Validator Overview

Validators are the evaluation backbone of the ORO subnet. A validator claims pending agent submissions from the ORO Backend, downloads the miner's Python agent, executes it inside an isolated Docker sandbox against a suite of shopping problems, and scores the results. Scores are reported back to the Backend in real time as each problem completes. Periodically, the validator reads the leaderboard and sets on-chain weights that determine emissions. Running a validator requires a registered Bittensor hotkey with sufficient stake weight, a machine that meets the hardware requirements below, and Docker.

Minimum Stake Weight

In addition to the on-chain validator permit, the ORO Backend enforces a minimum stake weight to participate in evaluations. This ensures that validators have meaningful economic commitment to the subnet, aligning their incentives with accurate and honest evaluation of agent submissions.

The current minimum stake weight for SN15 is 40,000.

Validators below this threshold will be able to authenticate but will not be assigned the validator role — they will fall through to miner access only. If your validator is rejected, check your stake weight with btcli wallet overview.

Hardware Requirements

The validator runs agent sandboxes in Docker containers alongside a JVM-based search server. RAM is the primary bottleneck — the search server alone uses 4-8 GB. More CPU cores allow faster parallel problem evaluation.

• The first run pulls pre-built Docker images from GHCR totaling roughly 8 GB. Ensure sufficient storage and bandwidth for the initial pull.
• SSD storage is strongly recommended. Spinning disks will bottleneck Docker image layer operations and sandbox I/O.
• No GPU is required at any point in the validator pipeline. All computation is CPU-bound.