Missing Attestations in Baking

Overview

Sometimes, you’ll notice that an attestation (also known as an endorsement) didn’t make it into a block — even though your setup appears to be working fine. This is usually not a problem.

Key Points:

  • Tezos is a distributed network; messages can arrive late or out of sync.
  • Block producers are not obligated to include all attestations.
  • If your attestations succeed most of the time, your setup is likely healthy.

Why It Happens

Attestations have a tight timing window. If your signer’s message arrives just after the block producer includes attestations, it won’t make the cut.

Think of it like catching a departing elevator — if you’re a second late, the doors close and you’re left behind, even if you were just steps away.

When to Worry

Occasional missed attestations are expected. But you should investigate if:

  • You miss frequently
  • You miss multiple in a row

Possible causes include:

  • Your setup isn’t powerful enough to produce attestations in time
  • Your network connection is unstable (latency spikes or downtime)
  • Your system clock is out of sync

What to Check

Before assuming something is broken, check the following:

  • Was it a broader issue?
    Look up the block in TzKT and see how many attestations were included.
    If the block was missing a significant portion of attestations (e.g., 1/3), this is more likely a network or block producer issue than a problem with your setup. Example: https://tzkt.io/8830884/operations

  • Is your clock synced?
    Run timedatectl status to check your system clock’s synchronization status.

Note: The command may vary depending on your Linux distribution. Here are some examples:

  • For systems using timedatectl:
    timedatectl status
  • For systems using chronyc:
    chronyc tracking
  • For systems using ntpq:
    ntpq -p
  • Is your setup healthy?
    Use:
    tezbake info
    tezbake node logs -f
    tezbake signer logs -f

Look for signs of delay, network errors, or system load.

Summary

Occasional missed attestations are a normal and expected part of Tezos baking. Unless it becomes a trend, there’s no reason to worry.

Like traffic lights turning red just as you arrive — frustrating, but part of the flow.

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