🔥 EthPillar v5.2.3 — GitcoinGrants#24 is live - Release Notes

🛡️ Action Items

• ▶️ Help keep EthPillar alive: Gitcoin Grants 24 is here! https://giveth.io/project/ethpillar-streamlining-ethereum-staking-for-everyone
• 📣 Fusaka: Mainnet releases: 3 Nov 2025, (tentative) Mainnet date: 3 Dec 2025

Summary

v5.2.3 is a polish-and-hardening release focusing on:

• Documentation and UX cleanup (README, motd, new support menu),
• Aztec plugin improvements for local Docker integration, RPC exposure, and "supernode" options,
• Systemd service improvements (increasing file descriptor limits),
• Miscellaneous bug fixes and small reliability improvements,

Highlights

• README modernized and reorganized for clarity, improved branding and quickstart.
• Aztec plugin: environment variable and docker-compose port renames (PORT → AZTEC_PORT), remapping of host.docker.internal, health/status improvements, and new helper functions to expose EL RPC and enable consensus supernode flags.
• New helper functions and safer defaults: exposeETHRPC and enableSupernode in the Aztec plugin to assist operators in local deployments.
• Systemd units (validator / csm services) now set LimitNOFILE=65536 to avoid FD exhaustion under heavy load or too many validators.
• Motd and TUI updates: new support/help menu item and updated copy.
• Sentinel and CSM plugin environment updates (new variables, block batching config) and testnet naming corrections.
• Minor robustness fixes (e.g., tolerate docker rmi failures, improved service restart flows).

Upgrade and operational recommendations

Aztec Node Operators: Recommended.

• If you use local RPC mode (RPC_CONFIG=LOCAL), the Aztec installer will attempt to expose EL RPC and enable consensus supernode flags. Review changes applied to your /etc/systemd/system/* service files after upgrade and ensure the flags are safe in your environment.
• Note: .env key PORT → AZTEC_PORT. Update any custom .env files or scripts referencing PORT for aztec.
• If you depended on host.docker.internal addresses, the health checks will remap them to localhost for local checks; verify your docker network mapping and docker-compose extra_hosts is present.

ETHSTAKERS: Optional.

• Required if you're having issues with file limits (i.e. running over 1000 Validators). LimitNOFILE additions require a daemon-reload and restart for the new limits to apply.

Links / references

• Compare changes: v5.2.2...v5.2.3
• Release page: https://github.com/coincashew/EthPillar/releases/tag/v5.2.3

Acknowledgements

Thanks to contributors who reported health check issues and environment inconsistencies — this release addresses several friction points for local Docker-based Aztec setups and increases robustness for validator deployments.

Changelog (high-level)

• Docs: README and motd refactor/refresh
• TUI: support menu, icon & label changes, EP_VERSION bump
• Aztec plugin: AZTEC_PORT, docker-compose ports mapping, extra_hosts, health endpoint checks, exposeETHRPC, enableSupernode
• Systemd: LimitNOFILE added for validator services & CSM
• Sentinel: env additions and testnet naming fixes
• Misc: robustness fixes and small UX improvements

🚀 Next Steps

Try EthPillar on the Hoodi or Ephemery testnets risk-free and share your feedback. 💙

💪 Update instructions: https://docs.coincashew.com/ethpillar/faq#installation--setup

⬇️ Run your own Sepolia, Ephemery, Hoodi or mainnet node
http://docs.coincashew.com/ethpillar

▶️Join our EthPillar home stakers on Discord at
https://discord.gg/WS8E3PMzrb