Shutdown Nodes

If you want to shut down your validator and validator fullnode (VFN), follow the instructions below to leave the validator set and clean up the resources used by the nodes.

LEAVE THE VALIDATOR SET FIRST It is important to leave the validator set before shutting down your nodes. Otherwise, you will reduce stake participation in the network and risk degrading network health.

Leave the validator set

Before shutting down your nodes, you must leave the validator set. This will ensure that your node is no longer responsible for participating in consensus. Validator nodes can leave the validator set at any time. This also happens automatically when there is insufficient stake in the validator account.

When you leave the validator set, your node will be marked as “inactive” in the next epoch. To leave the validator set, run the following command using the Aptos CLI. You will need to set the profile and owner-address flags.

aptos node leave-validator-set --profile <operator-profile> --pool-address <owner-address>

WAITING FOR EPOCH CHANGES If you leave the validator set, it will only take effect at the beginning of the next epoch. You will need to wait for the next epoch to start before shutting down your nodes. Similarly, if you leave the validator set and then rejoin in the same epoch, the rejoin will fail. You should wait for the next epoch to start before rejoining the validator set.

Shutdown methods

Once you have successfully left the validator set, you can shut down your nodes. The method for shutting down your nodes depends on how you deployed them. Choose the appropriate section below to shut down your nodes.

Using Source Code

1. Stop your node by killing the aptos-node process. This is sufficient to shut down your node.

2. (Optional) If you wish to free up space, remove the data directory, e.g., rm -r <your-data-directory>.

3. (Optional) If you wish to reuse your node identity, you should keep the configuration files:

   • public-keys.yaml

   • private-keys.yaml

   • validator-identity.yaml

   • validator-full-node-identity.yaml