Security & Troubleshooting
Operational security checks, failure diagnostics, and escalation paths for validator operators.
v1.1 Stabilization
Operational checklist for AI, network, security, frontend, and infrastructure before MVP release.
Security Operations Panel
Security controls for validators, operators, and founding infrastructure partners.
Mnemonic protection
Never share mnemonic, seed phrase, private key, or validator key.
SSH security
Use SSH keys, disable password login where possible, and restrict server access.
Backups
Keep encrypted backups of critical validator material and recovery notes.
Firewall
Expose only required ports and keep RPC private unless intentionally needed.
Sentry architecture
Use sentries for serious validators to reduce public attack surface.
Operations monitoring
Track sync status, disk usage, uptime, service health, and logs.
Troubleshooting Assistant
Service failed or node not starting
Inspect the systemd unit and live logs. Paste the exact output before changing configuration.
systemctl status hickoryd journalctl -u hickoryd -fNode still catching up
catching_up = true means the node is still syncing. Do not create a validator until synced.
hickoryd status 2>&1 | jq curl -s http://localhost:26657/status | jqPort blocked or RPC not responding
Check firewall rules and local RPC only. Public RPC exposure should be intentional.
sudo ufw status verbose curl -s http://localhost:26657/status | jqDisk full or permission denied
Inspect disk capacity, ownership, and service logs before removing data.
df -h free -h journalctl -u hickoryd -n 100Human Support Escalation
For critical issues, send only non-sensitive logs, node version, server details, and current step to the Hickory team. Never share keys or passwords.