Generating Validator Keys

The ZugChain Deposit CLI is a secure, offline tool used to generate your cryptographic validator keys and deposit data. This step is required before you can run a node.

Keep Your Mnemonic Safe: Always generate your keys on a secure machine. NEVER share your 24-word mnemonic phrase with anyone. Official Deposit Contract: The ONLY official ZugChain Beacon Deposit Contract address is 0x00000000219ab540356cBB839Cbe05303d7705Fa. Always verify this exact address before making your validator deposit!

Linux

1. Download & Extract

Download the latest Linux binary (zugchain-deposit-cli-linux-amd64.tar.gz) from the Official Releases Page. Open your terminal and extract it:

wget https://github.com/ZugChainLabs/zugchain-deposit-cli/releases/download/v1.1.0/zugchain-deposit-cli-v1.1.0-linux-amd64.tar.gz

tar -xzf zugchain-deposit-cli-linux-amd64.tar.gz

cd zugchain-deposit-cli-linux-amd64

1. Run the Generator

Execute the generation wizard:

./deposit new-mnemonic --num_validators=1 --chain=zugchain

Follow the interactive prompts to create your password and write down your 24-word seed phrase safely.

Windows

1. Download & Extract

Download the latest Windows executable (zugchain-deposit-cli-windows-amd64.zip) from the Official Releases Page. Extract the .zip file to a folder on your computer.

1. Run the Generator

Open PowerShell inside that extracted folder and run the generation wizard:

.\deposit.exe new-mnemonic --num_validators=1 --chain=zugchain

Follow the interactive prompts to create your password and write down your 24-word seed phrase safely.

macOS

1. Prepare Ubuntu Environment

Native macOS binaries are coming soon. For now, we will securely generate the keys using the Linux binary inside an Ubuntu Virtual Machine. Paste this command into your Mac Terminal to check if Ubuntu is installed, install it if missing, and log in:

# Check if Multipass is installed, install if not

if ! command -v multipass &> /dev/null; then
    echo "Multipass not found. Installing via Homebrew..."
    /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
    brew install multipass
fi

# Check if our ZugChain VM exists, launch if not

if ! multipass info zugchain-node &> /dev/null; then
    echo "Launching Ubuntu VM..."
    multipass launch ubuntu --name zugchain-node
fi

# Enter the Ubuntu environment

multipass shell zugchain-node

1. Download & Run the Generator

Now that you are inside Ubuntu, download the Linux binary and run the wizard:

wget https://github.com/ZugChainLabs/zugchain-deposit-cli/releases/download/v1.1.0/zugchain-deposit-cli-v1.1.0-linux-amd64.tar.gz

tar -xzf zugchain-deposit-cli-linux-amd64.tar.gz

cd zugchain-deposit-cli-linux-amd64

./deposit new-mnemonic --num_validators=1 --chain=zugchain

📂 Output Files

After successfully running the wizard, a validator_keys directory will be created containing two distinct file types:

deposit_data-[timestamp].json

Upload this file to the ZugChain Launchpad to register your validator and securely make your 32,000 ZUG deposit.

keystore-m_...json

Import this file into your server's Validator Client. Keep it extremely safe, as it authorizes your node to participate in consensus.