# min_allowed_weights (/docs/hyperparameters/min-allowed-weights)

`min_allowed_weights` is the floor on how many miners a validator must score in
a single weight submission. Subnet owners raise it to force validators to
evaluate a broad slice of the miner pool instead of concentrating weight on a
favored few; validators care because a submission with too few entries is
rejected outright.

## How it works [#how-it-works]

`set_weights` validates the submission length in `check_length`
(`pallets/subtensor/src/subnets/weights.rs`). The effective minimum is the
smaller of `min_allowed_weights` and the subnet's current neuron count, so a
freshly launched subnet with 5 neurons and a minimum of 50 still accepts
5-entry submissions. Anything below the effective minimum fails with
`WeightVecLengthIsLow`. A single **self-weight** — one entry naming the
validator's own UID — is exempt, as it is from most weight checks.

What counts is the number of weights that actually reach the chain. The SDK
quantizes weights to u16 and drops zeros before submitting, then enforces the
minimum on what remains — so `btcli tx set-weights` (the `set_weights` intent)
fails fast client-side with the same rule instead of burning an on-chain
submission. Assigning zero to a miner does not help you meet the minimum.

<HyperparamWeightsRules focus="min_allowed_weights" />

## Reading and setting [#reading-and-setting]

```bash
btcli sudo get --netuid N --name min_allowed_weights
```

Owner-settable; the value is a plain integer count:

```bash
btcli sudo set --netuid N --name min_allowed_weights --value 8
```

## Related [#related]

* [`max_weights_limit`](/docs/hyperparameters/max-weights-limit) — cap on any single weight in the same submission
* [`weights_rate_limit`](/docs/hyperparameters/weights-rate-limit) — how often submissions are accepted
* [`weights_version`](/docs/hyperparameters/weights-version) — version gate on submissions
* [`commit_reveal_weights_enabled`](/docs/hyperparameters/commit-reveal-weights-enabled) — whether weights go through commit-reveal
* [`max_allowed_uids`](/docs/hyperparameters/max-allowed-uids) — the pool of UIDs available to weight