Node Snapshots

This page explains how to use snapshots to quickly spin up Gate Layer nodes (full and archive), including when to use them, how to download and verify, and how to replace the data directory safely.

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1. When to use snapshots

• Faster sync: Start from an official data directory to significantly reduce initial sync time.
• Archive needs: Required for deep historical tracing and complete chain data.
• Disaster recovery: Rapidly restore a failed node to a known point-in-time.

Note: The execution client is gatelayer-geth; snapshots primarily target its data directory.

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2. Snapshot catalog & downloads

Mainnet (Gate Layer)

Node Type	Download
Full	wget https://gatelayer-snapshot.s3.ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com/mainnet/full/$ (curl -s https://gatelayer-snapshot.gatenode.cc/api/v1/snapshots/latest/full)
Archive	wget https://gatelayer-snapshot.s3.ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com/mainnet/archive/$ (curl -s https://gatelayer-snapshot.gatenode.cc/api/v1/snapshots/latest/archive)

Note: Checksums use xxHash128. Prefer publishing .tar.zst packages alongside .xxh checksum files.

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3. Usage tutorial

3.1 Download and verify

Note: To download the archive node snapshot, simply replace full with archive in the URLs.

3.1.1 Get the latest Snapshot name

curl -s https://gatelayer-snapshot.gatenode.cc/api/v1/snapshots/latest/full

3.1.2 Download the Snapshot file

SNAPSHOT=$(curl -s https://gatelayer-snapshot.gatenode.cc/api/v1/snapshots/latest/full)

wget https://gatelayer-snapshot.s3.ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com/mainnet/full/${SNAPSHOT}

3.1.3 Download the xxHash128 checksum file

wget https://gatelayer-snapshot.s3.ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com/mainnet/full/${SNAPSHOT}.xxh128

3.1.4 Check the official checksum value

cat ${SNAPSHOT}.xxh128

3.1.5 Verify data integrity (recomended)

xxh128sum ${SNAPSHOT}

Note: Compare the calculated result with the hash in the .xxh128 file; they must be identical.

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3.2 Decompress

# Method 1:
tar -I zstd -xf chaindata-2025-11-17.tar.zst

# Method 2:
zstd -d < chaindata-2025-11-17.tar.zst | tar -xf -

Note: The snapshot includes only geth/chaindata.

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3.3 Replace the data directory (gatelayer-geth)

Stop gatelayer-geth cleanly before proceeding:

# 1) Stop the execution client (ensure it fully exits)
#    systemctl stop gatelayer-geth  OR  pkill -f gatelayer-geth

# 2) Backup existing data
mv ${OPGeth_DataDir}/geth/chaindata ${OPGeth_DataDir}/geth/chaindata_backup

# 3) Move snapshot data into place
mv ./chaindata ${OPGeth_DataDir}/geth/chaindata

# 4) Restart the execution client and watch logs
#    systemctl start gatelayer-geth  OR  re-run your start command

Path note: $OPGeth_DataDir is the gatelayer-geth data directory (must match your --datadir path).

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4. Important notes

• Checksum integrity: Always verify xxHash128sum to avoid database errors caused by corrupted downloads.
• Do not include geth/nodekey when building your own snapshot: each node must have a unique P2P nodekey or P2P connectivity issues may occur.
• State DB scheme: Use a snapshot that matches the chain’s configured state scheme. Official Gate Layer snapshots will match the network configuration.
• Archive size: Archive snapshots can be very large; expect longer download/decompression and significantly more disk usage.

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For end-to-end node deployment, see Run L2 RPC Node under Gate Layer Development.

Last updated on 2026/04/10