Setup an Aptos Full Node

As we covered in the previous section, the current reference for the Aptos Full Node codebase is argumentcomputer/aptos-core. The current version can be found on the branch argumentcomputer/aptos-core:release/aptos-node-v1.14.0-patched.

The setup we will go over is a setup by building the code source.

The relevant documentation concerning a Full Node deployment can be found on the Aptos website.

First, clone the repository, cd into it and checkout the patched branch:

git clone git@github.com:argumentcomputer/aptos-core.git && cd aptos-core && git checkout release/aptos-node-v1.14.0-patched

Then, we have some configuration to set up. Following the Aptos documentation:

1. Download Aptos mainnet Genesis blob:

   curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aptos-labs/aptos-networks/main/mainnet/genesis.blob
   

2. Download Aptos mainnet waypoint file:

   curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aptos-labs/aptos-networks/main/mainnet/waypoint.txt
   

3. Setup a fullnode.yaml that serves as a configuration file for the node. Here is an example of such a configuration file, make sure to set the proper data directory and network address for your deployment:

   base:
     # Update this value to the location you want the node to store its database
     data_dir: "/home/user/aptos/db"
     role: "full_node"
     waypoint:
       # Update this value to that which the blockchain publicly provides. Please regard the directions
       # below on how to safely manage your genesis_file_location with respect to the waypoint.
       from_file: "./waypoint.txt"
   
   execution:
     # Update this to the location to where the genesis.blob is stored, prefer fullpaths
     # Note, this must be paired with a waypoint. If you update your waypoint without a
     # corresponding genesis, the file location should be an empty path.
     genesis_file_location: "./genesis.blob"
   
   full_node_networks:
     - discovery_method: "onchain"
       # The network must have a listen address to specify protocols. This runs it locally to
       # prevent remote, incoming connections.
       listen_address: "/ip4/127.0.0.1/tcp/6180"
       network_id: "public"
   
   # API related configuration, making it available at a given address.
   api:
     enabled: true
     # Update this to fit your deployment address for the node.
     address: 127.0.0.1:8080
   
   # /!\ IMPORTANT/!\
   # This configuration is especially important for the proof server to work.
   # This configuration allows us to access the state at each new block,
   # effectively allowing us to create inclusion proof about accounts.
   storage:
     buffered_state_target_items: 1
   
   # This configuration allows for a fast synchronisation of the node.
   state_sync:
     state_sync_driver:
       bootstrapping_mode: DownloadLatestStates
       continuous_syncing_mode: ExecuteTransactionsOrApplyOutputs
   

Once the configuration is done, we just need to run the node:

cargo run -p aptos-node --release -- -f ./fullnode.yaml

Note

The synchronisation mode that we use as an example above should reach the latest produced block in around 1 hour.