Operator Operations

Learn how to interact with the Operator account

Operators provide professional validation services across multiple networks using delegated tokens from vaults. They earn fees for their services and can participate in multiple NCNs simultaneously.

Basic Operator Operations

Creating an Operator

# Initialize operator with 5% fee (500 basis points)
jito-restaking-cli restaking operator initialize 500

# The command will output your operator pubkey - save this!
# Example output: "Operator initialized: 7xKXtg2CW87d97TXJSDpbD5jBkheTqA83TZRuJosgHRv"

Viewing Operator Information

# Get operator details
jito-restaking-cli restaking operator get <OPERATOR_PUBKEY>

# List all operators (market research)
jito-restaking-cli restaking operator list

# JSON output for automation
jito-restaking-cli --print-json restaking operator get <OPERATOR_PUBKEY>

Updating Operator Fees

# Update to 4% fee (400 basis points)
jito-restaking-cli restaking operator operator-set-fees \
  <OPERATOR_PUBKEY> 400

# Best practice: announce fee changes in advance to delegators

Managing Vault Relationships

Connecting to Vaults

Operators must establish relationships with vaults to receive delegations:

# Step 1: Initialize the relationship
jito-restaking-cli restaking operator initialize-operator-vault-ticket \
  <OPERATOR_PUBKEY> <VAULT_PUBKEY>

# Step 2: Activate the relationship (warmup period)
jito-restaking-cli restaking operator warmup-operator-vault-ticket \
  <OPERATOR_PUBKEY> <VAULT_PUBKEY>

Removing Vault Connections

# Initiate cooldown (gradual disconnection)
jito-restaking-cli restaking operator cooldown-operator-vault-ticket \
  <OPERATOR_PUBKEY> <VAULT_PUBKEY>

Joining NCN Networks

Joining an NCN

# Request to join an NCN (operator-initiated)
jito-restaking-cli restaking operator operator-warmup-ncn \
  <OPERATOR_PUBKEY> <NCN_PUBKEY>

# Note: NCN must also approve the relationship from their side

Monitoring NCN Participation

# View all NCN participations
jito-restaking-cli restaking operator list-ncn-operator-state <OPERATOR_PUBKEY>

# Check participation status
jito-restaking-cli --print-json restaking operator list-ncn-operator-state <OPERATOR_PUBKEY> | \
  jq '.[] | {ncn: .ncn, status: .status, warmup_complete: .warmup_complete}'

Leaving an NCN

# Initiate departure from NCN
jito-restaking-cli restaking operator operator-cooldown-ncn \
  <OPERATOR_PUBKEY> <NCN_PUBKEY>

Token Delegation Management

Setting Up Token Accounts

Operators can manage delegated token accounts for various purposes:

# Create delegated token account
jito-restaking-cli restaking operator operator-delegate-token-account \
  <OPERATOR_PUBKEY> \
  <DELEGATE_PUBKEY> \
  <TOKEN_MINT> \
  --should-create-token-account

Administrative Management

Setting Up Admin Roles

Distribute operational responsibilities across your team:

# Set NCN admin (manages NCN relationships)
jito-restaking-cli restaking operator operator-set-secondary-admin \
  --set-ncn-admin \
  <OPERATOR_PUBKEY> <NCN_ADMIN_PUBKEY>

# Set vault admin (manages vault relationships)
jito-restaking-cli restaking operator operator-set-secondary-admin \
  --set-vault-admin \
  <OPERATOR_PUBKEY> <VAULT_ADMIN_PUBKEY>

# Set voter admin (handles governance)
jito-restaking-cli restaking operator operator-set-secondary-admin \
  --set-voter-admin \
  <OPERATOR_PUBKEY> <GOVERNANCE_ADMIN_PUBKEY>

# Set multiple roles for operational efficiency
jito-restaking-cli restaking operator operator-set-secondary-admin \
  --set-delegate-admin \
  --set-metadata-admin \
  <OPERATOR_PUBKEY> <OPERATIONS_ADMIN_PUBKEY>

Admin Role Descriptions:

Role	Responsibilities	Use Case
`ncn-admin`	NCN relationship management	Business development team
`vault-admin`	Vault connection management	Partnership team
`voter-admin`	Governance participation	Strategy team
`delegate-admin`	Token delegation operations	Operations team
`metadata-admin`	Operator information updates	Marketing team

Transferring Ownership

# Transfer primary ownership
jito-restaking-cli restaking operator operator-set-admin \
  --old-admin-keypair ./current-admin.json \
  --new-admin-keypair ./new-admin.json \
  <OPERATOR_PUBKEY>

When to transfer ownership:

Organizational restructuring
Security key rotation schedule
Succession planning
Emergency situations

Quick Reference

Task	Command
Initialize operator	`restaking operator initialize <FEE_BPS>`
Update fees	`restaking operator operator-set-fees <OPERATOR> <FEE_BPS>`
Connect to vault	`initialize-operator-vault-ticket` → `warmup-operator-vault-ticket`
Join NCN	`restaking operator operator-warmup-ncn <OPERATOR> <NCN>`
Set admin roles	`restaking operator operator-set-secondary-admin --set-<ROLE>-admin`
View operator	`restaking operator get <OPERATOR>`
List vault connections	`restaking operator list-operator-vault-ticket <OPERATOR>`
List NCN participations	`restaking operator list-ncn-operator-state <OPERATOR>`