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This guide shows you how to configure your node to run as an archive node. Archive nodes store the complete history of the blockchain, including all historical states.

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Overview

Archive nodes maintain the entire state history of the blockchain, allowing you to query any historical state at any block height. This is useful for:
  • Block explorers that need to provide historical data
  • Analytics and data analysis applications
  • Services that need to query historical state
  • Debugging and auditing purposes
Archive nodes use execution-layer sync but configure the execution client to retain all historical state data instead of pruning it.
Historical proofs are a lighter-weight alternative to a full archive node when you only need cryptographic state proofs (eth_getProof) at historical blocks — the typical case is withdrawal proving and fault proof workloads. If you need historical execution (eth_call, debug_trace*) or arbitrary historical state queries, you still need a full archive node. See the historical proofs config.

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Requirements

  • OP Mainnet: Requires the bedrock datadir
  • Other OP Stack networks: No datadir required
  • Storage: Archive nodes require significantly more disk space than regular nodes (several terabytes for OP Mainnet)
  • Sync time: Archive sync with execution-layer mode is faster than full block-by-block execution

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Configuration

Each section below shows the full set of flags needed on both op-node and your chosen execution client to run as an archive node. The op-node flag --syncmode=execution-layer is required in all cases and is not the default — it must be explicitly configured.

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op-reth

op-reth retains complete state when run without pruning flags, so the standard op-node + op-reth configuration already produces an archive node. Set on op-node:
Do not pass any --prune.* flags to op-reth for a complete archive node. If you don’t need complete history and want to reclaim disk, see Pruning op-reth below.

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Nethermind

Set on op-node:
Enable archive mode on Nethermind using the archive network configuration:
Replace op-mainnet_archive with the appropriate archive configuration for your network (e.g., op-sepolia_archive for OP Sepolia).

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op-geth

op-geth has reached end-of-support (2026-05-31) and does not support the now-active Karst hardfork, so op-geth nodes can no longer follow the canonical chain. New deployments should use op-reth. See the op-geth deprecation notice for the full migration plan.
Set on op-node:
Set on op-geth:
Both flags are not the default settings and must be explicitly configured. The --syncmode=full flag ensures every block is executed, and --gcmode=archive disables state pruning.

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Pruning op-reth

If you don’t need a complete archive node, you can prune op-reth to reclaim disk. The recommended approach prunes state and receipts while keeping every block body. Prune the state and receipt segments and leave block bodies fully intact. Set the same depth on each:
Recommended <depth> (in blocks), matching production:
  • 22000 for sequencer-side nodes — covers the 12h sequencing window (≈ 21,600 blocks at a 2s block time).
  • 1296000 (~30 days at 2s) for nodes that need more history.

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Pruning block bodies (unsupported)

op-node’s safe derivation reads the L1-info deposit transaction — the first transaction of every block — from the block body at the head placed --syncmode.offset-el-safe behind the tip, and possibly further if restoring a safedb. If that body has been pruned, EL sync fails with l2 block is missing L1 info deposit tx. Body pruning is therefore not supported, and we advise against it — you run it at your own risk, with no guarantees. It can be made to work if you know what you’re doing, subject to one hard requirement: the retained body window must always cover the --syncmode.offset-el-safe range. Concretely, set --prune.bodies.distance (in blocks) comfortably greater than the offset converted to blocks (the default 12h ≈ 21,600 at a 2s block time), with margin for the block-time and offset you actually run. And if you restore a safedb, you also have to take the maximum distance to its head into account. Do not use --minimal: it prunes bodies to a fixed 10,064-block window, which is smaller than the default offset and cannot be widened independently.
Body pruning is unsupported. If you enable it anyway, --prune.bodies.distance must always exceed --syncmode.offset-el-safe (in blocks), and additionally the distance to a restoring safedb’s head, or execution-layer sync fails with l2 block is missing L1 info deposit tx. Prefer pruning only the state and receipt segments above.

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How archive sync works

With execution-layer sync mode enabled:
  1. Initial sync: The node downloads block headers and data through the P2P network
  2. Block execution: The node executes every block in the chain to build the complete state history
  3. State retention: Unlike regular nodes, archive nodes never prune historical state data
  4. Faster than legacy: While still executing all blocks, this is faster than the legacy consensus-layer sync because block data is retrieved via P2P instead of being derived from L1

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Storage considerations

Archive nodes require substantial storage:
  • OP Mainnet: Several terabytes and growing
  • Other networks: Varies by network age and activity
  • Growth rate: Storage requirements increase continuously as new blocks are added
  • Recommendation: Use fast SSD storage for optimal performance

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Next steps