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updatedAt: 2026-06-03T11:58:19.000Z
agentTools:
  projectIndex: https://documentation.northstake.dk/llms.txt
---

# Create your first vault

A 15-minute lesson: from a fresh Northstake account to a funded dedicated stVault with one active validator.

> 🚧 **Draft**: this tutorial is a working draft pending product validation. The flow described below is reconstructed from the Add Vault wizard; the exact button labels, transaction count, and timing may differ from production. If you spot a discrepancy, please flag it to the docs maintainer.

This tutorial walks you all the way from "I just got a Northstake account" to "I have a vault funded with 32 ETH and a running validator." You'll touch the UI five times and sign three transactions. The path is intentionally linear: no decisions to make, no branches.

## What you'll build

By the end of this lesson you'll have:

* A dedicated stVault you own
* A linked wallet that can sign on its behalf
* 32 ETH funded into the vault
* One validator created and running

You will *not* yet have:

* A pool vault (those are SVM Pro and have additional setup)
* A configured fee rate (the default is fine for this tutorial)
* Webhooks or allowlists

## Before you start

You need:

* A Northstake account with login credentials
* Access to an EVM wallet (e.g. a MetaMask account) holding at least 33 ETH on Ethereum mainnet: 32 to fund the validator, plus gas
* 10 to 15 uninterrupted minutes

You don't need:

* An SVM Pro entitlement
* Programming experience
* Knowledge of Lido v3 (though [the primer](https://documentation.northstake.dk/docs/lido-v3-primer) is a good read after the tutorial)

## Step 1: Sign in and pair your wallet

1. Open `https://staking.northstake.dk` and sign in with your Northstake credentials.
2. Click **Linked Wallets** in the left navigation.
3. Click **Link a wallet** and follow the wallet-connection flow for your provider. Sign the proof-of-ownership message when prompted.
4. The wallet now appears in the Linked Wallets list. Note its address: you'll pick it again in the next step.

**Why this matters.** Your linked wallet will own the vault. The vault contract grants `DEFAULT_ADMIN_ROLE` to whichever address you pick here, so make sure it's a wallet you control and can sign with later.

## Step 2: Open the Add Vault wizard

1. Click **Vaults** in the left navigation.
2. Click **Add Vault** in the top-right of the page.

The wizard appears. It has five steps; you'll move through them in order.

## Step 3: Configure the vault

1. **Vault type**: leave **Dedicated** selected. Click **Next**.
2. **Owner address**: pick the linked wallet from Step 1. Click **Next**.
3. **Node operator**: pick **Northstake**. (Other providers are listed if your account has them enabled; for this tutorial, pick Northstake to keep the operator-side flow predictable.) Click **Next**.
4. **Review**: confirm the configuration matches:
   * Type: Dedicated
   * Owner: your linked wallet
   * Node operator: Northstake

Click **Create vault**.

## Step 4: Sign the deployment

Your wallet prompts you to sign the deployment transaction. Review the gas estimate, then approve.

When the transaction confirms (15–60 seconds), the wizard closes and your new vault appears in the Vaults list. Open it.

You're now on the **Vault detail** page. Open the **Addresses** tab to see four contract addresses:

* **Dashboard**: your vault's control surface
* **Staking Vault**: holds ETH and validator keys
* **Withdrawal Queue**: handles future withdrawals
* **Timelock**: present even on dedicated vaults

These are your vault. Bookmark this page.

## Step 5: Fund the vault with 32 ETH

1. On the vault detail page, open the **Operations** tab.
2. Click **Fund**.
3. Enter **32 ETH** as the amount.
4. Click **Fund** in the modal. Sign the transaction in your wallet.

Wait for confirmation. Once confirmed, the vault balance updates to 32 ETH.

## Step 6: Create a validator

1. Still on **Operations**, click **Create Validator**.
2. The form pre-fills with your vault's parameters. Click **Create**.
3. Sign the transaction.

When the transaction confirms, a new validator appears on the **Validators** tab with:

* A validator index (assigned by the beacon chain)
* A public key (the BLS pubkey)
* `pdgState: predeposited` and `status: pending`

The validator is now reserved on-chain. Northstake (your selected operator) will submit the proof to advance it through `proven`, after which it can be activated.

## What just happened

You deployed a Lido v3 stVault, funded it with 32 ETH, and reserved a validator through the Predeposit Guarantee (PDG) flow. The validator is currently in `predeposited` state: Northstake's operator infrastructure will prove the predeposit on-chain in the next few minutes to hours, and the validator will advance to `proven`.

On a standard SVM account, the operator handles the rest of activation as part of their normal flow. (On SVM Pro, you'd explicitly trigger **Activate**.)

Once activated, the validator joins the beacon-chain entry queue, then begins earning rewards.

## What to do next

Now that you have a working vault, the natural next steps:

* Read [Validator lifecycle](https://documentation.northstake.dk/docs/staking-and-the-pdg-flow) to understand `status` transitions
* Read [Fee model](https://documentation.northstake.dk/docs/fee-model) to understand what's being charged and to whom
* When you eventually want to recover your principal, follow [Unstake a validator](https://documentation.northstake.dk/docs/unstake-a-validator)

If you're interested in pool vaults, allowlists, or webhooks, see [SVM vs SVM Pro](https://documentation.northstake.dk/docs/svm-vs-svm-pro).