Using Source Code

Deploy an archival fullnode by building from aptos-core source code with complete configuration and data restoration.

This guide describes how to deploy an archival fullnode by building from the Movement Labs aptos-core source code.

Prerequisites

Rust toolchain installed
restic installed for data restoration
Sufficient storage (mainnet ~700GB, testnet ~260GB)
Build dependencies installed

Install Build Dependencies (Linux)

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y binutils build-essential lld pkg-config libdw-dev

Step 1: Clone and Build

# Clone the Movement aptos-core repository
git clone https://github.com/movementlabsxyz/aptos-core.git
cd aptos-core

# Check out the l1-migration branch
git checkout --track origin/l1-migration

# Build the release binary (this will take some time)
cargo build -p aptos-node --release

Build Time

The initial build can take 15-30 minutes depending on your hardware. Subsequent builds are faster due to caching.

Step 2: Download Configuration Files

Download the archival fullnode configuration and genesis files:

For Mainnet

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/movementlabsxyz/movement-networks/main/mainnet/configs/archival-fullnode.yaml
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/movementlabsxyz/movement-networks/main/mainnet/genesis.blob
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/movementlabsxyz/movement-networks/main/mainnet/waypoint.txt
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/movementlabsxyz/movement-networks/main/mainnet/genesis_waypoint.txt

For Testnet

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/movementlabsxyz/movement-networks/main/testnet/configs/archival-fullnode.yaml
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/movementlabsxyz/movement-networks/main/testnet/genesis.blob
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/movementlabsxyz/movement-networks/main/testnet/waypoint.txt
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/movementlabsxyz/movement-networks/main/testnet/genesis_waypoint.txt

Step 3: Update Configuration Paths

Edit the archival-fullnode.yaml to use local paths:

base:
  role: "full_node"
  data_dir: "./data"  # Local data directory
  waypoint:
    from_file: "./waypoint.txt"

execution:
  genesis_file_location: "./genesis.blob"
  genesis_waypoint:
    from_file: "./genesis_waypoint.txt"

storage:
  rocksdb_configs:
    enable_storage_sharding: false
  # ARCHIVAL NODE: Disable ledger pruning
  storage_pruner_config:
    ledger_pruner_config:
      enable: false

full_node_networks:
  # ... (keep network configuration as-is)

api:
  enabled: true
  address: 0.0.0.0:8080

state_sync:
  state_sync_driver:
    bootstrapping_mode: DownloadLatestStates
    continuous_syncing_mode: ApplyTransactionOutputs

Step 4: Restore Data from Backup

Restore blockchain data from Movement Labs' public backups using the restore script:

# Download the restore script
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/movementlabsxyz/movement-networks/main/l1_restore.sh
chmod +x l1_restore.sh

# Restore data (use 'mainnet' or 'testnet')
./l1_restore.sh mainnet ./data

# Or for testnet:
# ./l1_restore.sh testnet ./data

# Move data to the correct location
mv data/opt/data/aptos/* data/
rm -rf data/opt

Restore Time

Restoring from backup can take several hours depending on your network speed. Mainnet data is approximately 700GB and testnet is approximately 260GB.

Step 5: Run the Archival Node

Start the archival node:

# Using the release binary
./target/release/aptos-node -f ./archival-fullnode.yaml

# Or using cargo run
cargo run -p aptos-node --release -- -f ./archival-fullnode.yaml

Running in Background

To run as a background service, consider using systemd or a process manager like pm2 or supervisord.

Example using nohup:

nohup ./target/release/aptos-node -f ./archival-fullnode.yaml > node.log 2>&1 &

After restoring from backup, your archival node will need to sync the remaining transactions from the backup point to the current chain head. This typically takes a few hours depending on how recent the backup is.

Running as a Systemd Service

Create a systemd service file for automatic startup:

[Unit]
Description=Movement Archival Node
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=movement
WorkingDirectory=/home/movement/aptos-core
ExecStart=/home/movement/aptos-core/target/release/aptos-node -f /home/movement/aptos-core/archival-fullnode.yaml
Restart=always
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable movement-archival
sudo systemctl start movement-archival

# Check status
sudo systemctl status movement-archival

# View logs
sudo journalctl -u movement-archival -f

Updating the Node

To update to a newer version:

# Stop the node
sudo systemctl stop movement-archival  # or kill the process

# Pull latest changes
cd aptos-core
git pull origin l1-migration

# Rebuild
cargo build -p aptos-node --release

# Restart
sudo systemctl start movement-archival

Troubleshooting

Build fails

Ensure all build dependencies are installed
Check Rust version: rustc --version
Try cleaning and rebuilding: cargo clean && cargo build -p aptos-node --release

Node won't start

Check configuration file syntax
Verify all paths in the config are correct
Ensure data directory exists and has correct permissions

Node is not syncing

Check logs for connection errors
Verify network connectivity to upstream peers
Ensure port 6182 is open for outbound connections

Next Steps

Verify your archival node