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Bootstrap full node from a snapshot

Goal​

This article will guide you to bootstrap Hathor full node from a snapshot.

Snapshot is a file that reflects the state of the ledger at a particular moment in time, and can be used to recreate this state.

For more, see Snapshot at encyclopedia.

Requirement​

Hathor core ≥\ge v0.58.0

Step-by-step​

  1. Obtain the snapshot.
  2. Apply the snapshot.

Step 1: obtain the snapshot​

  1. Start a shell session.

  2. Change the working directory to where the application (Hathor core) is located — namely, source code and database, or just database.

  3. Remove the data directory if it exists.

  4. Download the latest snapshot of the network you want to connect the full node:

wget $(curl https://hathor-public-files.s3.amazonaws.com/temp/testnet-data-latest)
  1. Extract the snapshot from the tar archive:
tar xzf testnet-*.tar.gz

At this point, you should end up with the data directory — containing the blockchain — at the (current) working directory.

Step 2: apply the snapshot​

To apply the snapshot, just start Hathor core as usual. This procedure will vary depending on how you installed it:

Task completed​

Your full node will bootstrap, loading the blockchain state portrayed by the snapshot, and then begin to sync with its peers from that point — i.e., the point when Hathor Labs took the snapshot of the blockchain state.

Note that in this guide, we used the latest available snapshot, assuming your goal is to expedite the synchronization of your full node with Hathor Network — which is the most common use case for bootstrapping a node from a snapshot.

If you need to bootstrap from a snapshot for a different reason, replace the URL in the substep 4 of step 1 with the one that points to the snapshot of the specific checkpoint you require.

What's next?​