Base node

Base is a secure, low-cost, developer-friendly Ethereum L2 built to bring the next billion users onchain. It's built on Optimism’s open-source OP Stack.

This repository contains the relevant Docker builds to run your own node on the Base network.

Hardware requirements

We recommend you have this hardware configuration to run a node:

• a modern multi-core CPU with good single-core performance
• at least 16 GB RAM (32 GB recommended)
• a locally attached NVMe SSD drive
• adequate storage capacity to accommodate both the snapshot restoration process (if restoring from snapshot) and chain data, ensuring a minimum of (2 * current_chain_size) + snapshot_size + 20%_buffer

Note: If utilizing Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS), ensure timing buffered disk reads are fast enough in order to avoid latency issues alongside the rate of new blocks added to Base during the initial synchronization process; io2 block express is recommended.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter problems with your node, please open a GitHub issue or reach out on our Discord:

• Once you've joined, in the Discord app go to server menu > Linked Roles > connect GitHub and connect your GitHub account so you can gain access to our developer channels
• Report your issue in #🛟|developer-support or 🛠｜node-operators

Supported networks

Base Network	Status
Testnet (Sepolia)	✅
Mainnet	✅

Usage

1. Ensure you have an Ethereum L1 full node RPC available (not Base), and set OP_NODE_L1_ETH_RPC (in the .env.* file if using docker-compose). If running your own L1 node, it needs to be synced before Base will be able to fully sync.
2. Uncomment the line relevant to your network (.env.sepolia, or .env.mainnet) under the 2 env_file keys in docker-compose.yml.
3. Run:

docker compose up --build

Note

To run the node using a supported client, you can use the following command: CLIENT=supported_client docker compose up --build

Supported clients:

• geth
• reth
• nethermind

4. You should now be able to curl your Base node:

curl -d '{"id":0,"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_getBlockByNumber","params":["latest",false]}' \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" http://localhost:8545

Note: Some L1 nodes (e.g. Erigon) do not support fetching storage proofs. You can work around this by specifying --l1.trustrpc when starting op-node (add it in op-node-entrypoint and rebuild the docker image with docker compose build.) Do not do this unless you fully trust the L1 node provider.

Persisting Data

By default, the data directory is stored in ${PROJECT_ROOT}/geth-data. You can override this by modifying the value of GETH_HOST_DATA_DIR variable in the .env file.

To load a snapshot you can extract the snapshot into the $GETH_HOST_DATA_DIR folder.

Running in single container with supervisord

If you'd like to run the node in a single container instead of docker-compose, you can use the supervisord entrypoint. This is useful for running the node in a Kubernetes cluster, for example.

Note that you'll need to override some of the default configuration that assumes a multi-container environment (OP_NODE_L2_ENGINE_RPC) and any port conflicts (OP_NODE_RPC_PORT). Example:

docker run --env-file .env.sepolia -e OP_NODE_L2_ENGINE_RPC=ws://localhost:8551 -e OP_NODE_RPC_PORT=7545 ghcr.io/base-org/node:latest

Snapshots

You can fetch the latest snapshots via the URLs provided in the Base docs.

Syncing

Sync speed depends on your L1 node, as the majority of the chain is derived from data submitted to the L1. You can check your syncing status using the optimism_syncStatus RPC on the op-node container. Example:

command -v jq  &> /dev/null || { echo "jq is not installed" 1>&2 ; }
echo Latest synced block behind by: \
$((($( date +%s )-\
$( curl -s -d '{"id":0,"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"optimism_syncStatus"}' -H "Content-Type: application/json" http://localhost:7545 |
   jq -r .result.unsafe_l2.timestamp))/60)) minutes

Disclaimer

We’re excited for you to build on Base 🔵 — but we want to make sure that you understand the nature of the node software and smart contracts offered here.

THE NODE SOFTWARE AND SMART CONTRACTS CONTAINED HEREIN ARE FURNISHED AS IS, WHERE IS, WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON- INFRINGEMENT, OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN PARTICULAR, THERE IS NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT THE NODE SOFTWARE AND SMART CONTRACTS WILL PROTECT YOUR ASSETS — OR THE ASSETS OF THE USERS OF YOUR APPLICATION — FROM THEFT, HACKING, CYBER ATTACK, OR OTHER FORM OF LOSS OR DEVALUATION.

You also understand that using the node software and smart contracts are subject to applicable law, including without limitation, any applicable anti-money laundering laws, anti-terrorism laws, export control laws, end user restrictions, privacy laws, or economic sanctions laws/regulations.