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Heimdall and Bor Snapshots

When setting up a new sentry, validator, or full node server, it is recommended that you use a snapshot for faster syncing without having to sync over the network. Using snapshots will save you several days for both Heimdall and Bor.

tip

For the latest snapshot, please visit Polygon Chains Snapshots.

Heimdall Snapshot​

First, you need to set up your node with prerequisites as per the node setup guide. Before you start services for Heimdall to sync, follow the steps below to use the snapshot:

  1. Download the snapshot tar file of Heimdall on your VM by running the following command:
aria2c -x6 -s6  <snapshot_url>

// For example, this will download the snapshot of Heimdall:
aria2c -x6 -s6 https://matic-blockchain-snapshots.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/matic-mainnet/heimdall-mainnet-fullnode-2023-03-04.tar.zst
  1. To unpack the tar file in the Heimdall data directory, run the following command:
// install decompression and progress bar dependencies
sudo apt-get update -y
sudo apt-get install -y zstd
sudo apt-get install -y pv

// You must ensure you are running this command before you start the Heimdall service on your node.
// If your Heimdall service has started, please stop the service and run the following command.
// Once unpacking is complete, you can start the Heimdall service again.
pv <snapshot file> | tar -I zstd -xf - -C <HEIMDALL_DATA_DIRECTORY>

// If your Heimdall data directory is different,
// please replace the directory name in the command for starting the Heimdall service.
// When this command completes, you may delete the tar file to reclaim space.

// For example, this will unpack the tar file in the Heimdall Data directory with progress bar:
pv heimdall-mainnet-fullnode-2023-03-04.tar.zst | tar -I zstd -xf - -C /var/lib/heimdall/data/

Bor Snapshot​

First, you need to set up your node with prerequisites, as per the node setup guide. Before you start services for Bor to sync, follow the steps below to use the snapshot:

  1. Download the snapshot tar file of Bor on your VM by running the following command:
aria2c -x6 -s6  <snapshot_url>

// For example, this will download the snapshot of Heimdall:
aria2c -x6 -s6 https://matic-blockchain-snapshots.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/matic-mainnet/bor-mainnet-fullnode-2023-03-04.tar.zst
  1. To unpack the tar file in the Bor Data directory, run the following command:
// You must ensure you are running this command before you start the Bor service on your node.
// If your Bor service has started, please stop the service and run the following command:
// Once unpacking is complete, you can start the Bor service again.
pv <snapshot file>  | tar -I zstd -xf - -C <BOR_DATA_DIRECTORY>

// If your bor data directory is different
// please replace the directory name in the command for starting the Bor service.
// When this command completes, you may delete the tar file to reclaim space.

// For example, this will unpack the tar file in the Bor data directory:
pv bor-mainnet-fullnode-2023-03-04.tar.zst | tar -I zstd -xf - -C /var/lib/bor/data/bor/chaindata
note

The aria2c method is used for downloading snapshots faster. There is an alternate way where the downloaded snapshots can be directly extracted without any intervention.

Steps for that:

For Heimdall
wget -c https://matic-blockchain-snapshots.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/matic-mainnet/heimdall-mainnet-fullnode-2023-03-04.tar.zst -O - | tar -I zstd -xf - -C /var/lib/heimdall/data/
For Bor
wget -c     https://matic-blockchain-snapshots.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/matic-mainnet/bor-mainnet-fullnode-2023-03-04.tar.zst -O - | tar -I zstd -xf - -C /var/lib/bor/data/bor/chaindata