> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.stable.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Snapshots & sync guide

> Snapshot-based sync methods for rapidly bootstrapping Stable full and archive nodes.

This guide covers various methods to synchronize your Stable node quickly using snapshots and state sync.

## Sync methods overview

| Method               | Sync Time | Storage Required | Use Case                       |
| -------------------- | --------- | ---------------- | ------------------------------ |
| **Pruned Snapshot**  | \~10 min  | \< 5 GiB         | Regular full nodes             |
| **Archive Snapshot** | \~1 hours | \~500 GB         | Archive nodes, block explorers |

## Official snapshots

Stable provides official snapshots updated daily (00:00 UTC).

### Snapshot information

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Mainnet">
    | Type        | Compression | Size     | URL                                                                                                      | Update Frequency |
    | ----------- | ----------- | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- |
    | **Pruned**  | LZ4         | \< 5 GiB | [Download](https://stable-data-dist.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mainnet/snapshots/snapshot.tar.lz4)       | Daily            |
    | **Archive** | ZSTD        | \~300 GB | [Download](https://stable-data-dist.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mainnet/snapshots/stable_archive.tar.zst) | Weekly           |
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Testnet">
    | Type        | Compression | Size     | URL                                                                                                      | Update Frequency |
    | ----------- | ----------- | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- |
    | **Pruned**  | LZ4         | \< 5 GiB | [Download](https://stable-data-dist.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/testnet/snapshots/snapshot.tar.lz4)       | Daily            |
    | **Archive** | ZSTD        | \~800 GB | [Download](https://stable-data-dist.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/testnet/snapshots/stable_archive.tar.zst) | Weekly           |
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Using pruned snapshots

Pruned snapshots contain recent blockchain state (last 100-1000 blocks).

### Step 1: set environment variable

```bash theme={"dark"}
# Set service name (default: stable)
export SERVICE_NAME=stable
```

### Step 2: stop node service

```bash theme={"dark"}
# Stop the running node
sudo systemctl stop ${SERVICE_NAME}

# Verify it's stopped
sudo systemctl status ${SERVICE_NAME}
```

### Step 3: backup current data (optional)

```bash theme={"dark"}
# Create backup directory
mkdir -p ~/stable-backup

# Backup current state (optional, requires significant space)
cp -r ~/.stabled/data ~/stable-backup/
```

### Step 4: download and extract pruned snapshot

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Mainnet">
    ```bash theme={"dark"}
    # Install dependencies
    sudo apt install -y wget zstd pv

    # Create snapshot directory
    mkdir -p ~/snapshot
    cd ~/snapshot

    # Download pruned snapshot with progress
    wget -c https://stable-data-dist.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mainnet/snapshots/snapshot.tar.lz4

    # Remove old data
    rm -rf ~/.stabled/data/*

    # Extract snapshot with progress indicator
    pv stable_pruned.tar.zst | zstd -d -c | tar -xf - -C ~/.stabled/

    # Alternative extraction without pv
    zstd -d stable_pruned.tar.zst -c | tar -xvf - -C ~/.stabled/

    # Clean up
    rm stable_pruned.tar.zst
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Testnet">
    ```bash theme={"dark"}
    # Install dependencies
    sudo apt install -y wget lz4 pv

    # Create snapshot directory
    mkdir -p ~/snapshot
    cd ~/snapshot

    # Download pruned snapshot with progress
    wget -c https://stable-data-dist.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/testnet/snapshots/snapshot.tar.lz4

    # Alternative: Download with resume support
    curl -C - -o snapshot.tar.lz4 https://stable-data-dist.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/testnet/snapshots/snapshot.tar.lz4

    # Remove old data
    rm -rf ~/.stabled/data/*

    # Extract snapshot with progress indicator
    pv snapshot.tar.lz4 | tar -I lz4 -xf - -C ~/.stabled/

    # Alternative extraction without pv
    tar -I lz4 -xvf snapshot.tar.lz4 -C ~/.stabled/

    # Clean up
    rm snapshot.tar.lz4
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Step 5: restart node

```bash theme={"dark"}
# Start the node
sudo systemctl start ${SERVICE_NAME}

# Check status
sudo systemctl status ${SERVICE_NAME}

# Monitor logs
sudo journalctl -u stabled -f
```

## Using archive snapshots

Archive snapshots contain complete blockchain history.

### Step 1: prepare system

```bash theme={"dark"}
# Stop node
sudo systemctl stop ${SERVICE_NAME}

# Install dependencies
sudo apt install -y wget zstd pv

# Check available disk space (need 2x snapshot size)
df -h ~/.stabled
```

### Step 2: download and extract archive snapshot

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Mainnet">
    ```bash theme={"dark"}
    # Create working directory
    mkdir -p ~/snapshot
    cd ~/snapshot

    # Download archive snapshot
    wget -c https://stable-data-dist.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/mainnet/snapshots/stable_archive.tar.zst

    # Clear old data
    rm -rf ~/.stabled/data/*

    # Extract with high memory for better performance
    pv stable_archive.tar.zst | zstd -d --long=31 --memory=2048MB -c - | tar -xf - -C ~/.stabled/

    # Alternative: Standard extraction
    zstd -d --long=31 stable_archive.tar.zst -c | tar -xvf - -C ~/.stabled/

    # Clean up
    rm stable_archive.tar.zst
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Testnet">
    ```bash theme={"dark"}
    # Create working directory
    mkdir -p ~/snapshot
    cd ~/snapshot

    # Download archive snapshot
    wget -c https://stable-data-dist.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/testnet/snapshots/stable_archive.tar.zst

    # Clear old data
    rm -rf ~/.stabled/data/*

    # Extract with high memory for better performance
    pv archive.tar.zst | zstd -d --long=31 --memory=2048MB -c - | tar -xf - -C ~/.stabled/

    # Alternative: Standard extraction
    zstd -d --long=31 archive.tar.zst -c | tar -xvf - -C ~/.stabled/

    # Clean up
    rm archive.tar.zst
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Step 3: start node

```bash theme={"dark"}
# Start service
sudo systemctl start ${SERVICE_NAME}

# Verify sync status
curl -s localhost:26657/status | jq '.result.sync_info'
```

## Creating your own snapshots

### Manual snapshot creation

```bash theme={"dark"}
# Stop node
sudo systemctl stop ${SERVICE_NAME}

# Create snapshot archive
cd ~/.stabled
tar -cf - data/ | lz4 -9 > ~/stable-snapshot-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.lz4

# Create checksum
sha256sum ~/stable-snapshot-*.tar.lz4 > checksums.txt

# Restart node
sudo systemctl start ${SERVICE_NAME}
```

### Automated snapshot script

```bash theme={"dark"}
#!/bin/bash
# snapshot.sh - Automated snapshot creation

# Configuration
SNAPSHOT_DIR="/var/snapshots"
STABLED_HOME="$HOME/.stabled"
KEEP_DAYS=7

# Create snapshot directory
mkdir -p $SNAPSHOT_DIR

# Stop node
sudo systemctl stop ${SERVICE_NAME}

# Create snapshot
SNAPSHOT_NAME="stable-snapshot-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).tar.lz4"
tar -cf - -C $STABLED_HOME data/ | lz4 -9 > $SNAPSHOT_DIR/$SNAPSHOT_NAME

# Generate metadata
cat > $SNAPSHOT_DIR/latest.json <<EOF
{
  "filename": "$SNAPSHOT_NAME",
  "height": "$(cat $STABLED_HOME/data/cs.wal/wal | grep height | tail -1 | awk '{print $2}' | tr -d ',')",
  "timestamp": "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)",
  "size": "$(du -h $SNAPSHOT_DIR/$SNAPSHOT_NAME | awk '{print $1}')",
  "checksum": "$(sha256sum $SNAPSHOT_DIR/$SNAPSHOT_NAME | awk '{print $1}')"
}
EOF

# Clean old snapshots
find $SNAPSHOT_DIR -name "stable-snapshot-*.tar.lz4" -mtime +$KEEP_DAYS -delete

# Restart node
sudo systemctl start ${SERVICE_NAME}

echo "Snapshot created: $SNAPSHOT_DIR/$SNAPSHOT_NAME"
```

### Schedule automated snapshots

```bash theme={"dark"}
# Add to crontab (weekly on Sunday at 2 AM)
(crontab -l ; echo "0 2 * * 0 /usr/local/bin/snapshot.sh") | crontab -
```

## Verification and troubleshooting

### Verify snapshot integrity

```bash theme={"dark"}
# Check snapshot checksum
sha256sum -c checksums.txt

# Verify extraction
tar -I lz4 -tvf snapshot.tar.lz4 | head -20

# Test snapshot size
tar -I lz4 -tvf snapshot.tar.lz4 | wc -l
```

### Common issues

#### Issue: snapshot extraction fails

```bash theme={"dark"}
# Check disk space
df -h

# Verify file integrity
lz4 -t snapshot.tar.lz4

# Try alternative extraction
lz4 -d snapshot.tar.lz4 snapshot.tar
tar -xvf snapshot.tar -C ~/.stabled/
```

#### Issue: node won't start after snapshot

```bash theme={"dark"}
# Check permissions
ls -la ~/.stabled/data/

# Fix permissions
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER ~/.stabled/

# Verify genesis file
sha256sum ~/.stabled/config/genesis.json

# Reset and try again
stabled comet unsafe-reset-all
# Then restore snapshot
```

#### Issue: state sync fails

```bash theme={"dark"}
# Try different RPC servers
# Update config.toml with alternative RPCs

# Increase chunk fetchers
sed -i 's/chunk_fetchers = .*/chunk_fetchers = 8/' ~/.stabled/config/config.toml

# Clear and retry
stabled comet unsafe-reset-all --keep-addr-book
```

## Performance optimization

### Download optimization

```bash theme={"dark"}
# Use aria2 for parallel downloads
aria2c -x 16 -s 16 https://stable-data-dist.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/testnet/snapshots/snapshot.tar.lz4

# Use wget with compression
wget --header="Accept-Encoding: gzip" -c URL

# Resume interrupted downloads
curl -C - -o snapshot.tar.lz4 URL
```

### Extraction optimization

```bash theme={"dark"}
# Use parallel extraction
pigz -d -c snapshot.tar.gz | tar -xf - -C ~/.stabled/

# Monitor extraction progress
pv snapshot.tar.lz4 | tar -I lz4 -xf - -C ~/.stabled/

# Use more memory for zstd
zstd -d --long=31 --memory=4096MB archive.tar.zst
```

## Best practices

1. **Always backup validator keys** before replacing data
2. **Verify checksums** before extracting snapshots
3. **Monitor disk space** during extraction (need 2x snapshot size)
4. **Use official snapshots** when possible
5. **Test snapshots** in non-production environment first
6. **Schedule regular snapshots** for your archive nodes
7. **Document snapshot sources** for audit trail

## Next steps

* [Configure your node](/en/reference/node-configuration) for optimal performance
* [Set up monitoring](/en/how-to/monitor-node) to track sync progress
* [Review troubleshooting](/en/how-to/troubleshoot-node) for common issues