Getting Started as a Verifier

This guide will walk you through everything you need to start earning token rewards by running a verifier bot. The entire setup process takes about 15-30 minutes.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you’ll need:

A VPS or cloud instance (2 CPU, 4GB RAM minimum) - $5-10/month
- Recommended: DigitalOcean, Linode, AWS EC2, or any Linux VPS
Docker installed on your server
10-20 USDC for initial stake pool
Internet Identity for dashboard authentication

Step 1: Set Up Your Verifier Dashboard Account

1.1 Create Your Account

Visit prometheusprotocol.org/verifiers
Click the “Login” button and log in with Internet Identity
Complete the verifier onboarding flow

1.2 Deposit Your Initial Stake

Your stake pool is used as collateral for reserving bounties. We recommend starting with 10-20 USDC:

In the dashboard, click “Deposit Stake”
Enter the amount (e.g., 10 USDC)
Confirm the deposit transaction

The deposit is processed automatically—no manual approvals needed. How much to stake?

10 USDC = ~30 concurrent verifications (beginner)
20 USDC = ~60 concurrent verifications (active)
50+ USDC = 150+ concurrent verifications (professional)

Each verification requires 0.30 USDC collateral, which is returned upon completion.

1.3 Generate API Credentials

Your bot will use API credentials to interact with the protocol:

In the dashboard, navigate to “API Credentials”
Click “Generate New API Key”
Give it a descriptive name (e.g., “Production Bot 1”)
Copy and save the API key securely - it won’t be shown again

Why use separate API keys?

Selective revocation: If a bot is compromised, revoke only that specific key without affecting other bots
Per-key metrics: Monitor performance and earnings separately for each bot (coming soon)
Multi-bot management: Run bots on different servers with isolated credentials

Security Note: API keys can reserve bounties and submit attestations, but cannot withdraw funds without WebAuthn confirmation in the dashboard.

Step 2: Set Up Your Server

2.1 Install Docker

If Docker isn’t already installed on your VPS:

# For Ubuntu/Debian
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# Log out and back in for group changes to take effect

# Verify installation
docker --version
docker-compose --version

2.2 Clone the Verifier Bot Repository

# Clone the Prometheus Protocol repository
git clone https://github.com/prometheus-protocol/prometheus-protocol.git
cd prometheus-protocol/packages/apps/verifier-bot

Alternative: Use the Public Docker Image If you prefer not to build from source, you can use the pre-built public Docker image:

# Pull the latest verifier bot image
docker pull ghcr.io/prometheus-protocol/verifier-bot:latest

# Run directly with environment variables
docker run -d \
  --name verifier-bot \
  -e VERIFIER_API_KEY=your_api_key_here \
  -e NETWORK=ic \
  ghcr.io/prometheus-protocol/verifier-bot:latest

This image is automatically built and published from the main repository.

2.3 Configure Environment Variables

Create your .env file with your API credentials:

cd deployment
cp .env.example .env
nano .env  # or use your preferred editor

Edit the .env file and set:

# Your API key from the dashboard
VERIFIER_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

# Network configuration (local for testing, ic for production)
NETWORK=ic

# Optional: GitHub token for private repos (if needed)
GITHUB_TOKEN=your_github_token_here

Save and close the file.

Step 3: Build and Run Your Verifier Bot

3.1 Build Docker Images

First, build the base Docker images for reproducible builds:

# From the deployment directory
docker-compose build --no-cache

This builds the deterministic Docker environment that will be used for all verifications.

3.2 Start Your Verifier Bot

docker-compose up -d

What this does:

Starts your verifier bot in the background (daemon mode)
Bot begins polling for pending verifications every 60 seconds
Automatically reserves bounties, performs builds, and claims rewards

3.3 Monitor Your Bot

Check that your bot is running correctly:

# View logs in real-time
docker-compose logs -f

# Check running containers
docker ps

# View recent logs
docker-compose logs --tail=100

You should see output like:

verifier-bot | Found 3 pending verification(s)
verifier-bot | Reserving bounty 12345...
verifier-bot | Building WASM from https://github.com/example/repo.git @ abc123...
verifier-bot | Build completed in 8.3 seconds
verifier-bot | Hash match: ✅ 0x1234abcd...
verifier-bot | Filing attestation...
verifier-bot | Claiming bounty...
verifier-bot | ✅ Reward transferred to verifier

Step 4: Monitor Your Earnings

4.1 Dashboard Overview

Return to the Verifier Dashboard to monitor your operations: Real-time Metrics:

Total verifications completed
Active stakes and locks
Earned rewards (available for withdrawal)
Performance metrics and uptime
Recent verification history

4.2 Withdraw Earnings

When you’re ready to withdraw your earnings:

In the dashboard, navigate to “Earnings”
Click “Withdraw”
Enter the amount you want to withdraw
Confirm with WebAuthn
USDC is transferred to your wallet

Note: You can withdraw anytime. Withdrawn funds are immediately available in your wallet.

Step 5: Scaling Your Operation

5.1 Running Multiple Bots

To increase throughput, you can run multiple bots on different servers:

Set up additional VPS instances
Follow steps 2-3 for each instance
Use the same API key - all bots share your dashboard stake pool
Monitor all bots from one centralized dashboard

5.2 Optimizing Performance

Tips for maximizing earnings:

Use SSD storage for faster git clones and builds
Place VPS in regions close to GitHub servers (US-East, EU-West)
Monitor the dashboard for peak verification times
Add more stake during high-demand periods
Keep Docker images up to date

5.3 Auto-Restart on Failure

Configure automatic restarts if your bot crashes:

# Edit docker-compose.yml and add:
restart: unless-stopped

# Then restart:
docker-compose down
docker-compose up -d

Troubleshooting

Bot Not Finding Verifications

Check:

API key is correctly set in .env
Network is set to ic (not local)
Bot has internet connectivity
Docker containers are running: docker ps

Insufficient Stake Errors

Solution:

Check your available stake in the dashboard
Deposit more USDC to your stake pool
Each verification requires 0.30 USDC collateral

Build Failures

Check:

Docker has sufficient disk space: df -h
Docker images are up to date: docker-compose pull
Logs for specific error messages: docker-compose logs --tail=500

Stake Not Returning

Possible causes:

Verification is still in progress (check dashboard)
Network issues prevented claim transaction (bot will retry)
1-hour timeout expired (stake was slashed for abandonment)

Fix:

Check “Active Stakes” in dashboard for details
Ensure bot is running and connected
Contact support if stake appears stuck

Advanced Configuration

Custom Polling Interval

Edit packages/apps/verifier-bot/src/index.ts:

// Change polling interval (default: 60 seconds)
setInterval(pollAndVerify, 30_000); // 30 seconds

Rebuild and restart:

docker-compose build --no-cache
docker-compose up -d

Monitoring with External Tools

Set up Prometheus/Grafana monitoring:

Export metrics from your bot
Configure Prometheus to scrape metrics
Create Grafana dashboards for:
- Verifications per hour
- Success rate
- Earnings over time
- Stake utilization

Security Best Practices

Protect Your API Key

Never commit .env files to git - Use separate API keys for testing and production - Rotate API keys periodically - Revoke compromised keys immediately in the dashboard

Server Security

Keep your VPS updated: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade - Use SSH keys instead of passwords - Configure firewall rules (only necessary ports open) - Enable automatic security updates

Monitor Regularly

Check dashboard daily for anomalies - Set up alerts for failed verifications
Review bot logs weekly - Monitor stake utilization

Getting Help

Documentation: docs.prometheusprotocol.org
Discord Community: discord.gg/TbqgYERjYw
GitHub Issues: github.com/prometheus-protocol/prometheus-protocol
Support Email: support@prometheusprotocol.org

🎉 Congratulations! You’re now earning passive income by securing the open agent economy. Your bot will continue verifying builds automatically while you monitor earnings in the dashboard.

Getting Started

Guides

Reference

Prerequisites

Step 1: Set Up Your Verifier Dashboard Account

1.1 Create Your Account

1.2 Deposit Your Initial Stake

1.3 Generate API Credentials

Step 2: Set Up Your Server

2.1 Install Docker

2.2 Clone the Verifier Bot Repository

2.3 Configure Environment Variables

Step 3: Build and Run Your Verifier Bot

3.1 Build Docker Images

3.2 Start Your Verifier Bot

3.3 Monitor Your Bot

Step 4: Monitor Your Earnings

4.1 Dashboard Overview

4.2 Withdraw Earnings

Step 5: Scaling Your Operation

5.1 Running Multiple Bots

5.2 Optimizing Performance

5.3 Auto-Restart on Failure

Troubleshooting

Bot Not Finding Verifications

Insufficient Stake Errors

Build Failures

Stake Not Returning

Advanced Configuration

Custom Polling Interval

Monitoring with External Tools

Security Best Practices

Protect Your API Key

Server Security

Monitor Regularly

Getting Help

​Prerequisites

​Step 1: Set Up Your Verifier Dashboard Account

​1.1 Create Your Account

​1.2 Deposit Your Initial Stake

​1.3 Generate API Credentials

​Step 2: Set Up Your Server

​2.1 Install Docker

​2.2 Clone the Verifier Bot Repository

​2.3 Configure Environment Variables

​Step 3: Build and Run Your Verifier Bot

​3.1 Build Docker Images

​3.2 Start Your Verifier Bot

​3.3 Monitor Your Bot

​Step 4: Monitor Your Earnings

​4.1 Dashboard Overview

​4.2 Withdraw Earnings

​Step 5: Scaling Your Operation

​5.1 Running Multiple Bots

​5.2 Optimizing Performance

​5.3 Auto-Restart on Failure

​Troubleshooting

​Bot Not Finding Verifications

​Insufficient Stake Errors

​Build Failures

​Stake Not Returning

​Advanced Configuration

​Custom Polling Interval

​Monitoring with External Tools

​Security Best Practices

Protect Your API Key

Server Security

Monitor Regularly

​Getting Help

Prerequisites

Step 1: Set Up Your Verifier Dashboard Account

1.1 Create Your Account

1.2 Deposit Your Initial Stake

1.3 Generate API Credentials

Step 2: Set Up Your Server

2.1 Install Docker

2.2 Clone the Verifier Bot Repository

2.3 Configure Environment Variables

Step 3: Build and Run Your Verifier Bot

3.1 Build Docker Images

3.2 Start Your Verifier Bot

3.3 Monitor Your Bot

Step 4: Monitor Your Earnings

4.1 Dashboard Overview

4.2 Withdraw Earnings

Step 5: Scaling Your Operation

5.1 Running Multiple Bots

5.2 Optimizing Performance

5.3 Auto-Restart on Failure

Troubleshooting

Bot Not Finding Verifications

Insufficient Stake Errors

Build Failures

Stake Not Returning

Advanced Configuration

Custom Polling Interval

Monitoring with External Tools

Security Best Practices

Getting Help