One operations panel for the Pectra EIP combination.

1. What actually changes with the Pectra EIPs

From an operator’s point of view, the Pectra EIPs reshape the lifecycle of a validator. Instead of a simple “deposit → run → exit” flow, you now have several distinct operations:

• EIP-6110 – deposits managed more cleanly at the protocol level,
• EIP-7002 – exit and partial-withdraw requests sent as execution-layer transactions,
• EIP-7251 – Max Effective Balance and consolidations between validators,
• EIP-7702 – session keys that can be scoped to specific actions instead of full control.

The difficulty is no longer just technical; it is operational: how to coordinate these levers in one place so that exit, consolidation and key usage follow a consistent policy.

2. Typical problems without a unified approach

2.1 Fragmented scripts and no global picture

Many teams start by writing one script per concern: one for 7002 exits, one for consolidations, one for deposit bookkeeping and one for experimental session keys. Over time this leads to:

• no single place that shows the full state of the validator lifecycle,
• inconsistent naming and labelling between tools,
• difficulties answering simple questions like “which validators will be consolidated vs exited?”

2.2 Unclear session key boundaries (EIP-7702)

Session keys are powerful, but unsafe if used without strict scoping. Without structure it becomes easy to:

• grant keys that can do more than just exits or consolidations,
• lose track of which session keys are active and for what purpose,
• mix human operator access with long-lived automation in the same key set.

2.3 Exit and consolidation decisions not planned together

In the Pectra model, exit (7002) and consolidation (7251) are two tools for shaping your validator set. If they are managed by different scripts and teams, you risk:

• exiting validators that could have been consolidated,
• creating new validators via deposits when consolidations would have sufficed,
• no clear strategy for MaxEB and liquidity across your fleet.

3. Using Validator Tools as a unified Pectra control plane

Validator Tools is organised around operations that map to the EIPs but are expressed in language operators use every day: exit, partial withdraw, consolidate, top-up, re-route and change credentials. Under the hood the app uses the appropriate 7002/7251/7702/6110 flows, but you interact with a single panel.

3.1 One inventory for deposits, balances and plans

The starting point is a unified inventory in the app:

• validators with their current effective balance and MaxEB status,
• associated deposit information (6110),
• labels for business context (pool, client, region, strategy).

This inventory drives all operations. Whether you are planning exits, consolidations or deposits, you work from the same list instead of separate spreadsheets.

3.2 Planning exits and consolidations together

In the “Plans” view you can define, for a given segment of your fleet, whether you want to:

• consolidate several validators into a smaller set using 7251,
• exit some validators entirely via 7002,
• keep others unchanged but tracked for future decisions.

The app lets you express this as a single plan:

1. select a group of validators from the inventory,
2. mark some for “consolidate”, some for “exit”, and some for “hold”,
3. define constraints such as target MaxEB, desired number of active validators, and time horizon.

Validator Tools then proposes a concrete sequence of 7251 consolidations and 7002 exit requests that match those constraints, which you can review and adjust before anything is executed.

3.3 MaxEB and consolidation as first-class operations (7251)

Under EIP-7251, effective balance can be raised and multiple validators can be consolidated. The GUI exposes this in practical terms:

• shows which validators are under their potential MaxEB,
• suggests candidates for consolidation based on effective balance, fees and your policies,
• builds the actual 7251 consolidation transactions when you approve a proposed plan.

Instead of running a separate “MaxEB calculator” script, you see consolidation options in the same place where you plan exits and withdrawals.

3.4 Exit and withdrawal requests mapped to the same plan (7002)

For the portion of your plan that involves leaving, the app generates the EIP-7002 exit/withdraw requests:

• determines which validators need a partial withdrawal first,
• maps each planned exit to a 7002 request with the correct parameters,
• allows you to attach scheduling and fee policies that match your risk appetite.

Crucially, this happens in the context of the same plan that also covers consolidations. You are less likely to send conflicting instructions to the chain.

5. Using session keys safely for exit and consolidation (EIP-7702)

EIP-7702 allows you to delegate specific capabilities to session keys. Used carefully, this lets you run day-to-day operations without exposing full control keys to operator desktops. Validator Tools exposes this in a way that keeps the scope clear.

5.1 Define what operations session keys are allowed to perform

In the “Access & keys” section you can define one or more operation profiles, such as:

• “Exit / withdraw only” – session keys can send 7002 requests, nothing else.
• “Consolidation only” – session keys can perform 7251 operations but cannot exit.
• “Read & simulate” – keys that can fetch state and run dry-runs, but not commit.

For each profile the app generates the appropriate 7702 constraints so that keys are limited at the protocol level, not just by convention.

5.2 Issue and track session keys per operator or automation

When you create a session key in the GUI you assign:

• an owner (individual operator or automation process),
• an operation profile (from above),
• a validity window (start and end time).

The app maintains a list of active and expired session keys with their scope. You can see at a glance:

• which keys can currently send exits or consolidations,
• which ones are about to expire,
• where manual intervention is still required with higher-privilege keys.

5.3 Attach plans to specific session keys

For each exit or consolidation plan you can choose which session key (or key profile) is allowed to execute it. This has two important effects:

• automation is limited to pre-approved actions – even if something goes wrong in the surrounding system, the session key cannot perform arbitrary transactions;
• incident analysis is easier – you know which plan was executed with which key and by which role.

6. Recommendations for operating comfortably in the Pectra era

6.1 Treat plans as first-class objects

Instead of thinking in terms of “a script I ran last week”, treat exit and consolidation plans as first-class objects: documented, reviewed and stored alongside your governance and risk artefacts. Validator Tools gives you a format for that; use it consistently.

6.2 Keep session keys narrow and short-lived

Session keys are best when they do one thing, for a limited period, with clear logging. Use the app’s profiles and expiry controls to avoid accumulating powerful keys that nobody remembers in a year.

6.3 Keep deposits, exits and consolidations in one view

Finally, resist the temptation to maintain a separate “deposit dashboard”, “exit dashboard” and “consolidation spreadsheet”. With Pectra, these questions are too interconnected. A single panel that understands 7002, 7251, 7702 and 6110 will save a lot of mental overhead.