---

name: mining-backends description: "Use this quip-miner sub-skill for CPU, CUDA, Metal, Modal, and QPU mining commands, backend dependencies, QPU budgets, unified streaming, and PoW/mempool scheduling." disable-model-invocation: true metadata: disco-role: operating license: AGPL 3.0

Mining Backends

Use this sub-skill when the user needs to run, tune, or troubleshoot quip-miner CPU/GPU/QPU mining backends or understand PoW plus mempool scheduling on those workers.

Route By Task

• Backend commands and tuning: Read references/backend-workflows.md for CPU SA, CUDA, Metal, Modal, D-Wave QPU, gate-model QPU, optional dependencies, and safe command patterns.
• Streaming and mempool architecture: Read references/unified-streaming-and-mempool.md for the stream-driver subprocess, shared-memory ring, feeder specs, PoW/mempool preemption, and no-inline-sampling invariant.
• Backend failures: Read references/troubleshooting.md for CUDA allocation, Metal host mismatch, Modal unavailable, QPU credential/budget, topology binding, and mempool-owner problems.
• Availability probe: Run scripts/backend_probe.py --json or the root scripts/quip_backend_probe.py --json before claiming backend availability.

Common Commands

quip-miner cpu --validator ws://127.0.0.1:9944 --num-cpus 4 --signer-key ~/.quip-miner/signing.json
quip-miner gpu --validator ws://127.0.0.1:9944 --gpu-backend local --signer-key ~/.quip-miner/signing.json
quip-miner gpu --validator ws://127.0.0.1:9944 --gpu-backend metal --signer-key ~/.quip-miner/signing.json
quip-miner gpu --validator ws://127.0.0.1:9944 --gpu-backend modal --signer-key ~/.quip-miner/signing.json
quip-miner qpu --validator ws://127.0.0.1:9944 --qpu-type dwave --daily-budget 30s --signer-key ~/.quip-miner/signing.json

Prefer config-driven production runs (quip-miner --config config.toml) once the backend inventory is known.

Key Rules

• Every worker mines PoW continuously. Mempool jobs preempt PoW on the same workers when the group owns mempool; PoW resumes afterward.
• CPU/GPU mempool defaults on; QPU mempool defaults off and must be explicitly opted into in the vendor section.
• A live miner pulls topology from the chain. Passing --topology to live mining commands is an error.
• CUDA guidance requires actual CUDA runtime evidence; a CPU import is not enough.
• Metal has no CPU fallback. On non-Apple hosts, provide config/docs guidance only.
• Do not run paid QPU sampling or Modal cloud jobs unless the operator explicitly accepts credentials, network, cost, and runtime.

Boundaries

• Route TOML schema and supervisor deployment to ../config-supervisor-deployment/SKILL.md.
• Route wallet, bootstrap, descriptor, and solver registration to ../identity-wallet-bootstrap/SKILL.md.
• Route telemetry and attempts archives to ../telemetry-attempt-archive/SKILL.md.
• Route topology/proof replay and D-Wave h/J range details to ../topology-proof-validation/SKILL.md.