Node Operations on Sei

Deploy and maintain Sei Network infrastructure with comprehensive guides for validators, RPC nodes, and archive nodes, including hardware requirements, installation steps, and operational best practices.

Power the Sei Network Infrastructure

Comprehensive guides for running, maintaining, and optimizing Sei network nodes. Whether you’re setting up a validator, an RPC node, or a relayer, you’ll find detailed instructions and best practices to ensure optimal performance and security.

RPC/API Nodes

Validator Nodes

Statesync Nodes

Archive Nodes

Network Versions

Live binary versions, genesis, and seed peers — see the technical reference.

Hardware Requirements

Component	Required
CPU	16 cores (Intel Xeon/Core i7/i9 or AMD Epyc/Ryzen)
RAM	256 GB DDR5 or better
Storage	2 TB NVMe SSD (high IOPS required)
Network	2 Gbps with low latency

Installation & Setup Steps

1. Environment Setup

   System Preparation

   1. Update and Upgrade System

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
   

   2. Install Essential Packages

   sudo apt install make gcc git jq chrony curl lz4 wget tar build-essential -y
   

   3. Synchronize System Time

   sudo timedatectl set-timezone UTC
   sudo systemctl enable --now chronyd
   timedatectl
   

   Install Go

   Suggested Version: Go 1.24.x (required for seid v6.3+)

   Installation Steps

   # Check for existing Go installation
   go version
   
   # Download and install Go 1.24.x
   wget https://go.dev/dl/go1.24.5.linux-amd64.tar.gz
   sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.24.5.linux-amd64.tar.gz
   
   # Add Go to your environment variables
   echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin' >> $HOME/.bashrc
   source $HOME/.bashrc
   
   # Verify installation
   go version
   
2. Install Sei

   Install Sei Binary

   # Clone repository and install
   git clone https://github.com/sei-protocol/sei-chain.git
   cd sei-chain
   git checkout <version-tag>  # Replace with specific version
   make install
   
   # Verify installation
   seid version
   

   See Network Versions table above for current recommended version.

   Mock validation builds are for testing/mock environments only — never run them in production. These builds use a build-tag-selected ConsensusPolicy whose HandleError mechanism swallows specific halting validation failures (incrementing the sei_unsafe_validation_skipped_total{validation_error=...} counter instead of halting) rather than enforcing them. Default (production) builds always enforce every consensus check, and this counter is always zero.

   mock_block_validation — swallows only AppHash and DataHash validation failures during block execution and validation; every other consensus check still halts.

   # Build a seid binary that swallows AppHash/DataHash validation failures (testing only)
   GO_BUILD_TAGS=mock_block_validation make install
   

   A dedicated Docker image is published for this build in ECR, tagged sei/sei-chain:mock_block_validation-<tag/ref/sha> (built with GO_BUILD_TAGS=mock_block_validation).

   mock_chain_validation — intended for forked-state replays; swallows every swallow-eligible halting validation failure except ErrLastCommitVerify (which still halts to avoid a downstream panic). It is built together with mock_balances.

   # Build a seid binary for forked-state replays (testing only)
   GO_BUILD_TAGS="mock_balances mock_chain_validation" make install
   

   A dedicated Docker image is published for this build in ECR, tagged sei/sei-chain:mock_chain_validation-<tag/ref/sha> (and sei/sei-chain:mock_chain_validation-nightly-* for nightly builds).

   Because these binaries skip integrity checks that guard against divergent or malformed state, they must not be used on mainnet, testnets, or any network carrying real value.

   Alternative: Docker Image

   Official Docker images are available at GitHub Container Registry.

   # Pull the latest version
   docker pull ghcr.io/sei-protocol/sei:latest
   
   # Or pull a specific version (recommended)
   docker pull ghcr.io/sei-protocol/sei:v6.3.1
   

   Available architectures: linux/amd64 and linux/arm64.

   If you encounter an error like command not found: seid, you may need to set your GOPATH environment variable.

   Add the following to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

   export GOPATH=$(go env GOPATH)
   export PATH=$PATH:$GOPATH/bin
   

   Then reload your shell with source ~/.bashrc or source ~/.zshrc.

   For more information see here.

   Initialize Chain Files

   Default init mode is full (RPC/P2P bind to all interfaces). For validator or seed nodes, use --mode validator or --mode seed so RPC and P2P bind to localhost only. See the Validator Operations Guide for the full validator init example.

   Peers can be found here -

   • mainnet (pacific-1):

   • testnet (atlantic-2):

   # Initialize node (default mode is full: RPC/P2P bind to all interfaces)
   # For validator nodes, use: seid init <your-moniker> --chain-id <chain-id> --mode validator
   seid init <your-moniker> --chain-id <chain-id>
   
   # Genesis is written automatically for known networks (mainnet and testnets); no download needed.
   
   # Configure peers in config.toml.
   PEERS="<comma-separated-peer-list>"
   
   #Set persistent peers in config.toml
   sed -i 's/persistent-peers = .*/persistent-peers = "'$PEERS'"/' ~/.sei/config/config.toml
   

   Configure App Settings

   # Set minimum gas price (recommended; helps prevent spam transactions)
   # Mainnet enforces a chain-wide minimum of 0.02usei, so set at least that value
   # Use "0usei" only for local development or private networks
   sed -i -e "s/^minimum-gas-prices *=.*/minimum-gas-prices = \"0.02usei\"/" $HOME/.sei/config/app.toml
   
   # Tune mempool settings
   sed -i \
     -e 's/^keep-invalid-txs-in-cache = .*/keep-invalid-txs-in-cache = true/' \
     -e 's/^ttl-duration = .*/ttl-duration = "5s"/' \
     -e 's/^ttl-num-blocks = .*/ttl-num-blocks = 5/' \
     $HOME/.sei/config/config.toml
   
   # Set Concurrent Workers to 500 and enable occ
   sed -i -e "s/^#concurrency-workers *=.*/concurrency-workers = 500/" $HOME/.sei/config/app.toml
   sed -i -e "s/^occ-enabled *=.*/occ-enabled = true/" $HOME/.sei/config/app.toml
   

   In case of running an Archive Node, make sure to set your state-store settings to ss-keep-recent = 0 with

   sed -i 's/^ss-keep-recent = [0-9]*/ss-keep-recent = 0/' ~/.sei/config/app.toml
   

   Advanced Configuration

   Archive Node Setup

   An archive node maintains the complete historical record of the chain. This requires disabling state sync and starting with a pre-existing database using a “snapshot”.

   1. Disable State Sync — In $HOME/.sei/config/config.toml , modify the [statesync] section:

   # State sync configuration
   [statesync]
   enable = false
   

   2. Configure Archive Node Peers — To sync from the height your snapshot was created at, you need peers retaining a large amount of historical blocks. The node will require specific peers during initial sync, which can be changed at a later time.

   Mempool Configuration

   For optimal transaction handling and resource management, it is recommended to update the mempool settings in your config.toml file.

   Adjust these parameters if you encounter performance or resource issues on your specific hardware.

   # Mempool configuration settings
   [mempool]
   
   # Broadcast transactions to other nodes
   broadcast = true
   
   # Maximum number of transactions in the mempool
   size = 5000
   
   # Limit the total size of all txs in the mempool.
   max-txs-bytes = 10737418240
   
   # Size of the cache (used to filter duplicate transactions)
   cache-size = 10000
   
   # Do not remove invalid transactions from the cache
   keep-invalid-txs-in-cache = true
   
   # Maximum size of a single transaction
   max-tx-bytes = 2048576
   
   # Maximum size of a batch of transactions to send to a peer
   max-batch-bytes = 0
   
   # Maximum length of time a transaction can remain in the mempool.
   # Set to "0s" to explicitly disable time-based TTL purging.
   # The default is "5s".
   ttl-duration = "3s"
   
   # Maximum number of blocks a transaction can remain in the mempool.
   # Set to 0 to explicitly disable block-based TTL purging.
   # The default is 10 blocks.
   ttl-num-blocks = 5
   
   tx-notify-threshold = 0
   
   check-tx-error-blacklist-enabled = true
   
   check-tx-error-threshold = 50
   
   pending-size = 5000
   
   max-pending-txs-bytes = 1073741824
   
   # Deprecated: pending TTL is not used and this field has no effect.
   pending-ttl-duration = "3s"
   
   # Deprecated: pending TTL is not used and this field has no effect.
   pending-ttl-num-blocks = 5
   
3. Run Node

   Setting Up a systemd Service

   If you see an error such as panic: recovered: runtime error: integer divide by zero it means you can’t start nodes straight from the genesis file. Instead, sync to the block tip via state sync or using a snapshot.

   For production deployments, configure a systemd service to ensure your node restarts automatically:

   # Create the systemd service file
   sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/seid.service > /dev/null << EOF
   [Unit]
   Description=Sei Node
   After=network-online.target
   
   [Service]
   User=$USER
   ExecStart=$(which seid) start
   Restart=always
   RestartSec=3
   LimitNOFILE=65535
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target
   EOF
   
   # Reload systemd, enable and start the service
   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl enable seid
   sudo systemctl start seid
   

   Monitoring & Troubleshooting

   Check your node’s status with these commands:

   # Check sync status
   seid status
   
   # Monitor logs in real-time
   journalctl -u seid -f -o cat
   
   # Check validator status (if running a validator)
   seid query staking validator $(seid keys show <your_key> --bech val -a)
   

   Common Issues & Solutions

   Sync Issues

   • Verify sufficient disk space
   • Ensure stable network connectivity
   • Confirm system time is synchronized
   • Consider using state sync for initial setup

   Performance Problems

   • Monitor system resources (CPU, RAM, I/O)
   • Evaluate disk performance and network bandwidth
   • Adjust mempool and peer settings if needed

View Complete Node Setup Guide

Node Resources

Node Setup

Node Operations Guide

Complete guide to setting up and running a Sei node with hardware requirements and configuration steps.

Validator Operations Guide

Specialized instructions for validators, including staking, commission settings, and security best practices.

Default Configurations

Full reference for app.toml, config.toml, and client.toml shipped by the latest seid release.

Advanced Operations

Configuration & Monitoring

Optimize your node’s performance with advanced settings and monitoring tools.

RocksDB Backend

Run with RocksDB instead of the default backend.

Technical Reference

Detailed technical specifications, API endpoints, and commands for node operators.