1. Why withdrawal credentials deserve their own guide
At deposit time, you define where funds can ultimately be withdrawn. If that step is rushed or undocumented, problems show up years later:
If at any point the mapping between validator index, withdrawal credential and real-world owner is lost or incorrect, you will have to reconstruct it under time pressure, often with incomplete records.
2. Common mistakes around deposits and withdrawal credentials
The underlying mechanics are well-specified, but operators still run into similar issues:
Deposits are made with a withdrawal credential that does not match internal expectations: wrong address, ambiguous mapping to a customer, or use of an address that later becomes problematic (e.g. lost keys).
Validators started with 0x00 (BLS-based) withdrawal credentials but were never upgraded to 0x01 execution addresses. Years later, teams are unsure which validators are still in 0x00 state and how to coordinate upgrades.
The mapping from validator indices to legal entities, clients or internal accounts lives in a spreadsheet on someone’s laptop. Over time, this diverges from reality and is hard to reconcile.
Validator Tools focuses on making these mistakes visible and hard to make in the first place, by giving withdrawal credentials and ownership first-class representation in the GUI.
These steps describe a typical workflow: onboarding new validators and ensuring existing ones have safe, well-understood withdrawal credentials.
- Install the desktop application. Download and install the latest version Validator Tools GUI for your operating system (Windows, macOS or Linux). Run it on an operator workstation with network access to your beacon and execution nodes and, if applicable, your key management setup.
- Import existing validator and withdrawal data. Connect to your beacon API and: pull the list of validator indices you operate, fetch their current withdrawal credentials, and import any existing mapping you have (e.g. CSV of “validator index → owner / account / label”).
- Mark ownership and account mapping in the GUI. For each validator or group of validators, assign: an “owner” label (entity, client, internal account), the corresponding withdrawal address or credential, and any relevant notes (e.g. contract references, legal IDs).
- Identify validators with 0x00 withdrawal credentials. Use the filter view to list all validators whose withdrawal credentials start with 0x00. This gives a clear subset that may need upgrading to 0x01, depending on your policy.
- Plan and stage 0x00 → 0x01 upgrades. For the 0x00 subset, create an upgrade plan in Validator Tools: choose target execution addresses (per owner or per group), verify that those addresses are controlled by the right parties, and schedule upgrade operations in a safe maintenance window.
- Execute upgrades and track results. Use the app’s integration with your tooling (or external scripts) to send the credential-change operations, then: confirm in the GUI that new 0x01 credentials are reflected on-chain, and mark each validator as “upgraded” with timestamp and operator identity.
- Formalise an onboarding checklist for new deposits. In the onboarding section of the GUI, record a simple checklist that must be completed for any new validator: deposit origin and owner, withdrawal address confirmation, and expected account mapping. Use this checklist every time you add validators.
- Export a canonical “who owns what” report. Periodically export a list of validators, withdrawal addresses and owners as CSV/JSON from Validator Tools, and store it with your legal, finance or client records. This report becomes your reference when planning exits or responding to questions.
4. How Validator Tools helps manage withdrawal credentials
4.1 A structured view over 0x00 vs 0x01
In Validator Tools, each validator entry includes its current withdrawal credential type:
- 0x00 (BLS withdrawal credential) – usually representing an older setup; withdrawals ultimately controlled by a BLS key.
- 0x01 (execution address) – withdrawals go directly to a specific execution-layer address.
The GUI can highlight 0x00 values as a reminder that these may require action, depending on your risk and operational policies.
4.2 Ownership as a first-class field
Rather than leaving ownership in side documents, the app lets you:
- assign owners (entities, clients, accounts) to validators and withdrawal addresses,
- group validators by owner and export reports,
- see at a glance which owners still have 0x00 credentials or incomplete onboarding data.
This greatly simplifies communication when, for example, you need to explain to a client how their validators are configured.
4.3 Onboarding flows that enforce consistency
For new validators, onboarding flows in Validator Tools ensure you do not skip important steps:
- record who requested the validator and under what agreement,
- verify and record the withdrawal address before finalising the deposit,
- store references to any supporting documents (e.g. contract IDs) in notes.
The goal is for the “Deposit → Active validator” step to leave behind enough structured data that future operations (exits, partial withdrawals, migrations) are straightforward.
5. Practical recommendations for onboarding & withdrawal safety
To keep onboarding safe and intelligible over the lifetime of your validators:
- Make withdrawal configuration explicit at deposit time. Do not treat the withdrawal address as “whatever the tool outputs”. Confirm it and record why.
- Keep an up-to-date “owner map”. A simple, tool-generated listing of “validator index → owner → withdrawal address” is one of the most valuable artefacts you can maintain.
- Plan 0x00 → 0x01 upgrades deliberately. Do not rush them; treat them like any other change with a plan, window and verification step.
- Rehearse onboarding on testnets. For new teams or processes, run the full onboarding flow, including withdrawal credential checks, on test networks before touching mainnet.