Watcher Link
A watcher link opens a pool account's statistics with no right to change anything. It is the standard way to show your farm to an outsider.
What a watcher link is
Almost every pool can generate a watcher link: a long address with a key inside that shows worker statistics, hashrate and earnings. Settings, the payout address and withdrawals stay out of reach through that link.
The scenarios are obvious. A hosting site shows a client his miners without giving him access to its own account. Co-owners watch a shared farm. A buyer of a secondhand ASIC verifies the claimed hashrate against live statistics instead of a screenshot.
Two things are worth remembering. The link needs no password, so anyone who gets hold of it sees your statistics: farm income is a sensitive number, and dropping the link into a group chat is not the best idea. And the link can usually be revoked: it leaked, you regenerate it, the old one stops working.
The difference from an API key is fundamental: a watcher link is about showing a person, a key is about feeding a program. Monitoring gets a read-only key, people get the link, and neither gets full access.
The short version
| What it opens | worker statistics and earnings |
| What it withholds | settings, payout address, withdrawals |
| Who finds it handy | hosting, co-owners, secondhand buyers |
| The risk | anyone with the link sees your income |
| If it leaks | regenerate it, the old one dies |
How to use it wisely
Issue a separate link for each task where the pool allows it: revoking one will not touch the rest.
When selling an ASIC, show the hashrate with a live link: more convincing than screenshots and it reveals nothing beyond what is needed.
At a hosting site, ask for a watcher link before moving in: a site that cannot provide one will be showing you slide decks instead of numbers.
Do not confuse it with a login link and do not keep it in shared documents: it is still a key, even if read-only.
A case from practice
A hosting client gets a watcher link for his twelve miners: he sees workers, hashrate and earnings in real time but cannot touch the pools or the wallet. The site sleeps soundly, the client does not call asking how much came in today, and both sides are happy with a single link.
Related terms
Where to go next on the site
Numbers
Hardware
- ASIC Miner knowledge base
Questions and answers
Can a watcher steal coins
Through the link, no: the payout address and withdrawals are unreachable. The link's only risk is exposing your income numbers.
How does a watcher link differ from an API key
The link is for people and a browser, the key is for programs. Keep both sets of rights minimal: reading and nothing more.
The link fell into the wrong hands, what now
Regenerate it in the pool settings: the old one will stop opening. While at it, recall where else it was saved.
How the terms connect
Every link in the chain is clickable. Orange marks where you are now.
Looking for an ASIC miner
The catalog holds 212 models. You can compare them by hashrate and by joules per terahash, then plug your own rate into the calculator and see what stays in your pocket.
Page written and checked by Denys Klimchuk. Updated .