From 3a7fd73b0c0f1cc7cda2cc6a0b7e30ec0714c6e7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jacek Sieka <jacek@status.im>
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2025 20:35:19 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 1/7] Beacon node as library

Minimal support for running the beacon node as part of another
application, for example `nimbus`.

* move copyright out of version (set it per binary)
* avoid allocations / logging in signal handler
* expose `run` and `main` for others to call
---
 beacon_chain/buildinfo.nim                    |  18 +-
 beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim           | 227 ++++++++----------
 beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim         |  82 ++++---
 beacon_chain/nimbus_light_client.nim          |  10 +-
 beacon_chain/nimbus_signing_node.nim          |  16 +-
 beacon_chain/nimbus_validator_client.nim      |  16 +-
 .../spec/eth2_apis/rest_keymanager_calls.nim  |   6 +-
 beacon_chain/spec/keystore.nim                |   6 +-
 beacon_chain/winservice.nim                   |   6 +-
 research/fakeee.nim                           |   2 +-
 tests/test_keymanager_api.nim                 |  10 +-
 vendor/nim-chronicles                         |   2 +-
 vendor/nim-confutils                          |   2 +-
 13 files changed, 216 insertions(+), 187 deletions(-)

diff --git a/beacon_chain/buildinfo.nim b/beacon_chain/buildinfo.nim
index ffa2139761..a50b5f89a9 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/buildinfo.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/buildinfo.nim
@@ -25,9 +25,7 @@ proc gitFolderExists(path: string): bool {.compileTime.} =
   false
 
 const
-  compileYear = CompileDate[0 ..< 4] # YYYY-MM-DD (UTC)
-  copyrights* =
-    "Copyright (c) 2019-" & compileYear & " Status Research & Development GmbH"
+  compileYear* = CompileDate[0 ..< 4] # YYYY-MM-DD (UTC)
 
   GitRevisionOverride {.strdefine.} = ""
 
@@ -40,8 +38,7 @@ template generateGitRevision*(repoPath: string): untyped =
   when GitRevisionOverride.len > 0:
     static:
       doAssert(
-        GitRevisionOverride.len == 8,
-        "GitRevisionOverride must consist of 8 characters",
+        GitRevisionOverride.len == 8, "GitRevisionOverride must consist of 8 characters"
       )
       doAssert(
         GitRevisionOverride.allIt(it in HexDigits),
@@ -53,14 +50,12 @@ template generateGitRevision*(repoPath: string): untyped =
     if gitFolderExists(repoPath):
       # only using git if the parent dir is a git repo.
       strip(
-        staticExec(
-          "git -C " & strutils.escape(repoPath) & " rev-parse --short=8 HEAD"
-        )
+        staticExec("git -C " & strutils.escape(repoPath) & " rev-parse --short=8 HEAD")
       )
     else:
       # otherwise we use revision number given by build system.
       # e.g. user download from release tarball, or Github zip download.
-      "00000000"  
+      "00000000"
 
 func getNimGitHash(): string =
   const gitPrefix = "git hash: "
@@ -79,5 +74,6 @@ func nimBanner*(): string =
   else:
     tmp[0]
 
-declareGauge nimVersionGauge, "Nim version info", ["version", "nim_commit"], name = "nim_version"
-nimVersionGauge.set(1, labelValues=[NimVersion, getNimGitHash()])
+declareGauge nimVersionGauge,
+  "Nim version info", ["version", "nim_commit"], name = "nim_version"
+nimVersionGauge.set(1, labelValues = [NimVersion, getNimGitHash()])
diff --git a/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim b/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
index 6d58875c48..6380c64fb2 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@
 {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
-  std/[os, random, terminal, times, exitprocs],
+  system/ansi_c,
+  std/[os, random, terminal, times],
   chronos, chronicles,
   metrics, metrics/chronos_httpserver,
   stew/[byteutils, io2],
@@ -25,12 +26,9 @@ import
   ./sync/[sync_protocol, light_client_protocol, sync_overseer, validator_custody],
   ./validators/[keystore_management, beacon_validators],
   ./[
-    beacon_node, beacon_node_light_client, deposits,
+    beacon_node, beacon_node_light_client, buildinfo, deposits,
     nimbus_binary_common, process_state, statusbar, trusted_node_sync, wallets]
 
-when defined(posix):
-  import system/ansi_c
-
 from std/algorithm import sort
 from std/sequtils import filterIt, mapIt, toSeq
 from libp2p/protocols/pubsub/gossipsub import
@@ -706,16 +704,17 @@ const
   SlashingDbName = "slashing_protection"
   # changing this requires physical file rename as well or history is lost.
 
-proc init*(T: type BeaconNode,
-           rng: ref HmacDrbgContext,
-           config: BeaconNodeConf,
-           metadata: Eth2NetworkMetadata): Future[BeaconNode]
-          {.async.} =
+proc init*(
+    T: type BeaconNode,
+    rng: ref HmacDrbgContext,
+    config: BeaconNodeConf,
+    metadata: Eth2NetworkMetadata,
+    taskpool: Taskpool,
+): Future[BeaconNode] {.async.} =
   var
     genesisState: ref ForkedHashedBeaconState = nil
 
   template cfg: auto = metadata.cfg
-  template eth1Network: auto = metadata.eth1Network
 
   if not(isDir(config.databaseDir)):
     # If database directory missing, we going to use genesis state to check
@@ -747,21 +746,6 @@ proc init*(T: type BeaconNode,
                 altair_fork_epoch = metadata.cfg.ALTAIR_FORK_EPOCH
           quit 1
 
-  let taskpool =
-    try:
-      if config.numThreads < 0:
-        fatal "The number of threads --num-threads cannot be negative."
-        quit QuitFailure
-      elif config.numThreads == 0:
-        Taskpool.new(numThreads = min(countProcessors(), 16))
-      else:
-        Taskpool.new(numThreads = config.numThreads)
-    except CatchableError as e:
-      fatal "Cannot start taskpool", err = e.msg
-      quit QuitFailure
-
-  info "Threadpool started", numThreads = taskpool.numThreads
-
   if metadata.genesis.kind == BakedIn:
     if config.genesisState.isSome:
       warn "The --genesis-state option has no effect on networks with built-in genesis state"
@@ -838,9 +822,6 @@ proc init*(T: type BeaconNode,
         reindex = false,
         genesisState)
 
-  if config.finalizedCheckpointBlock.isSome:
-    warn "--finalized-checkpoint-block has been deprecated, ignoring"
-
   let checkpointState = if config.finalizedCheckpointState.isSome:
     let checkpointStatePath = config.finalizedCheckpointState.get.string
     let tmp = try:
@@ -971,10 +952,7 @@ proc init*(T: type BeaconNode,
     dag.checkWeakSubjectivityCheckpoint(
       config.weakSubjectivityCheckpoint.get, beaconClock)
 
-  let elManager = ELManager.new(engineApiUrls, eth1Network)
-
-  if config.rpcEnabled.isSome:
-    warn "Nimbus's JSON-RPC server has been removed. This includes the --rpc, --rpc-port, and --rpc-address configuration options. https://nimbus.guide/rest-api.html shows how to enable and configure the REST Beacon API server which replaces it."
+  let elManager = ELManager.new(engineApiUrls, metadata.eth1Network)
 
   let restServer = if config.restEnabled:
     RestServerRef.init(config.restAddress, config.restPort,
@@ -2466,7 +2444,51 @@ proc stop(node: BeaconNode) =
   node.db.close()
   notice "Databases closed"
 
-proc run(node: BeaconNode) {.raises: [CatchableError].} =
+proc initializeNetworking(node: BeaconNode) {.async.} =
+  node.installMessageValidators()
+
+  info "Listening to incoming network requests"
+  await node.network.startListening()
+
+  let addressFile = node.config.dataDir / "beacon_node.enr"
+  writeFile(addressFile, node.network.announcedENR.toURI)
+
+  await node.network.start()
+
+type StopFuture = Future[void].Raising([CancelledError])
+
+proc run*(node: BeaconNode, stopper: StopFuture) {.raises: [CatchableError].} =
+  let
+    head = node.dag.head
+    finalizedHead = node.dag.finalizedHead
+    genesisTime = node.beaconClock.fromNow(start_beacon_time(Slot 0))
+
+  notice "Starting beacon node",
+    version = fullVersionStr,
+    nimVersion = NimVersion,
+    enr = node.network.announcedENR.toURI,
+    peerId = $node.network.switch.peerInfo.peerId,
+    timeSinceFinalization =
+      node.beaconClock.now() - finalizedHead.slot.start_beacon_time(),
+    head = shortLog(head),
+    justified = shortLog(getStateField(
+      node.dag.headState, current_justified_checkpoint)),
+    finalized = shortLog(getStateField(
+      node.dag.headState, finalized_checkpoint)),
+    finalizedHead = shortLog(finalizedHead),
+    SLOTS_PER_EPOCH,
+    SECONDS_PER_SLOT,
+    SPEC_VERSION,
+    dataDir = node.config.dataDir.string,
+    validators = node.attachedValidators[].count
+
+  if genesisTime.inFuture:
+    notice "Waiting for genesis", genesisIn = genesisTime.offset
+
+  waitFor node.initializeNetworking()
+
+  node.elManager.start()
+
   ProcessState.notifyRunning()
 
   if not isNil(node.restServer):
@@ -2506,61 +2528,13 @@ proc run(node: BeaconNode) {.raises: [CatchableError].} =
   asyncSpawn runQueueProcessingLoop(node.blockProcessor)
   asyncSpawn runKeystoreCachePruningLoop(node.keystoreCache)
 
-  while not ProcessState.stopIt(notice("Shutting down", reason = it)):
+  while not ProcessState.stopIt(notice("Shutting down", reason = it)) and
+      (stopper == nil or not stopper.finished):
     poll()
 
   # time to say goodbye
   node.stop()
 
-var gPidFile: string
-proc createPidFile(filename: string) {.raises: [IOError].} =
-  writeFile filename, $os.getCurrentProcessId()
-  gPidFile = filename
-  addExitProc proc {.noconv.} = discard io2.removeFile(gPidFile)
-
-proc initializeNetworking(node: BeaconNode) {.async.} =
-  node.installMessageValidators()
-
-  info "Listening to incoming network requests"
-  await node.network.startListening()
-
-  let addressFile = node.config.dataDir / "beacon_node.enr"
-  writeFile(addressFile, node.network.announcedENR.toURI)
-
-  await node.network.start()
-
-proc start*(node: BeaconNode) {.raises: [CatchableError].} =
-  let
-    head = node.dag.head
-    finalizedHead = node.dag.finalizedHead
-    genesisTime = node.beaconClock.fromNow(start_beacon_time(Slot 0))
-
-  notice "Starting beacon node",
-    version = fullVersionStr,
-    nimVersion = NimVersion,
-    enr = node.network.announcedENR.toURI,
-    peerId = $node.network.switch.peerInfo.peerId,
-    timeSinceFinalization =
-      node.beaconClock.now() - finalizedHead.slot.start_beacon_time(),
-    head = shortLog(head),
-    justified = shortLog(getStateField(
-      node.dag.headState, current_justified_checkpoint)),
-    finalized = shortLog(getStateField(
-      node.dag.headState, finalized_checkpoint)),
-    finalizedHead = shortLog(finalizedHead),
-    SLOTS_PER_EPOCH,
-    SECONDS_PER_SLOT,
-    SPEC_VERSION,
-    dataDir = node.config.dataDir.string,
-    validators = node.attachedValidators[].count
-
-  if genesisTime.inFuture:
-    notice "Waiting for genesis", genesisIn = genesisTime.offset
-
-  waitFor node.initializeNetworking()
-
-  node.elManager.start()
-  node.run()
 
 func formatGwei(amount: Gwei): string =
   # TODO This is implemented in a quite a silly way.
@@ -2705,7 +2679,13 @@ when not defined(windows):
 
     asyncSpawn statusBarUpdatesPollingLoop()
 
-proc doRunBeaconNode(config: var BeaconNodeConf, rng: ref HmacDrbgContext) {.raises: [CatchableError].} =
+proc doRunBeaconNode*(
+    config: var BeaconNodeConf,
+    rng: ref HmacDrbgContext,
+    taskpool: Taskpool,
+    stopper: StopFuture,
+) {.raises: [CatchableError], gcsafe.} =
+  doAssert taskpool != nil
   info "Launching beacon node",
       version = fullVersionStr,
       bls_backend = $BLS_BACKEND,
@@ -2713,18 +2693,6 @@ proc doRunBeaconNode(config: var BeaconNodeConf, rng: ref HmacDrbgContext) {.rai
       cmdParams = commandLineParams(),
       config
 
-  template ignoreDeprecatedOption(option: untyped): untyped =
-    if config.option.isSome:
-      warn "Config option is deprecated",
-        option = config.option.get
-  ignoreDeprecatedOption requireEngineAPI
-  ignoreDeprecatedOption safeSlotsToImportOptimistically
-  ignoreDeprecatedOption terminalTotalDifficultyOverride
-  ignoreDeprecatedOption optimistic
-  ignoreDeprecatedOption validatorMonitorTotals
-  ignoreDeprecatedOption web3ForcePolling
-  ignoreDeprecatedOption finalizedDepositTreeSnapshot
-
   config.createDumpDirs()
 
   # There are no managed event loops in here, to do a graceful shutdown, but
@@ -2749,16 +2717,14 @@ proc doRunBeaconNode(config: var BeaconNodeConf, rng: ref HmacDrbgContext) {.rai
   if ProcessState.stopIt(notice("Shutting down", reason = it)):
     return
 
-  let node = waitFor BeaconNode.init(rng, config, metadata)
-
-  let metricsServer = (waitFor config.initMetricsServer()).valueOr:
-    return
+  let node = waitFor BeaconNode.init(rng, config, metadata, taskpool)
 
   # Nim GC metrics (for the main thread) will be collected in onSecond(), but
   # we disable piggy-backing on other metrics here.
   setSystemMetricsAutomaticUpdate(false)
 
-  node.metricsServer = metricsServer
+  node.metricsServer = (waitFor config.initMetricsServer()).valueOr:
+    return
 
   if ProcessState.stopIt(notice("Shutting down", reason = it)):
     return
@@ -2769,9 +2735,9 @@ proc doRunBeaconNode(config: var BeaconNodeConf, rng: ref HmacDrbgContext) {.rai
     initStatusBar(node)
 
   if node.nickname != "":
-    dynamicLogScope(node = node.nickname): node.start()
+    dynamicLogScope(node = node.nickname): node.run(stopper)
   else:
-    node.start()
+    node.run(stopper)
 
 proc doRecord(config: BeaconNodeConf, rng: var HmacDrbgContext) {.
     raises: [CatchableError].} =
@@ -2871,7 +2837,25 @@ proc handleStartUpCmd(config: var BeaconNodeConf) {.raises: [CatchableError].} =
     createPidFile(config.dataDir.string / "beacon_node.pid")
     ProcessState.setupStopHandlers()
 
-    doRunBeaconNode(config, rng)
+    if config.rpcEnabled.isSome:
+      warn "Nimbus's JSON-RPC server has been removed. This includes the --rpc, --rpc-port, and --rpc-address configuration options. https://nimbus.guide/rest-api.html shows how to enable and configure the REST Beacon API server which replaces it."
+
+    template ignoreDeprecatedOption(option: untyped): untyped =
+      if config.option.isSome:
+        warn "Ignoring deprecated configuration option",
+          option = config.option.get
+    ignoreDeprecatedOption requireEngineAPI
+    ignoreDeprecatedOption safeSlotsToImportOptimistically
+    ignoreDeprecatedOption terminalTotalDifficultyOverride
+    ignoreDeprecatedOption optimistic
+    ignoreDeprecatedOption validatorMonitorTotals
+    ignoreDeprecatedOption web3ForcePolling
+    ignoreDeprecatedOption finalizedDepositTreeSnapshot
+    ignoreDeprecatedOption finalizedCheckpointBlock
+
+    let taskpool = setupTaskpool(config.numThreads)
+
+    doRunBeaconNode(config, rng, taskpool, nil)
   of BNStartUpCmd.deposits: doDeposits(config, rng[])
   of BNStartUpCmd.wallets: doWallets(config, rng[])
   of BNStartUpCmd.record: doRecord(config, rng[])
@@ -2899,8 +2883,13 @@ proc handleStartUpCmd(config: var BeaconNodeConf) {.raises: [CatchableError].} =
     db.close()
 
 # noinline to keep it in stack traces
-proc main() {.noinline, raises: [CatchableError].} =
-  var config = makeBannerAndConfig(clientId, BeaconNodeConf)
+proc main*() {.noinline, raises: [CatchableError].} =
+  const copyright =
+    "Copyright (c) 2019-" & compileYear & " Status Research & Development GmbH"
+
+  var config = BeaconNodeConf.loadWithBanners(clientId, copyright, [specBanner]).valueOr:
+    stderr.writeLine error # Logging not yet set up
+    quit QuitFailure
 
   setupLogging(config.logLevel, config.logStdout, config.logFile)
   setupFileLimits()
@@ -2910,36 +2899,30 @@ proc main() {.noinline, raises: [CatchableError].} =
     # permissions are insecure.
     quit QuitFailure
 
-
   ## This Ctrl+C handler exits the program in non-graceful way.
   ## It's responsible for handling Ctrl+C in sub-commands such
   ## as `wallets *` and `deposits *`. In a regular beacon node
   ## run, it will be overwritten later with a different handler
   ## performing a graceful exit.
   proc exitImmediatelyOnCtrlC() {.noconv.} =
-    when defined(windows):
-      # workaround for https://github.com/nim-lang/Nim/issues/4057
-      setupForeignThreadGc()
-    # in case a password prompt disabled echoing
-    resetStdin()
-    echo "" # If we interrupt during an interactive prompt, this
-            # will move the cursor to the next line
-    notice "Shutting down after having received SIGINT"
-    quit 0
+    # No allocations in signal handler
+    cstdout.rawWrite("Shutting down after having received SIGINT / ctrl-c")
+    quit QuitSuccess
   setControlCHook(exitImmediatelyOnCtrlC)
+
   # equivalent SIGTERM handler
-  when defined(posix):
+  when declared(ansi_c.SIGTERM):
     proc exitImmediatelyOnSIGTERM(signal: cint) {.noconv.} =
-      notice "Shutting down after having received SIGTERM"
-      quit 0
+      # No allocations in signal handler
+      cstdout.rawWrite("Shutting down after having received SIGTERM")
+      quit QuitSuccess
     c_signal(ansi_c.SIGTERM, exitImmediatelyOnSIGTERM)
 
   when defined(windows):
     if config.runAsService:
       proc exitService() =
         ProcessState.scheduleStop("exitService")
-      establishWindowsService(clientId,
-                              ["Ethereum consensus spec v" & SPEC_VERSION],
+      establishWindowsService(clientId, copyright, [specBanner],
                               "nimbus_beacon_node", BeaconNodeConf,
                               handleStartUpCmd, exitService)
     else:
diff --git a/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim b/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim
index 01f9e6eb58..558d0e4468 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim
@@ -11,17 +11,23 @@
 
 import
   # Standard library
-  std/[os, tables, terminal, typetraits],
+  std/[cpuinfo, exitprocs, os, tables, terminal, typetraits],
 
   # Nimble packages
   chronos, confutils, presto, toml_serialization, metrics,
   chronicles, chronicles/helpers as chroniclesHelpers, chronicles/topics_registry,
-  stew/io2, metrics/chronos_httpserver,
+  stew/io2, metrics/chronos_httpserver, taskpools,
 
   # Local modules
   ./spec/keystore,
   ./buildinfo
 
+from ./spec/datatypes/base import SPEC_VERSION
+
+const specBanner* = "Ethereum consensus spec v" & SPEC_VERSION
+
+from system/ansi_c import c_malloc
+
 when defaultChroniclesStream.outputs.type.arity == 2:
   from ./filepath import secureCreatePath
 
@@ -153,18 +159,40 @@ proc setupLogging*(
     updateLogLevel(logLevel)
   except ValueError as err:
     try:
-      stderr.write "Invalid value for --log-level. " & err.msg
+      stderr.writeLine "Invalid value for --log-level. " & err.msg
     except IOError:
       echo "Invalid value for --log-level. " & err.msg
     quit 1
 
-proc makeBannerAndConfig*(
-    helpBanner: string, versions: openArray[string],
-    environment: openArray[string],
+proc setupTaskpool*(numThreads: int): Taskpool =
+  let taskpool =
+    try:
+      if numThreads < 0:
+        fatal "The number of threads --num-threads cannot be negative."
+        quit QuitFailure
+      elif numThreads == 0:
+        Taskpool.new(numThreads = min(countProcessors(), 16))
+      else:
+        Taskpool.new(numThreads = numThreads)
+    except CatchableError as e:
+      fatal "Cannot start taskpool", err = e.msg
+      quit QuitFailure
+
+  info "Taskpool started", numThreads = taskpool.numThreads
+
+  taskpool
+
+proc loadWithBanners*(
     ConfType: type,
+    helpBanner, copyright: string,
+    versions: openArray[string],
+    ignoreUnknown = false,
+    environment: openArray[string] = [],
 ): Result[ConfType, string] =
   let
-    version = helpBanner & "\p" & copyrights & "\p\p" & (@versions & @[nimBanner()]).join("\p")
+    version =
+      [helpBanner, copyright].join("\p") & "\p\p" &
+      (@versions & @[nimBanner()]).join("\p")
 
     cmdLine =
       if len(environment) == 0:
@@ -179,6 +207,7 @@ proc makeBannerAndConfig*(
         version = version, # what --version outputs
         copyrightBanner = helpBanner, # what is shown on top of --help
         cmdLine = cmdLine,
+        ignoreUnknown = ignoreUnknown,
         secondarySources = proc(
             config: ConfType, sources: ref SecondarySources
         ) {.raises: [ConfigurationError], gcsafe.} =
@@ -205,16 +234,6 @@ proc makeBannerAndConfig*(
   {.pop.}
   ok(config)
 
-template makeBannerAndConfig*(helpBanner: string, ConfType: type): auto =
-  makeBannerAndConfig(
-    helpBanner, ["Ethereum consensus spec v" & SPEC_VERSION], [], ConfType
-  ).valueOr:
-    try:
-      stderr.write(error)
-    except IOError:
-      discard
-    quit QuitFailure
-
 proc checkIfShouldStopAtEpoch*(scheduledSlot: Slot,
                                stopAtEpoch: uint64): bool =
   # Offset backwards slightly to allow this epoch's finalization check to occur
@@ -237,17 +256,14 @@ proc resetStdin*() =
     attrs.c_lflag = attrs.c_lflag or Cflag(ECHO)
     discard fd.tcSetAttr(TCSANOW, attrs.addr)
 
-proc runKeystoreCachePruningLoop*(cache: KeystoreCacheRef) {.async.} =
-  while true:
-    let exitLoop =
-      try:
-        await sleepAsync(60.seconds)
-        false
-      except CatchableError:
-        cache.clear()
-        true
-    if exitLoop: break
-    cache.pruneExpiredKeys()
+proc runKeystoreCachePruningLoop*(cache: KeystoreCacheRef) {.async: (raises: []).} =
+  try:
+    while true:
+      await sleepAsync(60.seconds)
+      cache.pruneExpiredKeys()
+  except CancelledError:
+    discard
+  cache.clear()
 
 proc sleepAsync*(t: TimeDiff): Future[void] {.
      async: (raises: [CancelledError], raw: true).} =
@@ -434,3 +450,13 @@ proc defaultDataDir*(namespace, network: string): string =
     dir = dir / network
 
   dir
+
+proc createPidFile*(filename: string) {.raises: [IOError].} =
+  var pidFile {.global.}: cstring # avoid gc
+  doAssert pidFile.len == 0, "PID file must only be created once"
+
+  writeFile filename, $os.getCurrentProcessId()
+  pidFile = cast[cstring](c_malloc(csize_t(filename.len + 1)))
+  copyMem(pidFile, cstring(filename), filename.len + 1)
+
+  addExitProc proc {.noconv.} = discard io2.removeFile($pidFile)
diff --git a/beacon_chain/nimbus_light_client.nim b/beacon_chain/nimbus_light_client.nim
index 8dd8793e99..059c4b7005 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/nimbus_light_client.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/nimbus_light_client.nim
@@ -27,9 +27,15 @@ from ./gossip_processing/eth2_processor import toValidationResult
 # noinline to keep it in stack traces
 proc main() {.noinline, raises: [CatchableError].} =
   ProcessState.setupStopHandlers()
+  const
+    banner = "Nimbus light client " & fullVersionStr
+    copyright =
+      "Copyright (c) 2022-" & compileYear & " Status Research & Development GmbH"
+
+  var config = LightClientConf.loadWithBanners(banner, copyright, [specBanner]).valueOr:
+    stderr.writeLine error # Logging not yet set up
+    quit QuitFailure
 
-  var config = makeBannerAndConfig(
-    "Nimbus light client " & fullVersionStr, LightClientConf)
   setupLogging(config.logLevel, config.logStdout, config.logFile)
 
   notice "Launching light client",
diff --git a/beacon_chain/nimbus_signing_node.nim b/beacon_chain/nimbus_signing_node.nim
index 56efae642f..bb553bba1a 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/nimbus_signing_node.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/nimbus_signing_node.nim
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # nimbus_signing_node
-# Copyright (c) 2018-2025 Status Research & Development GmbH
+# Copyright (c) 2021-2025 Status Research & Development GmbH
 # Licensed and distributed under either of
 #   * MIT license (license terms in the root directory or at https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT).
 #   * Apache v2 license (license terms in the root directory or at https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0).
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import "."/spec/datatypes/[base, altair, phase0],
        "."/spec/[crypto, digest, network, signatures, forks],
        "."/spec/eth2_apis/[rest_types, eth2_rest_serialization],
        "."/rpc/rest_constants,
-       "."/[conf, version, nimbus_binary_common],
+       "."/[buildinfo, conf, version, nimbus_binary_common],
        "."/validators/[keystore_management, validator_pool]
 
 const
@@ -495,9 +495,17 @@ proc runSigningNode(config: SigningNodeConf) {.async: (raises: []).} =
 
 # noinline to keep it in stack traces
 proc main() {.noinline, raises: [CatchableError].} =
-  let config =
-    makeBannerAndConfig("Nimbus signing node " & fullVersionStr, SigningNodeConf)
+  const
+    banner = "Nimbus signing node " & fullVersionStr
+    copyright =
+      "Copyright (c) 2021-" & compileYear & " Status Research & Development GmbH"
+
+  let config = SigningNodeConf.loadWithBanners(banner, copyright, [specBanner]).valueOr:
+    stderr.writeLine error # Logging not yet set up
+    quit QuitFailure
+
   setupLogging(config.logLevel, config.logStdout, config.logFile)
+
   waitFor runSigningNode(config)
 
 when isMainModule:
diff --git a/beacon_chain/nimbus_validator_client.nim b/beacon_chain/nimbus_validator_client.nim
index 1ef30fcb73..8f3825a272 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/nimbus_validator_client.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/nimbus_validator_client.nim
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # beacon_chain
-# Copyright (c) 2018-2025 Status Research & Development GmbH
+# Copyright (c) 2020-2025 Status Research & Development GmbH
 # Licensed and distributed under either of
 #   * MIT license (license terms in the root directory or at https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT).
 #   * Apache v2 license (license terms in the root directory or at https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0).
@@ -12,7 +12,8 @@ import
   ./rpc/rest_key_management_api,
   ./validator_client/[
     common, fallback_service, duties_service, fork_service, block_service,
-    doppelganger_service, attestation_service, sync_committee_service]
+    doppelganger_service, attestation_service, sync_committee_service],
+  ./buildinfo
 
 const
   PREGENESIS_EPOCHS_COUNT = 1
@@ -638,9 +639,15 @@ proc runValidatorClient*(
 
 # noinline to keep it in stack traces
 proc main() {.noinline, raises: [CatchableError].} =
+  const
+    banner = "Nimbus validator client " & fullVersionStr
+    copyright =
+      "Copyright (c) 2020-" & compileYear & " Status Research & Development GmbH"
+
   let
-    config = makeBannerAndConfig("Nimbus validator client " & fullVersionStr,
-                                 ValidatorClientConf)
+    config = ValidatorClientConf.loadWithBanners(banner, copyright, [specBanner]).valueOr:
+      stderr.writeLine error # Logging not yet set up
+      quit QuitFailure
 
     # Single RNG instance for the application - will be seeded on construction
     # and avoid using system resources (such as urandom) after that
@@ -648,6 +655,7 @@ proc main() {.noinline, raises: [CatchableError].} =
 
   setupLogging(config.logLevel, config.logStdout, config.logFile)
   setupFileLimits()
+
   waitFor runValidatorClient(config, rng)
 
 when isMainModule:
diff --git a/beacon_chain/spec/eth2_apis/rest_keymanager_calls.nim b/beacon_chain/spec/eth2_apis/rest_keymanager_calls.nim
index a1fb047361..3f033e7fb1 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/spec/eth2_apis/rest_keymanager_calls.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/spec/eth2_apis/rest_keymanager_calls.nim
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@ import
 export client, rest_types, eth2_rest_serialization,
        rest_keymanager_types
 
-UUID.serializesAsBaseIn RestJson
-KeyPath.serializesAsBaseIn RestJson
-WalletName.serializesAsBaseIn RestJson
+UUID.serializesAsBase RestJson
+KeyPath.serializesAsBase RestJson
+WalletName.serializesAsBase RestJson
 
 proc raiseKeymanagerGenericError*(resp: RestPlainResponse) {.
      noreturn, raises: [RestError].} =
diff --git a/beacon_chain/spec/keystore.nim b/beacon_chain/spec/keystore.nim
index 631894fbb0..beee403234 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/spec/keystore.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/spec/keystore.nim
@@ -264,9 +264,9 @@ const
 
   KeystoreCachePruningTime* = 5.minutes
 
-UUID.serializesAsBaseIn Json
-KeyPath.serializesAsBaseIn Json
-WalletName.serializesAsBaseIn Json
+UUID.serializesAsBase Json
+KeyPath.serializesAsBase Json
+WalletName.serializesAsBase Json
 
 ChecksumFunctionKind.serializesAsTextInJson
 CipherFunctionKind.serializesAsTextInJson
diff --git a/beacon_chain/winservice.nim b/beacon_chain/winservice.nim
index 4f2b626d51..415dde75ae 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/winservice.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/winservice.nim
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ when defined(windows):
   proc reportServiceStatusSuccess*() =
     reportServiceStatus(SERVICE_RUNNING, NO_ERROR, 0)
 
-  template establishWindowsService*(argHelpBanner: string,
+  template establishWindowsService*(argHelpBanner, argCopyright: string,
                                     argVersions: openArray[string],
                                     argServiceName: string,
                                     argConfigType: untyped,
@@ -148,8 +148,8 @@ when defined(windows):
         reportServiceStatus(SERVICE_STOPPED, ERROR_INVALID_PARAMETER, 0)
         quit QuitFailure
 
-      var config = makeBannerAndConfig(argHelpBanner, argVersions,
-                                       environment, argConfigType).valueOr:
+      var config = loadWithBanners(argConfigType, argHelpBanner, argCopyright,
+                                   argVersions, false, environment).valueOr:
         reportServiceStatus(SERVICE_STOPPED, ERROR_BAD_CONFIGURATION, 0)
         quit QuitFailure
 
diff --git a/research/fakeee.nim b/research/fakeee.nim
index d6280a07ec..b4d2509277 100644
--- a/research/fakeee.nim
+++ b/research/fakeee.nim
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ proc setupEngineAPI*(server: RpcServer) =
     )
 
   # https://github.com/ethereum/execution-apis/blob/v1.0.0-beta.4/src/engine/paris.md#engine_getpayloadv1
-  server.rpc("engine_getPayloadV1") do(payloadId: PayloadID) -> ExecutionPayloadV1:
+  server.rpc("engine_getPayloadV1") do(payloadId: Bytes8) -> ExecutionPayloadV1:
     info "engine_getPayloadV1",
       id = payloadId.toHex
 
diff --git a/tests/test_keymanager_api.nim b/tests/test_keymanager_api.nim
index f0a9ebc788..b643114372 100644
--- a/tests/test_keymanager_api.nim
+++ b/tests/test_keymanager_api.nim
@@ -365,9 +365,11 @@ proc initBeaconNode(basePort: int): Future[BeaconNode] {.async: (raises: []).} =
     raiseAssert exc.msg
 
   try:
-    let metadata =
-      loadEth2NetworkMetadata(dataDir).expect("Metadata is compatible")
-    await BeaconNode.init(rng, runNodeConf, metadata)
+    let
+      metadata = loadEth2NetworkMetadata(dataDir).expect("Metadata is compatible")
+      taskpool = Taskpool.new()
+
+    await BeaconNode.init(rng, runNodeConf, metadata, taskpool)
   except CatchableError as exc:
     raiseAssert exc.msg
 
@@ -2054,7 +2056,7 @@ proc main(basePort: int) {.async.} =
   asyncSpawn delayedTests(basePort, node.attachedValidators,
                           node.keymanagerHost)
 
-  node.start()
+  node.run(nil)
 
 let
   basePortStr = os.getEnv("NIMBUS_TEST_KEYMANAGER_BASE_PORT", $defaultBasePort)
diff --git a/vendor/nim-chronicles b/vendor/nim-chronicles
index 14cb79f470..67da11265f 160000
--- a/vendor/nim-chronicles
+++ b/vendor/nim-chronicles
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit 14cb79f470f9eec6fbdcd4f572b437a547b7622c
+Subproject commit 67da11265f8defa5b2c7d2f17ab5b1637c6a1d41
diff --git a/vendor/nim-confutils b/vendor/nim-confutils
index 7a256534e6..eec84f4b5e 160000
--- a/vendor/nim-confutils
+++ b/vendor/nim-confutils
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit 7a256534e60bbd69921c44c4c45679d1b3f6f494
+Subproject commit eec84f4b5e8ea322f42b9c4008e549825c310a8d

From a2ea8af73c25bd1a43617ba012c7172d6521d0d0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jacek Sieka <jacek@status.im>
Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2025 18:48:15 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 2/7] fix missing logging setup in windows service

---
 beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim   | 2 +-
 beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim | 2 +-
 beacon_chain/winservice.nim           | 2 ++
 3 files changed, 4 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim b/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
index 6380c64fb2..e4d07e9c83 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
@@ -2894,7 +2894,7 @@ proc main*() {.noinline, raises: [CatchableError].} =
   setupLogging(config.logLevel, config.logStdout, config.logFile)
   setupFileLimits()
 
-  if not(checkAndCreateDataDir(string(config.dataDir))):
+  if not (checkAndCreateDataDir(string(config.dataDir))):
     # We are unable to access/create data folder or data folder's
     # permissions are insecure.
     quit QuitFailure
diff --git a/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim b/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim
index 558d0e4468..ce7f226d51 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ proc setupFileLimits*() =
         warn "Cannot increase open file limit", err = osErrorMsg(error)
 
 proc setupLogging*(
-    logLevel: string, stdoutKind: StdoutLogKind, logFile: Option[OutFile]) =
+    logLevel: string, stdoutKind: StdoutLogKind, logFile = none(OutFile)) =
   # In the cfg file for nimbus, we create two formats: textlines and json.
   # Here, we either write those logs to an output, or not, depending on the
   # given configuration.
diff --git a/beacon_chain/winservice.nim b/beacon_chain/winservice.nim
index 415dde75ae..3208ea1ccf 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/winservice.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/winservice.nim
@@ -153,6 +153,8 @@ when defined(windows):
         reportServiceStatus(SERVICE_STOPPED, ERROR_BAD_CONFIGURATION, 0)
         quit QuitFailure
 
+      setupLogging(config.logLevel, config.logStdout, config.logFile)
+
       try:
         argEntryPoint(config)
         info "Service thread stopped"

From 71e0f7f532705e8eef8755bf94c7a988e8813428 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jacek Sieka <jacek@status.im>
Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2025 09:36:02 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 3/7] nicer poll loop

---
 beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim | 11 ++++++++---
 1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim b/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
index e4d07e9c83..6b8b899b75 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
@@ -2528,9 +2528,14 @@ proc run*(node: BeaconNode, stopper: StopFuture) {.raises: [CatchableError].} =
   asyncSpawn runQueueProcessingLoop(node.blockProcessor)
   asyncSpawn runKeystoreCachePruningLoop(node.keystoreCache)
 
-  while not ProcessState.stopIt(notice("Shutting down", reason = it)) and
-      (stopper == nil or not stopper.finished):
-    poll()
+  while true:
+    if (let reason = ProcessState.stopping(); reason.isSome()):
+      notice "Shutting down", reason = reason[]
+      break
+    if stopper != nil or stopper.finished():
+      break
+
+    chronos.poll()
 
   # time to say goodbye
   node.stop()

From 1e6237603320097fb5305fcee961f55c1b129b93 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jacek Sieka <jacek@status.im>
Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2025 10:02:22 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 4/7] writePanicLine helper

---
 beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim      |  2 +-
 beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim    | 10 ++++++++++
 beacon_chain/nimbus_light_client.nim     |  2 +-
 beacon_chain/nimbus_signing_node.nim     |  2 +-
 beacon_chain/nimbus_validator_client.nim |  2 +-
 5 files changed, 14 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim b/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
index 6b8b899b75..6c51bbdfad 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
@@ -2893,7 +2893,7 @@ proc main*() {.noinline, raises: [CatchableError].} =
     "Copyright (c) 2019-" & compileYear & " Status Research & Development GmbH"
 
   var config = BeaconNodeConf.loadWithBanners(clientId, copyright, [specBanner]).valueOr:
-    stderr.writeLine error # Logging not yet set up
+    writePanicLine error # Logging not yet set up
     quit QuitFailure
 
   setupLogging(config.logLevel, config.logStdout, config.logFile)
diff --git a/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim b/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim
index ce7f226d51..fcfbcb1454 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim
@@ -84,6 +84,16 @@ proc setupFileLimits*() =
       setMaxOpenFiles2(16384).isOkOr:
         warn "Cannot increase open file limit", err = osErrorMsg(error)
 
+proc writePanicLine*(v: varargs[string, `$`]) =
+  ## Attempt writing text to stderr, ignoring errors if it fails - useful when
+  ## logging has not yet been set up
+  try:
+    for s in v:
+      stderr.write(s)
+    s.write("\p")
+  except IOError:
+    discard # Nothing to do..
+
 proc setupLogging*(
     logLevel: string, stdoutKind: StdoutLogKind, logFile = none(OutFile)) =
   # In the cfg file for nimbus, we create two formats: textlines and json.
diff --git a/beacon_chain/nimbus_light_client.nim b/beacon_chain/nimbus_light_client.nim
index 059c4b7005..31276d19f6 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/nimbus_light_client.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/nimbus_light_client.nim
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ proc main() {.noinline, raises: [CatchableError].} =
       "Copyright (c) 2022-" & compileYear & " Status Research & Development GmbH"
 
   var config = LightClientConf.loadWithBanners(banner, copyright, [specBanner]).valueOr:
-    stderr.writeLine error # Logging not yet set up
+    writePanicLine error # Logging not yet set up
     quit QuitFailure
 
   setupLogging(config.logLevel, config.logStdout, config.logFile)
diff --git a/beacon_chain/nimbus_signing_node.nim b/beacon_chain/nimbus_signing_node.nim
index bb553bba1a..438f9542ce 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/nimbus_signing_node.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/nimbus_signing_node.nim
@@ -501,7 +501,7 @@ proc main() {.noinline, raises: [CatchableError].} =
       "Copyright (c) 2021-" & compileYear & " Status Research & Development GmbH"
 
   let config = SigningNodeConf.loadWithBanners(banner, copyright, [specBanner]).valueOr:
-    stderr.writeLine error # Logging not yet set up
+    writePanicLine error # Logging not yet set up
     quit QuitFailure
 
   setupLogging(config.logLevel, config.logStdout, config.logFile)
diff --git a/beacon_chain/nimbus_validator_client.nim b/beacon_chain/nimbus_validator_client.nim
index 8f3825a272..c894a7fc76 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/nimbus_validator_client.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/nimbus_validator_client.nim
@@ -646,7 +646,7 @@ proc main() {.noinline, raises: [CatchableError].} =
 
   let
     config = ValidatorClientConf.loadWithBanners(banner, copyright, [specBanner]).valueOr:
-      stderr.writeLine error # Logging not yet set up
+      writePanicLine error # Logging not yet set up
       quit QuitFailure
 
     # Single RNG instance for the application - will be seeded on construction

From 6ae8b4d2f2f0a5bb162bb3333e35aacaa07a863a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jacek Sieka <jacek@status.im>
Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2025 10:53:23 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 5/7] oops

---
 beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim b/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim
index fcfbcb1454..720624fb18 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ proc writePanicLine*(v: varargs[string, `$`]) =
   try:
     for s in v:
       stderr.write(s)
-    s.write("\p")
+    stderr.write("\p")
   except IOError:
     discard # Nothing to do..
 

From e6cde0e54f44bc7be0996e046367b6a844077d63 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jacek Sieka <jacek@status.im>
Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2025 12:36:10 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 6/7] oops

---
 beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim b/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
index 6c51bbdfad..648218b879 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/nimbus_beacon_node.nim
@@ -2532,7 +2532,7 @@ proc run*(node: BeaconNode, stopper: StopFuture) {.raises: [CatchableError].} =
     if (let reason = ProcessState.stopping(); reason.isSome()):
       notice "Shutting down", reason = reason[]
       break
-    if stopper != nil or stopper.finished():
+    if stopper != nil and stopper.finished():
       break
 
     chronos.poll()

From 5256a7614931940f52d5a9a7e84d43959ffa9178 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jacek Sieka <jacek@status.im>
Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2025 14:13:06 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 7/7] don't leak exceptions

---
 beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim | 5 ++++-
 1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim b/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim
index 720624fb18..500c205f18 100644
--- a/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim
+++ b/beacon_chain/nimbus_binary_common.nim
@@ -206,7 +206,10 @@ proc loadWithBanners*(
 
     cmdLine =
       if len(environment) == 0:
-        commandLineParams()
+        try:
+          commandLineParams()
+        except OSError as exc:
+          return err(exc.msg)
       else:
         @environment