Pocket Network Snapshots

Installation Instructions

The easiest way to set up a new Pocket node is to use the official installer script, which automatically handles downloading and applying snapshots:

1. Follow the Full Node Cheat Sheet to install a new node
2. The installer will automatically download and apply the latest snapshot
3. No manual snapshot handling is required for new installations

For more detailed instructions, visit the Pocket Network Documentation.

Applying Snapshots to Existing Nodes

If you already have a node and want to apply a snapshot to speed up syncing or recover from corruption:

1. Stop your node (method depends on your setup - systemd, docker, etc.)
2. Download a snapshot using the BitTorrent command above
3. Clear your existing data directory (backup first if needed):
rm -rf $HOME/.pocket/data/* Copy
4. Extract the snapshot to your data directory:
tar -xf /path/to/snapshot.tar.zst -C $HOME/.pocket/data/ Copy
5. Start your node again
6. Verify your node is syncing: curl -s http://localhost:26657/status | jq '.result.sync_info'

Note: The archival snapshot contains the complete blockchain data.

Don't have aria2c? Install it with: sudo apt-get install aria2 (Debian/Ubuntu) or brew install aria2 (macOS)

Aria2c tips: Add --max-connection-per-server=16 for faster downloads, or --seed-ratio=1.0 to help seed back to the network.

Available Snapshots

We use BitTorrent to distribute snapshots because it:

• Reduces server load by distributing the download across peers
• Provides faster downloads as you get pieces from multiple sources
• Improves reliability - downloads can resume if interrupted
• Helps the network by seeding to others (if you leave seed-time > 0)

You can set up a torrent client to automatically download the latest snapshots from the RSS Feed.