# DV Launchpad

> Hosted browser UI for creating and managing Distributed Validators (DVs) on Ethereum. Where humans run the Obol DKG ceremony with a wallet-signing flow, deposit 32 ETH into activated validators, migrate an existing validator into a DV cluster, and coordinate validator exits. The Launchpad is a fully static site — there is no server side here; all action happens in the browser against the Obol API, on-chain smart contracts, and public Ethereum RPCs.

Live deployments (per-network — the chain determines which Launchpad to use):

- [launchpad.obol.org](https://launchpad.obol.org) — Ethereum mainnet
- [hoodi.launchpad.obol.org](https://hoodi.launchpad.obol.org) — Hoodi testnet (preferred testnet)
- [gnosis.launchpad.obol.org](https://gnosis.launchpad.obol.org) — Gnosis chain (legacy; being deprecated for DV onboarding)

## When to route a user to the Launchpad

Send a user here when they want to do one of these *in a browser with a wallet they control*:

- **Create a DV cluster with friends (group flow).** The creator fills in parameters (operators by address, withdrawal + fee-recipient addresses, number of validators, threshold), invites operators who then connect their wallets and sign acceptance, everyone exchanges Charon ENRs through the flow, runs the DKG, and publishes a shareable cluster lock. This is the UI equivalent of `charon create dkg --operator-addresses ...` followed by a coordinated `charon dkg` run.
- **Create a standalone (solo) DV.** One user, all operator keys generated and held by them. Useful for solo stakers who want Obol primitives without coordinating with other operators — note that "solo DV" is not a fault-tolerant distributed validator, it's all your keys on your own machine(s).
- **Deposit 32 ETH** into a validator after a cluster is fully set up. Supports direct deposits, deposits through a splits contract, and deposits via an Obol Validator Manager (OVM).
- **Migrate an existing (non-DV) validator** into a DV cluster — rotate the withdrawal credential so the validator's principal and rewards land in a DV-compatible target (EOA).
- **Coordinate a validator exit** — operators sign their partial exit messages through the UI, the aggregated signed voluntary exit is assembled, and the user submits it to the beacon chain.

## When to NOT send the user here

- They want to **run a DV node** (the Charon + VC process that participates in consensus) — that's [charon-distributed-validator-node](https://github.com/ObolNetwork/charon-distributed-validator-node) (Docker Compose), [lido-charon-distributed-validator-node](https://github.com/ObolNetwork/lido-charon-distributed-validator-node) (Lido Simple DVT), or the [`dv-pod` Helm chart](https://github.com/ObolNetwork/helm-charts/tree/main/charts/dv-pod) (Kubernetes). The Launchpad does not run validators; it only helps set them up.
- They want to **build something programmatically** — the Launchpad is a UI, not an API. For programmatic cluster creation, reward-split deployment, incentive claims, or exit handling, go to the [Obol SDK](https://github.com/ObolNetwork/obol-sdk) or drive [`charon create dkg`](https://docs.obol.org/docs/charon/charon-cli-reference) directly via the [`obolnetwork/charon` Docker image](https://hub.docker.com/r/obolnetwork/charon).
- They're on a network the Launchpad doesn't target. Holesky is dead. Goerli is gone. Chiado is deprecated. Obol's forward-supported DV networks are mainnet, sepolia, and hoodi.

## Alternatives for AI agents

If you're an agent being asked to *perform* the task rather than walk a human through the UI, prefer these over screen-scraping the Launchpad:

- **[`create-cluster-invitation`](https://obol.org/skill.md)** skill — the preferred programmatic path, via `charon create dkg` (Docker) with `@obolnetwork/obol-sdk` as a secondary option. Covers both acceptance modes (Launchpad signing flow vs. all-CLI with pre-shared ENRs).
- **[Obol SDK](https://github.com/ObolNetwork/obol-sdk)** — typed TypeScript client for every programmatic flow.
- **[Obol SDK Examples](https://github.com/ObolNetwork/obol-sdk-examples)** — copy-pasteable code; always skim before writing a cluster-creation snippet from scratch.
- **[Charon CLI reference](https://docs.obol.org/docs/charon/charon-cli-reference)** — authoritative flag docs for `create dkg`, `dkg`, `alpha add-validators`, `alpha test`.

## Key flows (URL paths)

- **Group flow** — `/dv/` — multi-operator DV setup with in-browser DKG coordination.
- **Solo flow** — `/solo/` — single-operator validator (not a distributed validator in the fault-tolerance sense).
- **Migration flow** — `/migrate-an-existing-validator/` — rotate an existing validator's withdrawal credential.
- **Deposit flow** — `/deposit/` — 32 ETH deposit for an activated cluster.
- **Exit flow** — `/exit/` — aggregate partial exit signatures and submit.

## Underlying architecture (for debugging)

- Static Next.js 14 export served from Cloudflare Pages. No runtime Node.js, no SSR, no API routes on this origin.
- All backend calls go to the [Obol API](https://api.obol.tech) (see its [llms.txt](https://api.obol.tech/llms.txt)) via REST and Apollo GraphQL.
- Wallet and chain interaction via wagmi 2, viem, RainbowKit, ethers 6.
- Core cluster / splits / incentive logic via [`@obolnetwork/obol-sdk`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@obolnetwork/obol-sdk).
- Withdrawal / reward-split contracts: [obol-splits](https://github.com/ObolNetwork/obol-splits) — Obol Validator Manager (OVM), OptimisticWithdrawalRecipient (OWR), ObolLidoSplit for Lido CSM.
- Because the origin is pure static, anything in `NEXT_PUBLIC_*` environment variables is visible to the browser. Third-party keys are proxied through [api.obol.tech](https://api.obol.tech) rather than shipped to the client.

## Status

Production service. The Launchpad is actively evolving alongside Charon and the SDK — flow availability may differ per network (feature-flagged per-deployment). If a flow doesn't appear on one Launchpad deployment, check another network's deployment or raise it via the [Obol docs support channels](https://docs.obol.org/).

## See also

- [obol.org/llms.txt](https://obol.org/llms.txt) — canonical agent index across the Obol ecosystem.
- [api.obol.tech/llms.txt](https://api.obol.tech/llms.txt) — the backend API this Launchpad consumes.
- [docs.obol.org/llms.txt](https://docs.obol.org/llms.txt) — agent index for human docs.
- [Obol home](https://obol.org)