Command-line Arguments

Relevant Source Files

README.md compute/__init__.py compute/utils/parser.py

This document provides a comprehensive reference for all command-line arguments available in the NI Compute Subnet. The arguments control the behavior of miners and validators, including network configuration, validation parameters, resource allocation settings, and security controls.

For information about GPU performance configuration parameters, see GPU Performance Configuration. For details about using the registration CLI tools, see Registration CLI.

Argument Parser Architecture

The command-line argument system is built using the ComputeArgPaser class, which extends Python’s argparse.ArgumentParser to provide both compute subnet-specific arguments and inherited Bittensor framework arguments.

Argument Parser Structure

graph TD
    subgraph "ComputeArgPaser Class"
        PARSER["ComputeArgPaser"]
        INIT["__init__()"]
        VALIDATOR_ARGS["add_validator_argument()"]
        MINER_ARGS["add_miner_argument()"]
        PARSE_LIST["parse_list()"]
    end
    
    subgraph "Bittensor Framework Args"
        BT_SUBTENSOR["bt.subtensor.add_args()"]
        BT_LOGGING["bt.logging.add_args()"]
        BT_WALLET["bt.wallet.add_args()"]
        BT_AXON["bt.axon.add_args()"]
    end
    
    subgraph "Configuration Objects"
        CONFIG["bt.config"]
        NETUID["--netuid"]
        AUTO_UPDATE["--auto_update"]
        BLACKLIST["--blacklist.*"]
        WHITELIST["--whitelist.*"]
    end
    
    INIT --> VALIDATOR_ARGS
    INIT --> MINER_ARGS
    INIT --> BT_SUBTENSOR
    INIT --> BT_LOGGING
    INIT --> BT_WALLET
    INIT --> BT_AXON
    
    PARSER --> CONFIG
    
    VALIDATOR_ARGS --> CONFIG
    MINER_ARGS --> CONFIG
    BT_SUBTENSOR --> CONFIG
    BT_LOGGING --> CONFIG
    BT_WALLET --> CONFIG
    BT_AXON --> CONFIG

Sources: compute/utils/parser.py:8-71

Core Arguments

Network Configuration

Argument	Type	Default	Description
`--netuid`	int	27	The chain subnet UID (27 for mainnet, 15 for testnet)
`--auto_update`	flag	True	Automatically update the git repository

The --netuid argument determines which Bittensor subnet the process connects to. The main production network uses netuid 27, while the test network uses netuid 15.

Sources: compute/utils/parser.py:12-22

Security and Access Control

The subnet provides comprehensive blacklisting and whitelisting capabilities for both hotkeys and coldkeys:

Argument	Type	Default	Description
`--blacklist.exploiters`	flag	True	Automatically blacklist known exploiter hotkeys
`--blacklist.hotkeys`	list	[]	Comma-separated list of hotkeys to blacklist
`--blacklist.coldkeys`	list	[]	Comma-separated list of coldkeys to blacklist
`--whitelist.hotkeys`	list	[]	Comma-separated list of hotkeys to whitelist
`--whitelist.coldkeys`	list	[]	Comma-separated list of coldkeys to whitelist

The --blacklist.exploiters flag automatically applies the hardcoded list of suspected exploiter hotkeys defined in SUSPECTED_EXPLOITERS_HOTKEYS.

Sources: compute/utils/parser.py:24-57 , compute/__init__.py:60-77

Validator Arguments

Validators use specialized arguments to control their validation behavior, hardware querying, and performance parameters.

Validation Control Arguments

graph LR
    subgraph "Validator Configuration"
        WHITELIST_UNREC["--validator.whitelist.unrecognized"]
        HARDWARE_QUERY["--validator.perform.hardware.query"]
        PROMETHEUS_UPDATE["--validator.force.update.prometheus"]
        WHITELIST_THRESHOLD["--validator.whitelist.updated.threshold"]
    end
    
    subgraph "Batch Processing"
        CHALLENGE_BATCH["--validator.challenge.batch.size"]
        SPECS_BATCH["--validator.specs.batch.size"]
    end
    
    subgraph "Validator Process"
        VALIDATION_LOGIC["Validation Logic"]
        HARDWARE_SPECS["Hardware Specs Collection"]
        CHALLENGE_SYSTEM["Challenge System"]
    end
    
    WHITELIST_UNREC --> VALIDATION_LOGIC
    HARDWARE_QUERY --> HARDWARE_SPECS
    CHALLENGE_BATCH --> CHALLENGE_SYSTEM
    SPECS_BATCH --> HARDWARE_SPECS
    PROMETHEUS_UPDATE --> VALIDATION_LOGIC
    WHITELIST_THRESHOLD --> VALIDATION_LOGIC

Argument	Type	Default	Description
`--validator.whitelist.unrecognized`	flag	False	Whitelist unrecognized miners
`--validator.perform.hardware.query`	bool	True	Enable hardware specs collection from miners
`--validator.challenge.batch.size`	int	256	Batch size for challenge processing
`--validator.specs.batch.size`	int	64	Batch size for hardware specs queries
`--validator.force.update.prometheus`	flag	False	Force Prometheus version update
`--validator.whitelist.updated.threshold`	int	60	Quorum threshold percentage for whitelisting

The batch size arguments allow validators with lower hardware specifications to reduce memory and processing load by processing smaller batches of miners at a time.

Sources: compute/utils/parser.py:72-114

Miner Arguments

Miners have specialized arguments for hashcat configuration, resource allocation, and validator interaction policies.

Hashcat Configuration

Argument	Type	Default	Description
`--miner.hashcat.path`	str	”hashcat”	Path to the hashcat binary executable
`--miner.hashcat.workload.profile`	str	”3”	Performance profile (1=Low, 2=Economic, 3=High, 4=Insane)
`--miner.hashcat.extended.options`	str	""	Additional hashcat command-line options

The hashcat configuration controls how miners respond to Proof-of-Work challenges. The workload profile directly impacts the computational intensity and power consumption.

Sources: compute/utils/parser.py:117-137 , compute/__init__.py:55-57

Miner Security and Validation Policies

graph TD
    subgraph "Miner Whitelist Policy"
        NOT_ENOUGH_STAKE["--miner.whitelist.not.enough.stake"]
        NOT_UPDATED["--miner.whitelist.not.updated"]
        UPDATED_THRESHOLD["--miner.whitelist.updated.threshold"]
    end
    
    subgraph "Resource Allocation"
        SSH_PORT["--ssh.port"]
        ALLOCATION_SERVICE["Allocation Service"]
    end
    
    subgraph "Validator Interaction"
        STAKE_CHECK["Validator Stake Verification"]
        VERSION_CHECK["Validator Version Check"]
        THRESHOLD_CHECK["Quorum Threshold Check"]
    end
    
    NOT_ENOUGH_STAKE --> STAKE_CHECK
    NOT_UPDATED --> VERSION_CHECK
    UPDATED_THRESHOLD --> THRESHOLD_CHECK
    SSH_PORT --> ALLOCATION_SERVICE
    
    STAKE_CHECK --> ALLOCATION_SERVICE
    VERSION_CHECK --> ALLOCATION_SERVICE
    THRESHOLD_CHECK --> ALLOCATION_SERVICE

Argument	Type	Default	Description
`--miner.whitelist.not.enough.stake`	flag	False	Accept validators without sufficient stake
`--miner.whitelist.not.updated`	flag	False	Accept validators not using latest code version
`--miner.whitelist.updated.threshold`	int	60	Quorum threshold percentage before applying whitelist
`--ssh.port`	int	4444	SSH port for resource allocation service

These security policies allow miners to control which validators they accept requests from based on stake requirements and code version compliance.

Sources: compute/utils/parser.py:138-165

Inherited Bittensor Arguments

The argument parser incorporates standard Bittensor framework arguments through method calls that extend the parser with additional argument groups.

Bittensor Framework Integration

graph LR
    subgraph "Bittensor Components"
        SUBTENSOR["bt.subtensor"]
        LOGGING["bt.logging"]
        WALLET["bt.wallet"]
        AXON["bt.axon"]
    end
    
    subgraph "Added Arguments"
        SUBTENSOR_ARGS["--subtensor.network<br/>--subtensor.chain_endpoint"]
        LOGGING_ARGS["--logging.debug<br/>--logging.trace<br/>--logging.logging_dir"]
        WALLET_ARGS["--wallet.name<br/>--wallet.hotkey<br/>--wallet.path"]
        AXON_ARGS["--axon.port"]
    end
    
    subgraph "Configuration Object"
        BT_CONFIG["bt.config"]
    end
    
    SUBTENSOR --> SUBTENSOR_ARGS
    LOGGING --> LOGGING_ARGS
    WALLET --> WALLET_ARGS
    AXON --> AXON_ARGS
    
    SUBTENSOR_ARGS --> BT_CONFIG
    LOGGING_ARGS --> BT_CONFIG
    WALLET_ARGS --> BT_CONFIG
    AXON_ARGS --> BT_CONFIG

Subtensor Arguments

--subtensor.network: Network endpoint (finney, test, or custom)
--subtensor.chain_endpoint: Custom blockchain endpoint URL

Logging Arguments

--logging.debug: Enable debug-level logging
--logging.trace: Enable trace-level logging
--logging.logging_dir: Directory for log files

Wallet Arguments

--wallet.name: Coldkey wallet name
--wallet.hotkey: Hotkey name
--wallet.path: Custom wallet directory path

Axon Arguments

--axon.port: Port for serving the axon (default: 8091)

Sources: compute/utils/parser.py:61-70

Usage Examples

Miner Command Line

pm2 start ./neurons/miner.py --name MINER_NAME --interpreter python3 -- \
  --netuid 27 \
  --subtensor.network finney \
  --wallet.name COLDKEY_NAME \
  --wallet.hotkey HOTKEY_NAME \
  --axon.port 8091 \
  --ssh.port 4444 \
  --logging.debug \
  --auto_update

Validator Command Line

pm2 start ./neurons/validator.py --name VALIDATOR_NAME --interpreter python3 -- \
  --netuid 27 \
  --subtensor.network finney \
  --wallet.name COLDKEY_NAME \
  --wallet.hotkey HOTKEY_NAME \
  --validator.specs.batch.size 64 \
  --validator.challenge.batch.size 256 \
  --logging.debug \
  --auto_update

Advanced Configuration Examples

For miners with custom hashcat optimization:

--miner.hashcat.workload.profile 4 \
--miner.hashcat.extended.options "-O --force"

For validators with restrictive whitelisting:

--validator.whitelist.updated.threshold 80 \
--blacklist.exploiters \
--blacklist.hotkeys "5HZ1ATsziEMDm1iUqNWQatfEDb1JSNf37AiG8s3X4pZzoP3A"

Sources: README.md:362-425