLI Command ↔ Playbook Mapping

The slv v CLI commands map directly to these playbooks. {net} = mainnet-validator or testnet-validator.

CLI Command	Playbook	Description
`slv v deploy`	`{net}/init.yml`	Full node initialization and deployment
`slv v start`	`{net}/start_node.yml`	Start validator
`slv v stop`	`{net}/stop_node.yml`	Stop validator
`slv v restart`	`{net}/restart_node.yml`	Restart validator
`slv v build:solana`	`{net}/install_solana.yml`	Build Solana from source
`slv v install:solana`	`cmn/install_solana.yml`	Install Solana binary (deprecated, prefer build)
`slv v setup:firedancer`	`{net}/setup_firedancer.yml`	Setup/update Firedancer
`slv v update:firedancer`	`{net}/update_firedancer.yml`	Update Firedancer binary
`slv v update:script`	`{net}/update_startup_config.yml`	Update start-validator.sh from template
`slv v set:identity`	`{net}/set_identity_key.yml`	Set validator identity key
`slv v set:unstaked`	`{net}/set_unstaked_key.yml`	Switch to unstaked identity
`slv v get:snapshot`	`{net}/wget_snapshot.yml`	Download snapshot via aria2c
`slv v cleanup`	`cmn/rm_ledger.yml`	Remove ledger/snapshot files
`slv v switch`	`{net}/nodowntime_migrate.yml`	Zero-downtime identity migration
`slv v list`	(no playbook)	List validators (CLI only)
`slv v gen:vote-account`	(no playbook)	Create vote account (solana CLI)

All Playbooks

Mainnet Validator (`mainnet-validator/`)

Playbook	Description
`init.yml`	Full node initialization (Agave/Jito)
`init-jito.yml`	Jito-specific initialization
`init-firedancer.yml`	Firedancer initialization
`restart_node.yml`	Restart validator
`start_node.yml`	Start validator
`stop_node.yml`	Stop validator
`install_solana.yml`	Build Solana from source
`install_agave.yml`	Build Agave from source
`install_jito.yml`	Build Jito from source
`install_rust.yml`	Install Rust toolchain
`setup_firedancer.yml`	Setup Firedancer binary and config
`update_firedancer.yml`	Update Firedancer binary
`update_startup_config.yml`	Update start-validator.sh from Jinja template
`deploy-start-validator-sh.yml`	Deploy start script to remote
`create-start-validator-sh.yml`	Generate start script from template
`nodowntime_migrate.yml`	Zero-downtime identity migration between nodes
`set_identity_key.yml`	Set validator identity key
`set_identity_to_active.yml`	Activate identity key
`set_unstaked_key.yml`	Switch to unstaked identity
`switch_on_identity.yml`	Enable identity (tower copy + key deploy)
`switch_off_identity.yml`	Disable identity (tower backup)
`switch_on_firedancer_identity.yml`	Enable Firedancer identity
`switch_off_firedancer_identity.yml`	Disable Firedancer identity
`copy_keys.yml`	Copy validator keys to node
`copy_restart_sh.yml`	Copy restarter script
`create_overrides.yml`	Generate overrides.yml from template
`setup_solv_service.yml`	Setup systemd service
`start-solv-service.yml`	Start systemd service
`setup_ufw.yml`	Configure UFW firewall
`setup_fb_ufw.yml`	Configure Firedancer-specific UFW rules
`setup_logrotate.yml`	Setup log rotation
`configure_hugetlbfs.yml`	Configure hugepages for Firedancer
`fail2ban_solana_rate_limit.yml`	Setup fail2ban rate limiting
`run_snapshot_finder.yml`	Find and download best snapshot

Testnet Validator (`testnet-validator/`)

Playbook	Description
`init.yml`	Full initialization (Jito)
`init-agave.yml`	Agave-specific initialization
`init-firedancer.yml`	Firedancer initialization
`restart_node.yml`	Restart validator
`start_node.yml`	Start validator
`stop_node.yml`	Stop validator
`install_solana.yml`	Build Solana from source
`install_agave.yml`	Build Agave from source
`install_jito.yml`	Build Jito from source
`install_firedancer.yml`	Build Firedancer from source
`setup_firedancer.yml`	Setup Firedancer
`setup_firedancer_agave.yml`	Setup Firedancer with Agave
`setup_firedancer_jito.yml`	Setup Firedancer with Jito
`update_firedancer.yml`	Update Firedancer binary
`update_startup_config.yml`	Update start script from template
`deploy-start-validator-sh.yml`	Deploy start script
`create-start-validator-sh-agave.yml`	Generate Agave start script
`create-start-validator-sh-jito.yml`	Generate Jito start script
`nodowntime_migrate.yml`	Zero-downtime identity migration
`set_identity_key.yml`	Set identity key
`set_identity_to_active.yml`	Activate identity
`set_unstaked_key.yml`	Switch to unstaked identity
`switch_on_identity.yml` / `switch_off_identity.yml`	Toggle identity
`switch_on_firedancer_identity.yml` / `switch_off_firedancer_identity.yml`	Toggle Firedancer identity
`change_identity_and_restart.yml`	Change identity and restart in one step
`copy_keys.yml`	Copy keys to node
`rm_ledger.yml`	Remove ledger data
`restart_agave_with_rm_ledger.yml`	Restart with ledger removal
`restart_firedancer.yml`	Restart Firedancer
`restart_firedancer_with_rm_ledger.yml`	Restart Firedancer with ledger removal
`restart_solv.yml`	Restart solv service
`setup_agave.yml`	Setup Agave
`setup_agave_ufw.yml`	Agave UFW rules
`setup_solv_service.yml`	Setup systemd service
`setup_solv_service_init.yml`	Initialize systemd service
`setup_snapshot_finder.yml`	Setup snapshot finder
`add_solv.yml`	Add solv user

Shared Common (`cmn/`)

Playbook	Description
`build_solana.yml`	Build Solana from source (dispatches to build_agave/build_jito)
`build_agave.yml`	Build Agave from GitHub source
`build_jito.yml`	Build Jito from GitHub source
`install_solana.yml`	Install Solana binary (deprecated)
`install_package.yml`	Install system packages
`install_rust.yml`	Install Rust toolchain
`mount_disks.yml`	Mount and format disks
`optimize_system.yml`	Optimize system settings (sysctl, limits)
`disable_swap.yml`	Disable swap
`setup_logrotate.yml`	Configure log rotation
`setup_node_exporter.yml`	Setup Prometheus node exporter
`setup_norestart.yml`	Disable auto-restart
`setup_ufw.yml`	Configure UFW firewall
`setup_unstaked_identity.yml`	Setup unstaked identity keypair
`restart_solv.yml`	Restart solv service
`copy_restart_sh.yml`	Copy restarter script
`update_ubuntu.yml`	Update Ubuntu packages
`wget_snapshot.yml`	Download snapshot
`add_solv.yml`	Add solv user
`rm_ledger.yml`	Remove ledger data
`fix_permissions.yml`	Fix file permissions

Key Variables (extra_vars)

Variable	Description	Default
`validator_type`	Validator type (`jito`, `jito-bam`, `agave`, `firedancer-agave`, `firedancer-jito`)	`jito`
`solana_version`	Solana/Agave version to build	—
`jito_version`	Jito version to build	—
`firedancer_version`	Firedancer version	—
`snapshot_url`	Snapshot download URL	—
`identity_account`	Validator identity pubkey	—
`vote_account`	Vote account pubkey	—
`block_engine_url`	Jito block engine URL	`https://frankfurt.mainnet.block-engine.jito.wtf`
`shred_receiver_address`	Jito shred receiver address	`64.130.50.14:1002`
`commission_bps`	Commission in basis points	`0`
`dynamic_port_range`	Validator port range	`8000-8025`
`limit_ledger_size`	Ledger size limit	`200000000`
`expected_shred_version`	Expected shred version (testnet, epoch-dependent)	—
`expected_bank_hash`	Expected bank hash (testnet, optional)	—
`wait_for_supermajority`	Wait for supermajority slot (testnet, optional)	—
`source_host`	Source host for nodowntime migration	—
`target_host`	Target host for nodowntime migration	—

Usage

All playbooks are designed to be run via ansible-playbook with extra_vars:

ansible-playbook -i inventory mainnet-validator/init.yml 
  -e '{"validator_type":"jito","solana_version":"3.1.8","snapshot_url":"https://..."}'

No versions.yml required — all variables can be passed via extra_vars.

Interactive Deployment Flow

When deploying a new validator, the agent should guide the user through variable collection in this order. See AGENT.md for the full step-by-step flow and examples/inventory.yml for the generated output format.

Required Variables (must collect)

Variable	Prompt	Validation
`server_ip`	"Target server IP?"	Valid IPv4
`network`	"Mainnet or testnet?"	`mainnet` or `testnet`
`region`	"Server region? (amsterdam, frankfurt, tokyo, ny, ...)"	String
`validator_type`	"Which validator type?"	`jito`, `jito-bam`, `agave`, `firedancer-agave`, `firedancer-jito`
`solana_version`	"Solana version? (default: 3.1.8)"	Semver
`jito_version`	"Jito version?" (if jito/jito-bam)	Semver
`firedancer_version`	"Firedancer version?" (if firedancer)	String
`identity_account`	"Validator identity pubkey? (or generate)"	Base58 pubkey or `generate`
`vote_account`	"Vote account pubkey? (or generate)"	Base58 pubkey or `generate`
`snapshot_url`	"Snapshot URL? (auto-detected for ERPC nodes)"	URL (cannot be empty for init)

Optional Variables (show defaults, confirm)

Variable	Default	When Required
`ssh_user`	`solv` (`ubuntu` for fresh servers)	Always
`commission_bps`	`0`	Always
`dynamic_port_range`	`8000-8025`	Always
`limit_ledger_size`	`200000000`	Always
`allowed_ssh_ips`	—	Strongly recommended (UFW)
`allowed_ips`	—	Optional (UFW)
`block_engine_url`	Auto by region	Jito types only
`shred_receiver_address`	Auto by region	Jito types only
`expected_shred_version`	Epoch-dependent	Testnet only
`expected_bank_hash`	Epoch-dependent	Testnet (optional)
`wait_for_supermajority`	Epoch-dependent	Testnet (optional)

Optional: Reference RPC

Variable	Description	Default
`reference_rpc_url`	Reference RPC endpoint for slot sync comparison (e.g., ERPC)	—

ERPC API keys are free at https://erpc.global — enables full slot sync monitoring during deployment and updates.

Pre-flight: Fresh Server Setup

If the target is a new server without a solv user:

ansible-playbook -i inventory.yml cmn/add_solv.yml 
  -e '{"ansible_user":"ubuntu"}' --become

Deployment Command

All paths relative to skill's ansible/ directory:

cd /path/to/slv-validator/ansible/
ansible-playbook -i inventory.yml {network}-validator/init.yml 
  -e '{"validator_type":"<type>","solana_version":"<version>","snapshot_url":"<url>"}'

Dry-Run First

Always offer --check mode before actual deployment:

ansible-playbook -i inventory.yml {network}-validator/init.yml 
  -e '{"validator_type":"jito","solana_version":"3.1.8"}' --check