How to onboard (step by step)

Apply — submit your identity only: operator address, node name, and endpoint (host:port). No node keys and no bond are required to apply.
Get approved — an operator reviews your application (with your live VORD balance) and approves your candidate address. Approval must come BEFORE you can download or register.
Download — on approval you receive a one-time, time-limited link to download the node binary and the genesis file. The binary is never public — it is served only to approved operators.
Provision & boot (as an observer) — on a dedicated Linux box, install the downloaded binary + genesis + boot-bundle and run ./vordium-up.sh. The node boots as an observer (a non-validator full node) even though it is not yet in the validator set. On first boot it generates and LOGS its VRF public key and derives its operator address (both public; keys never leave the box). Because the node binds 0.0.0.0, you MUST set BFT_ADVERTISE=<reachable host:port> (e.g. your-ip:9000) so the incumbent validators can serve it snapshots and dial it back — without it the node boots as an observer but never syncs.
Sync — the node syncs as a non-validator full node and catches up to the live head. Confirm it reaches "live" and its head matches the network before you register.
Fund — hold at least 1,000,000 VORD at your operator address (your self-bond), or ask the operator to seed the bond from the treasury.
Register — once your node is up and synced, submit your VRF + signing pubkeys and endpoint (RegisterValidator). The operator accepts and, if seeding, funds the 1,000,000 bond.
Join — at the next epoch boundary your node auto-joins the active set and starts producing and voting — no restart and no re-download.