nimbus-eth2/docs/the_nimbus_book/src/voluntary-exit.md

Perform a voluntary exit

!!! note "" This feature is available from v1.7.0 onwards - earlier versions relied on the now removed JSON-RPC API.

Voluntary exits allow validators to permanently stop performing their duties, and eventually recover the deposit.

Exits are subject to a wait period that depends on the length of the exit queue. While a validator is exiting, it still must perform its duties in order not to lose funds to inactivity penalities.

!!! warning Voluntary exits are irreversible. You won't be able to validate again with the same key.

You will also not be able to withdraw your funds until a future hard fork that enables withdrawals.*

!!! note Voluntary exits won't be processed if the chain isn't finalising.

To perform a voluntary exit, make sure your beacon node is running with the --restoption enabled (e.g. ./run-mainnet-beacon-node.sh --rest), then run:

=== "Mainnet" build/nimbus_beacon_node deposits exit \ --data-dir=build/data/shared_mainnet_0 \ --validator=<VALIDATOR_PUBLIC_KEY>

=== "Prater" build/nimbus_beacon_node deposits exit \ --data-dir=build/data/shared_prater_0 \ --validator=<VALIDATOR_PUBLIC_KEY>

!!! note Make sure your <VALIDATOR_PUBLIC_KEY> is prefixed with 0x. In other words the public key should look like 0x95e3...

rest-url parameter

The --rest-url parameter can be used to point the exit command to a specific node for publishing the request, as long as it's compatible with the REST API.