> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.autheo.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Production deployment

> Configure and launch an Autheo Chain validator node in production using systemd, including genesis setup, peer configuration, and validator creation.

This guide walks through deploying a production Autheo Chain validator. Complete [Prerequisites](/nodes/node-setup/node-setup), [Installation](/nodes/node-setup/installation), [Key management](/developers/guides/key-management), and [License setup](/nodes/node-setup/license-setup) before continuing.

## Step 1: Create your operator key

```bash theme={null}
autheod keys add mykey \
  --keyring-backend file \
  --home /path/to/node-home
```

<Warning>
  Save the mnemonic phrase immediately. Store it offline in encrypted storage.
</Warning>

## Step 2: Initialize the node

```bash theme={null}
autheod init <moniker> \
  --chain-id autheo_2127-1 \
  --home /path/to/node-home
```

Back up `config/priv_validator_key.json` to secure offline storage immediately.

## Step 3: Get the genesis file and sync

```bash theme={null}
curl -L -o /path/to/node-home/config/genesis.json \
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/autheo-blockchain/networks/main/mainnet/genesis.json
```

Bootstrap from snapshot to skip syncing from block 0:

```bash theme={null}
wget https://snapshot.autheo.com/data_backup_latest.tar.gz
tar xzvf data_backup_latest.tar.gz
mv data/ /path/to/node-home/data/
```

## Step 4: Configure persistent peers

Get the official peer list from the [autheo-blockchain/networks](https://github.com/autheo-blockchain/networks) repository and paste it into `config/config.toml`:

```toml theme={null}
[p2p]
persistent_peers = "<paste contents of networks/mainnet/persistent_peers.txt here>"
```

## Step 5: Create the systemd service

Create `/etc/systemd/system/autheod.service`:

```ini theme={null}
[Unit]
Description=Autheo Node
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=autheod start \
  --home /path/to/node-home \
  --pruning=default \
  --log_level info \
  --minimum-gas-prices=10000000000000aauth \
  --json-rpc.api=eth,net,web3
WorkingDirectory=/path/to/node-home
User=<your-user>
Group=<your-user>
Restart=always
LimitNOFILE=65535

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
```

```bash theme={null}
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable autheod
sudo systemctl start autheod
sudo journalctl -u autheod -f
```

## Step 6: Wait for full sync

```bash theme={null}
autheod status | jq '.SyncInfo.catching_up'
```

Returns `false` when fully synced. Do not proceed until sync is complete.

## Step 7: Bind your Sovereign license and create validator

```bash theme={null}
autheod tx license bind <license-id> \
  --from mykey \
  --chain-id autheo_2127-1 \
  --keyring-backend file
```

Then follow [Create validator](/nodes/validator-lifecycle/register-validator).

## Step 8: Verify activation

```bash theme={null}
autheod query staking validator <autheovaloper-address>
autheod query license license <license-id>
autheod query slashing signing-info \
  $(autheod tendermint show-validator --home /path/to/node-home)
```

Look for `BOND_STATUS_BONDED`, `LICENSE_STATUS_ACTIVE`, and `tombstoned: false`.

## Configuration reference

| `--pruning` value | Behavior                                       |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| `default`         | Keeps last 100 states and every 500th snapshot |
| `nothing`         | Archive node — retains all historical state    |
| `everything`      | Minimal footprint — only current state         |

**Minimum gas price:** `0aauth` allows zero-fee transactions. Use `2500aauth` or higher for production to prevent mempool spam.

**JSON-RPC namespaces:**

* Validator nodes: `eth,net,web3`
* Public RPC nodes: `eth,net,web3,autheo`