Configuration

Connito validators are configured via a YAML file. This page walks through the key fields.

Example Configuration

chain:
  netuid: 102
  network: archive
  coldkey_name: my-wallet
  hotkey_name: my-hotkey
  port: 8000
model:
  model_path: deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V2-Lite
  device: cuda
cycle:
  cycle_length: 448
  distribute_period: 20
  train_period: 300
  commit_period: 8
  submission_period: 20
  validate_period: 50
  merge_period: 50
ckpt:
  validator_checkpoint_path: /path/to/validator_checkpoint
  miner_submission_path: /path/to/miner_submission
dht:
  port: 6001

Field Reference

`chain`

Field	Default	Description
`netuid`	`102`	Subnet ID. Locked — do not change.
`network`	`archive`	Bittensor network (`archive` or `finney`). Locked.
`coldkey_name`	—	Wallet coldkey name (must match `btcli wallet list`).
`hotkey_name`	—	Wallet hotkey name.
`port`	`8000`	Bittensor serve port. Must be open inbound.

`model`

Field	Default	Description
`model_path`	`deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V2-Lite`	Hugging Face model ID. Locked.
`device`	`cuda`	Device for inference.

`cycle`

Cycle timing parameters. These are locked and must match the subnet-wide configuration.

Field	Default	Description
`cycle_length`	`448`	Total blocks per cycle.
`distribute_period`	`20`	Blocks for model distribution to miners.
`train_period`	`300`	Blocks for miner training.
`commit_period`	`8`	Blocks per commit sub-phase.
`submission_period`	`20`	Blocks for miner checkpoint submissions.
`validate_period`	`50`	Blocks for proof-of-loss evaluation.
`merge_period`	`50`	Blocks for inter-validator merging.

`ckpt`

Field	Default	Description
`base_checkpoint_path`	`checkpoints/validator`	Root directory for all checkpoint storage.
`validator_checkpoint_path`	`validator_checkpoint`	Subdirectory for validator state checkpoints.
`miner_submission_path`	`miner_submission`	Subdirectory for downloaded miner submissions.
`checkpoint_topk`	`2`	Number of recent checkpoints to keep.

`dht`

Field	Default	Description
`port`	`6000`	Hivemind DHT port. Open both TCP and UDP.

Fields marked as locked are controlled by the subnet owner and must match the network-wide configuration. If your config file contains a different value, the validator will auto-reset it to the default on startup (with a warning in the logs).

Do not change locked fields unless instructed by the maintainers.

Docker Path Handling

When running with Docker, you do not need a separate config file. The validator automatically detects Docker and remaps host paths to container paths:

Host path (in your YAML)	Container path (at runtime)
`root_path`	`/data`
`expert_groups/`	`/app/expert_groups`
Checkpoint paths	`/data/checkpoints/...`

This means you can use the same validator.yaml for both bare-metal and Docker runs.