> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://byzantium-ai.gitbook.io/byzantium-ai-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://byzantium-ai.gitbook.io/byzantium-ai-docs/validator/validator.md).

# Validator

## For Validators

Validators are Byzantium's quality control. They make sure the attention miners deliver is **real** — not bots, spam, or fake engagement — and they score miners so the network rewards genuine work.

### What a validator does

* Reads the data on each miner's activity — the real attention they drove.
* Filters out bots, spam, and fake engagement.
* Scores miners by the **genuine** attention they delivered.
* Submits those scores to Bittensor, which turns them into rewards.

Honest, accurate scoring is what keeps the market fair — so validators earn ن for doing it well.

### How validation rolls out

We're taking validation in two phases, on purpose.

**Phase 1 — Internal validation (now).** At launch, Byzantium runs validation itself. This lets us build and tune our spam-and-bot filter against real miner activity, and harden it against real-world attacks — without exposing an immature filter that could be gamed.

**Phase 2 — Open participation (later).** Once the filter is robust and proven on real data, we **release the validator software** so anyone can run a validator and help secure the network.

### What's open, and what stays private

We'll be straight about this. Byzantium is **transparent where it builds trust, and private where openness would only help attackers.**

* **Open and verifiable** — the attention we score is built on **public data**: real engagement on X and Farcaster that anyone can read. The resulting scores are visible too. Validators can independently check that scores track genuine, public activity.
* **Private by design** — the exact **anti-fraud method** (how we separate real attention from bots and farming) stays private. A spam filter that publishes its own rulebook is a spam filter that gets gamed. Keeping the method private is what keeps it working — and it protects honest miners from those trying to cheat.

As the network matures, more of the system opens up — but that principle holds.

### Why phase it this way

A scoring system that can be gamed is worse than no system at all. Getting the filter right first — privately, on real data — protects miners from being mis-scored and protects the integrity of the whole network. Decentralization comes once the foundation is solid.

### Run a validator

Open validator participation arrives in Phase 2.