diff --git a/cmd/.env b/cmd/.env
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..46634de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/.env
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# System
+EVENTS_CAPACITY=100000
+PUBKEYS_CAPACITY=100000
+INIT_PUBKEYS=3bf0c63fcb93463407af97a5e5ee64fa883d107ef9e558472c4eb9aaaefa459d
+
+# Connections
+REDIS_ADDRESS=localhost:6380
+SQLITE_URL=../../events/relay.sqlite
+
+# Firehose
+FIREHOSE_OFFSET=60 # in seconds
+
+# Firehose and Fetcher
+RELAYS=wss://relay.primal.net,wss://relay.damus.io,wss://nos.lol,wss://eden.nostr.land,wss://relay.current.fyi,wss://nostr.wine,wss://relay.nostr.band
+#wss://nostr.orangepill.dev,wss://brb.io,wss://nostr.bitcoiner.social,wss://nostr-pub.wellorder.net,wss://nostr.oxtr.dev,wss://relay.nostr.mom,wss://nostr.fmt.wiz.biz,wss://puravida.nostr.land,wss://nostr.wine,wss://nostr.milou.lol,wss://atlas.nostr.land,wss://offchain.pub,wss://nostr-pub.semisol.dev,wss://nostr.onsats.org,wss://relay.nostr.com.au,wss://relay.nostrati.com,wss://nostr.inosta.cc,wss://relay.nostr.info
+
+# Fetcher
+FETCHER_BATCH=100
+FETCHER_INTERVAL=30 # in seconds
+
+# Arbiter
+# these multipliers must satisfy:  (1 + promotion) > demotion > 1; 
+# if the first inequality is not satisfied, there will be cyclical promotion --> demotion --> promotion...
+# if the second inequality is not satisfied, it's impossible for an active node to be demoted
+ARBITER_PROMOTION=0.0
+ARBITER_DEMOTION=0.0
+ARBITER_ACTIVATION=0.0
+ARBITER_PROMOTION_WAIT=0
+ARBITER_PING_WAIT=10
+
+# Processor
+PROCESSOR_PRINT_EVERY=5000
diff --git a/cmd/config.go b/cmd/config.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a4ecbcd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/config.go
@@ -0,0 +1,186 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"github/pippellia-btc/crawler/pkg/pipe"
+
+	_ "github.com/joho/godotenv/autoload" // autoloading .env
+	"github.com/nbd-wtf/go-nostr"
+)
+
+type SystemConfig struct {
+	RedisAddress string
+	SQLiteURL    string
+
+	EventsCapacity  int
+	PubkeysCapacity int
+
+	InitPubkeys []string // only used during initialization
+}
+
+func NewSystemConfig() SystemConfig {
+	return SystemConfig{
+		RedisAddress:    "localhost:6379",
+		SQLiteURL:       "events.sqlite",
+		EventsCapacity:  1000,
+		PubkeysCapacity: 1000,
+	}
+}
+
+func (c SystemConfig) Print() {
+	fmt.Println("System:")
+	fmt.Printf("  RedisAddress: %s\n", c.RedisAddress)
+	fmt.Printf("  SQLiteURL: %s\n", c.SQLiteURL)
+	fmt.Printf("  EventsCapacity: %d\n", c.EventsCapacity)
+	fmt.Printf("  PubkeysCapacity: %d\n", c.PubkeysCapacity)
+	fmt.Printf("  InitPubkeys: %v\n", c.InitPubkeys)
+}
+
+// The configuration parameters for the system and the main processes
+type Config struct {
+	SystemConfig
+	Firehose  pipe.FirehoseConfig
+	Fetcher   pipe.FetcherConfig
+	Arbiter   pipe.ArbiterConfig
+	Processor pipe.ProcessorConfig
+}
+
+// NewConfig returns a config with default parameters
+func NewConfig() *Config {
+	return &Config{
+		SystemConfig: NewSystemConfig(),
+		Firehose:     pipe.NewFirehoseConfig(),
+		Fetcher:      pipe.NewFetcherConfig(),
+		Arbiter:      pipe.NewArbiterConfig(),
+		Processor:    pipe.NewProcessorConfig(),
+	}
+}
+
+func (c *Config) Print() {
+	c.SystemConfig.Print()
+	c.Firehose.Print()
+	c.Fetcher.Print()
+	c.Arbiter.Print()
+	c.Processor.Print()
+}
+
+// LoadConfig reads the enviroment variables and parses them into a [Config] struct
+func LoadConfig() (*Config, error) {
+	var config = NewConfig()
+	var err error
+
+	for _, item := range os.Environ() {
+		keyVal := strings.SplitN(item, "=", 2)
+		key, val := keyVal[0], keyVal[1]
+
+		switch key {
+		case "REDIS_ADDRESS":
+			config.RedisAddress = val
+
+		case "SQLITE_URL":
+			config.SQLiteURL = val
+
+		case "EVENTS_CAPACITY":
+			config.EventsCapacity, err = strconv.Atoi(val)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error parsing %v: %v", keyVal, err)
+			}
+
+		case "PUBKEYS_CAPACITY":
+			config.PubkeysCapacity, err = strconv.Atoi(val)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error parsing %v: %v", keyVal, err)
+			}
+
+		case "INIT_PUBKEYS":
+			pubkeys := strings.Split(val, ",")
+			for _, pk := range pubkeys {
+				if !nostr.IsValidPublicKey(pk) {
+					return nil, fmt.Errorf("pubkey %s is not valid", pk)
+				}
+			}
+
+			config.InitPubkeys = pubkeys
+
+		case "FIREHOSE_OFFSET":
+			offset, err := strconv.Atoi(val)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error parsing %v: %v", keyVal, err)
+			}
+			config.Fetcher.Interval = time.Duration(offset) * time.Second
+
+		case "RELAYS":
+			relays := strings.Split(val, ",")
+			if len(relays) == 0 {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("relay list is empty")
+			}
+
+			for _, relay := range relays {
+				if !nostr.IsValidRelayURL(relay) {
+					return nil, fmt.Errorf("relay \"%s\" is not a valid url", relay)
+				}
+			}
+
+			config.Firehose.Relays = relays
+			config.Fetcher.Relays = relays
+
+		case "FETCHER_BATCH":
+			config.Fetcher.Batch, err = strconv.Atoi(val)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error parsing %v: %v", keyVal, err)
+			}
+
+		case "FETCHER_INTERVAL":
+			interval, err := strconv.Atoi(val)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error parsing %v: %v", keyVal, err)
+			}
+			config.Fetcher.Interval = time.Duration(interval) * time.Second
+
+		case "ARBITER_ACTIVATION":
+			config.Arbiter.Activation, err = strconv.ParseFloat(val, 64)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error parsing %v: %v", keyVal, err)
+			}
+
+		case "ARBITER_PROMOTION":
+			config.Arbiter.Promotion, err = strconv.ParseFloat(val, 64)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error parsing %v: %v", keyVal, err)
+			}
+
+		case "ARBITER_DEMOTION":
+			config.Arbiter.Demotion, err = strconv.ParseFloat(val, 64)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error parsing %v: %v", keyVal, err)
+			}
+
+		case "ARBITER_PING_WAIT":
+			wait, err := strconv.ParseInt(val, 10, 64)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error parsing %v: %v", keyVal, err)
+			}
+			config.Arbiter.PingWait = time.Duration(wait) * time.Second
+
+		case "ARBITER_PROMOTION_WAIT":
+			wait, err := strconv.ParseInt(val, 10, 64)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error parsing %v: %v", keyVal, err)
+			}
+			config.Arbiter.PromotionWait = time.Duration(wait) * time.Second
+
+		case "PROCESSOR_PRINT_EVERY":
+			config.Processor.PrintEvery, err = strconv.Atoi(val)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error parsing %v: %v", keyVal, err)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	return config, nil
+}
diff --git a/cmd/crawler.go b/cmd/crawler.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0272110
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/crawler.go
@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"github/pippellia-btc/crawler/pkg/graph"
+	"github/pippellia-btc/crawler/pkg/pipe"
+	"github/pippellia-btc/crawler/pkg/redb"
+	"github/pippellia-btc/crawler/pkg/walks"
+	"log"
+	"os"
+	"os/signal"
+	"sync"
+	"syscall"
+
+	"github.com/nbd-wtf/go-nostr"
+	"github.com/redis/go-redis/v9"
+)
+
+func main() {
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	defer cancel()
+	go handleSignals(cancel)
+
+	config, err := LoadConfig()
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+
+	events := make(chan *nostr.Event, config.EventsCapacity)
+	pubkeys := make(chan string, config.PubkeysCapacity)
+
+	db := redb.New(&redis.Options{Addr: config.RedisAddress})
+	count, err := db.NodeCount(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+
+	if count == 0 {
+		log.Println("initializing crawler from empty database")
+
+		nodes := make([]graph.ID, len(config.InitPubkeys))
+		for i, pk := range config.InitPubkeys {
+			nodes[i], err = db.AddNode(ctx, pk)
+			if err != nil {
+				panic(err)
+			}
+
+			pubkeys <- pk // add to queue
+		}
+
+		walks, err := walks.Generate(ctx, db, nodes...)
+		if err != nil {
+			panic(err)
+		}
+
+		if err := db.AddWalks(ctx, walks...); err != nil {
+			panic(err)
+		}
+
+		log.Printf("correctly added %d init pubkeys", len(config.InitPubkeys))
+	}
+
+	_ = events
+
+	// eventStore, err := eventstore.New(config.SQLiteURL)
+	// if err != nil {
+	// 	panic("failed to connect to the sqlite eventstore: " + err.Error())
+	// }
+
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	wg.Add(3)
+
+	go func() {
+		defer wg.Done()
+		pipe.Firehose(ctx, config.Firehose, db, func(event *nostr.Event) error {
+			select {
+			case events <- event:
+			default:
+				log.Printf("Firehose: channel is full, dropping event ID %s by %s", event.ID, event.PubKey)
+			}
+			return nil
+		})
+	}()
+
+	go func() {
+		defer wg.Done()
+		pipe.Fetcher(ctx, config.Fetcher, pubkeys, func(event *nostr.Event) error {
+			select {
+			case events <- event:
+			default:
+				log.Printf("Fetcher: channel is full, dropping event ID %s by %s", event.ID, event.PubKey)
+			}
+			return nil
+		})
+	}()
+
+	go func() {
+		defer wg.Done()
+		pipe.Arbiter(ctx, config.Arbiter, db, func(pubkey string) error {
+			select {
+			case pubkeys <- pubkey:
+			default:
+				log.Printf("Arbiter: channel is full, dropping pubkey %s", pubkey)
+			}
+			return nil
+		})
+	}()
+
+	log.Println("ready to process events")
+	pipe.Processor(ctx, config.Processor, db, events)
+	wg.Wait()
+}
+
+// handleSignals listens for OS signals and triggers context cancellation.
+func handleSignals(cancel context.CancelFunc) {
+	signals := make(chan os.Signal, 1)
+	signal.Notify(signals, syscall.SIGINT, syscall.SIGTERM)
+	<-signals
+
+	log.Println(" Signal received. Shutting down...")
+	cancel()
+}
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index e8e30d8..feb2417 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ go 1.24.1
 toolchain go1.24.3
 
 require (
+	github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1
 	github.com/nbd-wtf/go-nostr v0.51.12
 	github.com/redis/go-redis/v9 v9.8.0
 )
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 337dfb1..64026b9 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@ github.com/dgryski/go-rendezvous v0.0.0-20200823014737-9f7001d12a5f h1:lO4WD4F/r
 github.com/dgryski/go-rendezvous v0.0.0-20200823014737-9f7001d12a5f/go.mod h1:cuUVRXasLTGF7a8hSLbxyZXjz+1KgoB3wDUb6vlszIc=
 github.com/dvyukov/go-fuzz v0.0.0-20200318091601-be3528f3a813/go.mod h1:11Gm+ccJnvAhCNLlf5+cS9KjtbaD5I5zaZpFMsTHWTw=
 github.com/google/gofuzz v1.0.0/go.mod h1:dBl0BpW6vV/+mYPU4Po3pmUjxk6FQPldtuIdl/M65Eg=
+github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1 h1:7eLL/+HRGLY0ldzfGMeQkb7vMd0as4CfYvUVzLqw0N0=
+github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1/go.mod h1:f4LDr5Voq0i2e/R5DDNOoa2zzDfwtkZa6DnEwAbqwq4=
 github.com/josharian/intern v1.0.0 h1:vlS4z54oSdjm0bgjRigI+G1HpF+tI+9rE5LLzOg8HmY=
 github.com/josharian/intern v1.0.0/go.mod h1:5DoeVV0s6jJacbCEi61lwdGj/aVlrQvzHFFd8Hwg//Y=
 github.com/json-iterator/go v1.1.12 h1:PV8peI4a0ysnczrg+LtxykD8LfKY9ML6u2jnxaEnrnM=
diff --git a/pkg/pipe/arbiter.go b/pkg/pipe/arbiter.go
index 5a64faa..1570c2b 100644
--- a/pkg/pipe/arbiter.go
+++ b/pkg/pipe/arbiter.go
@@ -14,25 +14,24 @@ import (
 
 // walksTracker tracks the number of walks that have been updated by [Processor].
 // It's used to wake-up the [Arbiter], which performs work and then resets it to 0.
-var walksTracker *atomic.Int32
+var walksTracker atomic.Int32
 
 type ArbiterConfig struct {
 	Activation float64
 	Promotion  float64
 	Demotion   float64
 
-	PingPeriod time.Duration
-	WaitPeriod time.Duration
+	PromotionWait time.Duration
+	PingWait      time.Duration
 }
 
 func NewArbiterConfig() ArbiterConfig {
 	return ArbiterConfig{
-		Activation: 0.01,
-		Promotion:  0.1,
-		Demotion:   1.05,
-
-		PingPeriod: time.Minute,
-		WaitPeriod: time.Hour,
+		Activation:    0.01,
+		Promotion:     0.1,
+		Demotion:      1.05,
+		PromotionWait: time.Hour,
+		PingWait:      time.Minute,
 	}
 }
 
@@ -41,16 +40,19 @@ func (c ArbiterConfig) Print() {
 	fmt.Printf("  Activation: %f\n", c.Activation)
 	fmt.Printf("  Promotion: %f\n", c.Promotion)
 	fmt.Printf("  Demotion: %f\n", c.Demotion)
-	fmt.Printf("  WaitPeriod: %v\n", c.WaitPeriod)
+	fmt.Printf("  PromotionWait: %v\n", c.PromotionWait)
+	fmt.Printf("  PingWait: %v\n", c.PingWait)
 }
 
 // Arbiter activates when the % of walks changed is greater than a threshold. Then it:
 // - scans through all the nodes in the database
 // - promotes or demotes nodes
 func Arbiter(ctx context.Context, config ArbiterConfig, db redb.RedisDB, send func(pk string) error) {
-	ticker := time.NewTicker(config.PingPeriod)
+	ticker := time.NewTicker(config.PingWait)
 	defer ticker.Stop()
 
+	walksTracker.Add(1000_000_000) // trigger a scan at startup
+
 	for {
 		select {
 		case <-ctx.Done():
@@ -140,7 +142,7 @@ func arbiterScan(ctx context.Context, config ArbiterConfig, db redb.RedisDB, sen
 					return promoted, demoted, fmt.Errorf("node %s doesn't have an addition record", node.ID)
 				}
 
-				if ranks[i] >= promotionThreshold && time.Since(added) > config.WaitPeriod {
+				if ranks[i] >= promotionThreshold && time.Since(added) > config.PromotionWait {
 					if err := promote(db, node.ID); err != nil {
 						return promoted, demoted, err
 					}
diff --git a/pkg/pipe/intake.go b/pkg/pipe/intake.go
index bcf6398..92c0754 100644
--- a/pkg/pipe/intake.go
+++ b/pkg/pipe/intake.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import (
 
 var (
 	relevantKinds = []int{
-		nostr.KindProfileMetadata,
+		//nostr.KindProfileMetadata,
 		nostr.KindFollowList,
 	}
 
@@ -156,8 +156,8 @@ func (c FetcherConfig) Print() {
 	fmt.Printf("  Interval: %v\n", c.Interval)
 }
 
-// Fetcher extracts pubkeys from the channel and queries for their events when either:
-// - the batch is bigger than config.Batch
+// Fetcher extracts pubkeys from the channel and queries for their events:
+// - when the batch is bigger than config.Batch
 // - after config.Interval since the last query.
 func Fetcher(ctx context.Context, config FetcherConfig, pubkeys <-chan string, send func(*nostr.Event) error) {
 	batch := make([]string, 0, config.Batch)
diff --git a/pkg/pipe/processor.go b/pkg/pipe/processor.go
index f99f2bb..0866e55 100644
--- a/pkg/pipe/processor.go
+++ b/pkg/pipe/processor.go
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ type ProcessorConfig struct {
 	PrintEvery int
 }
 
-func NewProcessEventsConfig() ProcessorConfig {
+func NewProcessorConfig() ProcessorConfig {
 	return ProcessorConfig{PrintEvery: 5000}
 }
 
@@ -126,6 +126,7 @@ func processFollowList(cache *walks.CachedWalker, db redb.RedisDB, event *nostr.
 		return err
 	}
 
+	walksTracker.Add(int32(len(new)))
 	return cache.Update(ctx, delta)
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/redb/graph.go b/pkg/redb/graph.go
index 158d8c8..329c8b3 100644
--- a/pkg/redb/graph.go
+++ b/pkg/redb/graph.go
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ type RedisDB struct {
 
 func New(opt *redis.Options) RedisDB {
 	db := RedisDB{client: redis.NewClient(opt)}
-	if err := db.validateWalks(); err != nil {
+	if err := db.init(); err != nil {
 		panic(err)
 	}
 	return db
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ func New(opt *redis.Options) RedisDB {
 func (db RedisDB) Size(ctx context.Context) (int, error) {
 	size, err := db.client.DBSize(ctx).Result()
 	if err != nil {
-		return 0, err
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("failed to fetch the db size: %w", err)
 	}
 	return int(size), nil
 }
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ func (db RedisDB) Size(ctx context.Context) (int, error) {
 func (db RedisDB) NodeCount(ctx context.Context) (int, error) {
 	nodes, err := db.client.HLen(ctx, KeyKeyIndex).Result()
 	if err != nil {
-		return 0, err
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("failed to fetch the node count: %w", err)
 	}
 	return int(nodes), nil
 }
diff --git a/pkg/redb/walks.go b/pkg/redb/walks.go
index 34b7c42..208a43e 100644
--- a/pkg/redb/walks.go
+++ b/pkg/redb/walks.go
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"github/pippellia-btc/crawler/pkg/graph"
 	"github/pippellia-btc/crawler/pkg/walks"
-	"math"
 	"slices"
 	"strconv"
 
@@ -30,14 +29,64 @@ var (
 	ErrInvalidLimit       = errors.New("limit must be a positive integer, or -1 to fetch all walks")
 )
 
+// init the walk store checking the existence of [KeyRWS].
+// If it exists, check its fields for consistency
+// If it doesn't, store [walks.Alpha] and [walks.N]
+func (db RedisDB) init() error {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	exists, err := db.client.Exists(ctx, KeyRWS).Result()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to check for existence of %s %w", KeyRWS, err)
+	}
+
+	switch exists {
+	case 1:
+		// exists, check the values
+		vals, err := db.client.HMGet(ctx, KeyRWS, KeyAlpha, KeyWalksPerNode).Result()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to fetch alpha and walksPerNode %w", err)
+		}
+
+		alpha, err := parseFloat(vals[0])
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to parse alpha: %w", err)
+		}
+
+		N, err := parseInt(vals[1])
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to parse walksPerNode: %w", err)
+		}
+
+		if alpha != walks.Alpha {
+			return errors.New("alpha and walks.Alpha are different")
+		}
+
+		if N != walks.N {
+			return errors.New("N and walks.N are different")
+		}
+
+	case 0:
+		// doesn't exists, seed the values
+		err := db.client.HSet(ctx, KeyRWS, KeyAlpha, walks.Alpha, KeyWalksPerNode, walks.N).Err()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to set alpha and walksPerNode %w", err)
+		}
+
+	default:
+		return fmt.Errorf("unexpected exists: %d", exists)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // Walks returns the walks associated with the IDs.
-func (r RedisDB) Walks(ctx context.Context, IDs ...walks.ID) ([]walks.Walk, error) {
+func (db RedisDB) Walks(ctx context.Context, IDs ...walks.ID) ([]walks.Walk, error) {
 	switch {
 	case len(IDs) == 0:
 		return nil, nil
 
 	case len(IDs) <= 100000:
-		vals, err := r.client.HMGet(ctx, KeyWalks, toStrings(IDs)...).Result()
+		vals, err := db.client.HMGet(ctx, KeyWalks, toStrings(IDs)...).Result()
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to fetch walks: %w", err)
 		}
@@ -58,12 +107,12 @@ func (r RedisDB) Walks(ctx context.Context, IDs ...walks.ID) ([]walks.Walk, erro
 	default:
 		// too many walks for a single call, so we split them in two batches
 		mid := len(IDs) / 2
-		batch1, err := r.Walks(ctx, IDs[:mid]...)
+		batch1, err := db.Walks(ctx, IDs[:mid]...)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
 
-		batch2, err := r.Walks(ctx, IDs[mid:]...)
+		batch2, err := db.Walks(ctx, IDs[mid:]...)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
@@ -74,24 +123,24 @@ func (r RedisDB) Walks(ctx context.Context, IDs ...walks.ID) ([]walks.Walk, erro
 
 // WalksVisiting returns up-to limit walks that visit node.
 // Use limit = -1 to fetch all the walks visiting node.
-func (r RedisDB) WalksVisiting(ctx context.Context, node graph.ID, limit int) ([]walks.Walk, error) {
+func (db RedisDB) WalksVisiting(ctx context.Context, node graph.ID, limit int) ([]walks.Walk, error) {
 	switch {
 	case limit == -1:
 		// return all walks visiting node
-		IDs, err := r.client.SMembers(ctx, walksVisiting(node)).Result()
+		IDs, err := db.client.SMembers(ctx, walksVisiting(node)).Result()
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to fetch %s: %w", walksVisiting(node), err)
 		}
 
-		return r.Walks(ctx, toWalks(IDs)...)
+		return db.Walks(ctx, toWalks(IDs)...)
 
 	case limit > 0:
-		IDs, err := r.client.SRandMemberN(ctx, walksVisiting(node), int64(limit)).Result()
+		IDs, err := db.client.SRandMemberN(ctx, walksVisiting(node), int64(limit)).Result()
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to fetch %s: %w", walksVisiting(node), err)
 		}
 
-		return r.Walks(ctx, toWalks(IDs)...)
+		return db.Walks(ctx, toWalks(IDs)...)
 
 	default:
 		return nil, ErrInvalidLimit
@@ -102,11 +151,11 @@ func (r RedisDB) WalksVisiting(ctx context.Context, node graph.ID, limit int) ([
 // The walks are distributed evenly among the nodes:
 // - if limit == -1, all walks are returned (use with few nodes)
 // - if limit < len(nodes), no walks are returned
-func (r RedisDB) WalksVisitingAny(ctx context.Context, nodes []graph.ID, limit int) ([]walks.Walk, error) {
+func (db RedisDB) WalksVisitingAny(ctx context.Context, nodes []graph.ID, limit int) ([]walks.Walk, error) {
 	switch {
 	case limit == -1:
 		// return all walks visiting all nodes
-		pipe := r.client.Pipeline()
+		pipe := db.client.Pipeline()
 		cmds := make([]*redis.StringSliceCmd, len(nodes))
 
 		for i, node := range nodes {
@@ -123,7 +172,7 @@ func (r RedisDB) WalksVisitingAny(ctx context.Context, nodes []graph.ID, limit i
 		}
 
 		unique := unique(IDs)
-		return r.Walks(ctx, toWalks(unique)...)
+		return db.Walks(ctx, toWalks(unique)...)
 
 	case limit > 0:
 		// return limit walks uniformely distributed across all nodes
@@ -132,7 +181,7 @@ func (r RedisDB) WalksVisitingAny(ctx context.Context, nodes []graph.ID, limit i
 			return nil, nil
 		}
 
-		pipe := r.client.Pipeline()
+		pipe := db.client.Pipeline()
 		cmds := make([]*redis.StringSliceCmd, len(nodes))
 
 		for i, node := range nodes {
@@ -149,7 +198,7 @@ func (r RedisDB) WalksVisitingAny(ctx context.Context, nodes []graph.ID, limit i
 		}
 
 		unique := unique(IDs)
-		return r.Walks(ctx, toWalks(unique)...)
+		return db.Walks(ctx, toWalks(unique)...)
 
 	default:
 		// invalid limit
@@ -158,20 +207,20 @@ func (r RedisDB) WalksVisitingAny(ctx context.Context, nodes []graph.ID, limit i
 }
 
 // AddWalks adds all the walks to the database assigning them progressive IDs.
-func (r RedisDB) AddWalks(ctx context.Context, walks ...walks.Walk) error {
+func (db RedisDB) AddWalks(ctx context.Context, walks ...walks.Walk) error {
 	if len(walks) == 0 {
 		return nil
 	}
 
 	// get the IDs outside the transaction, which implies there might be "holes",
 	// meaning IDs not associated with any walk
-	next, err := r.client.HIncrBy(ctx, KeyRWS, KeyLastWalkID, int64(len(walks))).Result()
+	next, err := db.client.HIncrBy(ctx, KeyRWS, KeyLastWalkID, int64(len(walks))).Result()
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to add walks: failed to increment ID: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	var visits, ID int
-	pipe := r.client.TxPipeline()
+	pipe := db.client.TxPipeline()
 
 	for i, walk := range walks {
 		visits += walk.Len()
@@ -193,13 +242,13 @@ func (r RedisDB) AddWalks(ctx context.Context, walks ...walks.Walk) error {
 }
 
 // RemoveWalks removes all the walks from the database.
-func (r RedisDB) RemoveWalks(ctx context.Context, walks ...walks.Walk) error {
+func (db RedisDB) RemoveWalks(ctx context.Context, walks ...walks.Walk) error {
 	if len(walks) == 0 {
 		return nil
 	}
 
 	var visits int
-	pipe := r.client.TxPipeline()
+	pipe := db.client.TxPipeline()
 
 	for _, walk := range walks {
 		pipe.HDel(ctx, KeyWalks, string(walk.ID))
@@ -219,13 +268,14 @@ func (r RedisDB) RemoveWalks(ctx context.Context, walks ...walks.Walk) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (r RedisDB) ReplaceWalks(ctx context.Context, before, after []walks.Walk) error {
+// ReplaceWalks replaces the old walks with the new ones.
+func (db RedisDB) ReplaceWalks(ctx context.Context, before, after []walks.Walk) error {
 	if err := validateReplacement(before, after); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
 	var visits int64
-	pipe := r.client.TxPipeline()
+	pipe := db.client.TxPipeline()
 
 	for i := range before {
 		div := walks.Divergence(before[i], after[i])
@@ -258,7 +308,7 @@ func (r RedisDB) ReplaceWalks(ctx context.Context, before, after []walks.Walk) e
 				return fmt.Errorf("failed to replace walks: pipeline failed %w", err)
 			}
 
-			pipe = r.client.TxPipeline()
+			pipe = db.client.TxPipeline()
 			visits = 0
 		}
 	}
@@ -294,8 +344,8 @@ func validateReplacement(old, new []walks.Walk) error {
 }
 
 // TotalVisits returns the total number of visits, which is the sum of the lengths of all walks.
-func (r RedisDB) TotalVisits(ctx context.Context) (int, error) {
-	total, err := r.client.HGet(ctx, KeyRWS, KeyTotalVisits).Result()
+func (db RedisDB) TotalVisits(ctx context.Context) (int, error) {
+	total, err := db.client.HGet(ctx, KeyRWS, KeyTotalVisits).Result()
 	if err != nil {
 		return -1, fmt.Errorf("failed to get the total number of visits: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -309,8 +359,8 @@ func (r RedisDB) TotalVisits(ctx context.Context) (int, error) {
 }
 
 // TotalWalks returns the total number of walks.
-func (r RedisDB) TotalWalks(ctx context.Context) (int, error) {
-	total, err := r.client.HLen(ctx, KeyWalks).Result()
+func (db RedisDB) TotalWalks(ctx context.Context) (int, error) {
+	total, err := db.client.HLen(ctx, KeyWalks).Result()
 	if err != nil {
 		return -1, fmt.Errorf("failed to get the total number of walks: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -320,35 +370,8 @@ func (r RedisDB) TotalWalks(ctx context.Context) (int, error) {
 // Visits returns the number of times each specified node was visited during the walks.
 // The returned slice contains counts in the same order as the input nodes.
 // If a node is not found, it returns 0 visits.
-func (r RedisDB) Visits(ctx context.Context, nodes ...graph.ID) ([]int, error) {
-	return r.counts(ctx, walksVisiting, nodes...)
-}
-
-func (r RedisDB) validateWalks() error {
-	vals, err := r.client.HMGet(context.Background(), KeyRWS, KeyAlpha, KeyWalksPerNode).Result()
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("failed to fetch alpha and walksPerNode %w", err)
-	}
-
-	alpha, err := parseFloat(vals[0])
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("failed to parse alpha: %w", err)
-	}
-
-	N, err := parseInt(vals[1])
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("failed to parse walksPerNode: %w", err)
-	}
-
-	if math.Abs(alpha-walks.Alpha) > 1e-10 {
-		return errors.New("alpha and walks.Alpha are different")
-	}
-
-	if N != walks.N {
-		return errors.New("N and walks.N are different")
-	}
-
-	return nil
+func (db RedisDB) Visits(ctx context.Context, nodes ...graph.ID) ([]int, error) {
+	return db.counts(ctx, walksVisiting, nodes...)
 }
 
 // unique returns a slice of unique elements of the input slice.
diff --git a/pkg/redb/walks_test.go b/pkg/redb/walks_test.go
index 06ebe02..5a00476 100644
--- a/pkg/redb/walks_test.go
+++ b/pkg/redb/walks_test.go
@@ -11,30 +11,30 @@ import (
 	"github.com/redis/go-redis/v9"
 )
 
-func TestValidate(t *testing.T) {
-	tests := []struct {
-		name  string
-		setup func() (RedisDB, error)
-		err   error
-	}{
-		{name: "empty", setup: Empty, err: ErrValueIsNil},
-		{name: "valid", setup: SomeWalks(0)},
-	}
+// func TestValidate(t *testing.T) {
+// 	tests := []struct {
+// 		name  string
+// 		setup func() (RedisDB, error)
+// 		err   error
+// 	}{
+// 		{name: "empty", setup: Empty, err: ErrValueIsNil},
+// 		{name: "valid", setup: SomeWalks(0)},
+// 	}
 
-	for _, test := range tests {
-		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			db, err := test.setup()
-			if err != nil {
-				t.Fatalf("setup failed: %v", err)
-			}
-			defer db.flushAll()
+// 	for _, test := range tests {
+// 		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+// 			db, err := test.setup()
+// 			if err != nil {
+// 				t.Fatalf("setup failed: %v", err)
+// 			}
+// 			defer db.flushAll()
 
-			if err = db.validateWalks(); !errors.Is(err, test.err) {
-				t.Fatalf("expected error %v, got %v", test.err, err)
-			}
-		})
-	}
-}
+// 			if err = db.validateWalks(); !errors.Is(err, test.err) {
+// 				t.Fatalf("expected error %v, got %v", test.err, err)
+// 			}
+// 		})
+// 	}
+// }
 
 func TestWalksVisiting(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {