Multiple Validators

Some tests need multiple bonded validators at genesis — redelegation, validator set queries, slashing scenarios. The extraValidators parameter creates N additional validators (keys validator-1, validator-2, …), each with its own consensus key, funded with validatorBalance and self-delegating a computed stake:

import { Instance } from 'starskiff';
 
const instance = Instance.simd({
  chainId: 'multi-val-1',
  extraValidators: 2, // 1 default + 2 extra = 3 bonded validators
});
await instance.start();

How stake is sized

Only the primary validator runs a live node — the extra validators are bonded but never sign blocks. If their combined voting power reached 1/3, CometBFT would halt at genesis. starskiff sizes each extra validator's self-delegation as validatorStake / (4 × extraValidators), which keeps the primary above a 2/3 supermajority with a 2× safety margin for any extraValidators >= 1.

If the computed per-validator stake rounds to zero (huge extraValidators against a small validatorStake), instance creation throws — increase validatorStake or reduce extraValidators.

Caveat: downtime jailing

Because the extra validators never sign, the chain will eventually jail them for downtime. Run assertions that need all validators bonded right after start — or boot a dedicated short-lived instance for them.