Snapshots
Download blockchain snapshots to bootstrap Arc nodes. Every snapshot covers both the execution and consensus layers. Storage v2 is published as archive only — how much history you restore from it is a download-time choice, set with --el-profile. Storage v1 comes as archive (full history) or pruned (recent state only).
Usage instructions
Use the arc-snapshots CLI to download and extract both execution and consensus layer snapshots automatically:
# Download latest testnet snapshots (default) arc-snapshots download # Specify a different chain arc-snapshots download --chain arc-testnet
Rebuilding an existing node? Back up its execution layer identity secret first (by default ~/.arc/execution/discovery-secret) and restore it afterwards, or the node comes back with a new peer identity.
Options
| --chain | Network | arc-testnet, arc-mainnet |
| --execution-path | EL data directory | ~/.arc/execution |
| --consensus-path | CL data directory | ~/.arc/consensus |
| --el-profile | EL retention to restore | minimal (default), full, archive |
--el-profile requires arc-snapshots 0.8.0 or newer. The default, minimal, is the smallest restore: state, headers, and a small unwind buffer only; full adds transactions, receipts, and changesets; archive restores every component back to chain genesis.