tempo download
Download chain snapshots for faster initial sync. Fetches MDBX state and static files, and generates a reth.toml prune config for the target data directory.
Running tempo download without a snapshot profile opens an interactive component selector. Passing a profile flag such as --minimal or --archive skips the selector. Validators should use --minimal. RPC providers, indexers, and other workloads that need complete historical data should use --archive.
tempo download usage
tempo download [flags]tempo download flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
--chain <network> | Target network (mainnet, moderato) |
--datadir <path> | Data directory for downloaded state |
-u, --url <url> | Download a single legacy snapshot archive URL |
--manifest-url <url> | Download a specific modular snapshot manifest URL |
--list | List available snapshots |
--resumable[=<bool>] | Download to disk before extraction so interrupted downloads can resume. Enabled by default. |
--minimal | Download the minimal component set without opening the interactive selector. Validators should use this profile. |
--full | Download the full node component set. |
--archive, --all | Download all available components without opening the interactive selector. Recommended for RPC providers and indexers. |
-y, --non-interactive | Skip the interactive selector and download the minimal component set unless explicit component flags are provided. |
--force | Overwrite existing snapshot data while preserving discovery-secret and known-peers.json. |
Validator Migration Guidance
Validators should use the minimal snapshot profile, even if the previous validator data directory used a different snapshot profile.
Migrating from archive v1 to minimal v2 reduces validator node size approximately as follows:
| Network | Before | After | Reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mainnet | 27 GB | 10 GB | 2.7x |
| Moderato testnet | 1 TB | 100 GB | 10x |
What is Minimal Mode?
Minimal Mode is a Reth storage profile for nodes that need to follow the chain and serve recent state, such as validators. It keeps disk usage low by pruning older historical data. If the node serves historical RPC, indexing, archive, or tracing workloads, use --archive instead.
See Reth's Minimal Storage Mode docs for the storage trade-offs.
Am I Running a Minimal Node?
To check whether an existing validator has already migrated, inspect the node startup logs for the Loaded storage settings line and its pruning_mode field. If pruning_mode is minimal, no migration is needed unless you are replacing the node. If you are unsure which configuration your validator is running, reach out to the Tempo team before replacing snapshot data.
To migrate or replace a mainnet validator snapshot, run:
tempo download --chain mainnet --minimal --forceTo migrate or replace a testnet validator snapshot, run:
tempo download --chain moderato --minimal --force--force clears old snapshot files in the target data directory while preserving discovery-secret and known-peers.json.
tempo download examples
Open the interactive selector for mainnet:
tempo download --chain mainnetDownload an archive snapshot for an RPC node:
tempo download --chain mainnet --archiveList available snapshots:
tempo download --listList available snapshots for a specific chain:
tempo download --list --chain moderatoIf the data directory has limited free disk space, disable resumable downloads and stream the snapshot directly into extraction:
tempo download --chain mainnet --minimal --resumable=falseUse the snapshots viewer to compare snapshot profiles and copy generated commands.
Then start your node with tempo node.
Was this helpful?