Generate Key Shares

Prerequisites

• Operator Data: the selected operator IDs and a current operators info file with DKG metadata
• Command or Config: the required command or YAML configuration details
• Installation secured: a machine with Docker installed OR ssv-dkg built locally from source

Outdated or incomplete operator metadata can block ceremony startup. A stale endpoint, missing RSA public key, or mismatched DKG metadata can cause validation to fail before the ceremony begins.

Check operator health

Run a healthcheck using the same operators info JSON file you plan to use for the ceremony:

docker run --rm -v ${PWD}✎:/ssv-dkg/data/  
-it "ssvlabs/ssv-dkg:latest✎" ping  
--operatorsInfoPath ./data/operators_info.json✎

If signed healthchecks fail, fix the operator metadata in your operators info file first. The ceremony will not start successfully with stale or mismatched operator identity data.

Generate Key Shares

YAML configuration

Use the YAML configuration created on the previous step. Edit the following command and run in your CLI:

docker run --rm -v ${PWD}✎:/ssv-dkg/data/  
  -it "ssvlabs/ssv-dkg:latest✎" init  
  --configPath ./data/config.yaml✎

Command-line flags

To start a DKG ceremony, run the init command below.

Example with --compounding enabled:

docker run --rm -v ${PWD}✎:/ssv-dkg/data/ -it "ssvlabs/ssv-dkg:latest✎" init  
--owner 0x...✎  
--nonce 0✎  
--withdrawAddress 0x...✎  
--compounding  
--operatorIDs [1,2,3,4]✎  
--operatorsInfoPath ./data/config/operators_info.json  
--network hoodi✎  
--tlsInsecure  
--validators 1✎  
--outputPath ./data/output

If the ceremony does not start check out the Troubleshooting Section.

Output and Next Steps

• With key shares generated, you can Register your validators to SSV Network.
• After a successful ceremony, the tool writes a ceremony-... output folder with deposit data, key shares, and proof files.
• Review Ceremony Output Summary to understand ceremony artifacts.

Backup Output Files

Securely save output files on a separate device. They might be needed later, if you need to Change Operator Set or Update Owner Nonce.