Overview
Blockchain networks rely on nodes to maintain the integrity and functionality of the network. Nodes perform essential tasks such as validating transactions, storing blockchain data, and facilitating data access for applications and users. QuickNode provides access to different types of nodes on over 50 blockchains, including full and archive nodes, to accommodate various use cases and operational requirements.
This document explains the differences between full and archive nodes, their data storage, and pruning policies. It lists supported chains, networks, archive mode availability, and pruning policies for each.
What is a Full Node?
A Full Node maintains the current state of the blockchain and validates all transactions and blocks according to the network's consensus rules. Full nodes store enough data to process new transactions and build the blockchain's latest state.
Key Features of Full Nodes:
- Current State Data: Full nodes maintain the most up-to-date blockchain state.
- Transaction Validation: They verify transactions and blocks before adding them to the chain.
- Storage Requirements: Full nodes are more storage-efficient compared to archive nodes, as they do not store all historical states. However, you can still verify historical states using block data.
- Applications: Ideal for most blockchain interactions, such as querying balances, interacting with smart contracts, and sending transactions.
What is an Archive Node?
An Archive Node stores the complete history of the blockchain, including all historical states of accounts and contracts. This allows archive nodes to answer queries related to past states of the blockchain, which full nodes cannot.
Key Features of Archive Nodes:
- Complete Data: Archive nodes retain the entire blockchain history, from the genesis block to the current state.
- Advanced Querying: They support queries for any historical block, account, or contract state.
- Storage Requirements: Due to the large volume of data stored, archive nodes require significantly more storage and computational resources.
- Applications: Essential for analytics, blockchain explorers, debugging tools, and compliance requirements.
What is a Pruning Policy?
A Pruning Policy defines how a node manages and retains blockchain data. Pruning is the process of removing older blockchain data to save storage space while retaining the data necessary for current operations.
Key Features of Pruning Policies:
- Reduced Storage: Pruned nodes discard historical data that is no longer needed for validation or current operations.
- Efficiency: Pruning improves storage efficiency and reduces hardware requirements.
- Limitations: Pruned nodes cannot provide access to historical states, making them unsuitable for applications requiring full blockchain history.
- Variations Across Chains: The implementation of pruning policies varies across blockchain networks and can depend on the chain's design and specific use cases.
Chain Information
Below is a table that summarizes the availability of archive nodes, and pruning policies across QuickNode's supported chains and networks.
| Chain | Network | Archive | Pruning Policy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract | Testnet | Yes | |
| Aptos | Testnet | Yes | |
| Aptos | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Arbitrum | Sepolia | Yes | |
| Arbitrum | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Arbitrum Nova | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Avalanche | Fuji Testnet | Yes | |
| Avalanche | Mainnet | Yes | |
| B3 | Sepolia | No | 128 blocks of state history |
| B3 | Mainnet | No | 128 blocks of state history |
| Base | Sepolia | Yes | |
| Base | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Berachain | bArtio Testnet | Yes | |
| Bitcoin | Testnet | No | Pruning disabled |
| Bitcoin | Mainnet | No | Pruning disabled |
| Blast | Sepolia | Yes | |
| Blast | Mainnet | Yes | |
| BNB | Testnet | Yes | |
| BNB | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Camp | Sepolia | Yes | |
| Celestia | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Celo | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Cosmos | Mainnet | No | Pruning disabled |
| Cyber | Sepolia | Yes | |
| Cyber | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Ethereum | Sepolia | Yes | |
| Ethereum | Holesky | Yes | |
| Ethereum | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Fantom | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Flare | Coston2 Testnet | Yes | |
| Flare | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Flow | Testnet | No | Root of current spork (epoch) |
| Flow | Mainnet | No | Root of current spork (epoch) |
| Fraxtal | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Fuel | Sepolia | Yes | |
| Fuel | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Gnosis | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Hedera | Testnet | ||
| Hedera | Mainnet | ||
| Immutable zkEVM | Testnet | Yes | |
| Immutable zkEVM | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Ink | Sepolia | Yes | |
| Kaia | Kairos Testnet | Yes | |
| Kaia | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Linea | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Mantle | Sepolia | Yes | |
| Mantle | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Mode | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Morph | Holesky | Yes | |
| Morph | Mainnet | Yes | |
| NEAR | Testnet | Yes | |
| NEAR | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Omni | Omega Testnet | Yes | |
| Omni | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Optimism | Sepolia | Yes | |
| Optimism | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Osmosis | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Polkadot | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Polygon | Amoy Testnet | Yes | |
| Polygon | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Polygon zkEVM | Cardona Testnet | Yes | |
| Polygon zkEVM | Mainnet | Yes | |
| RACE | Sepolia | Yes | |
| RACE | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Redstone | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Scroll | Testnet | Yes | |
| Scroll | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Sei | Atlantic Testnet | No | 3240000 blocks |
| Sei | Pacific Mainnet | Yes | |
| Solana | Devnet | No | 6578505 slots |
| Solana | Testnet | No | 10964176 slots |
| Solana | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Stacks | Testnet | No | Pruning disabled |
| Stacks | Mainnet | No | Pruning disabled |
| Starknet | Sepolia | Yes | |
| Starknet | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Stellar | Testnet | No | 90 days of ledger history |
| Stellar | Mainnet | No | 90 days of ledger history |
| Story | Odyssey Testnet | Yes | |
| Sui | Mainnet | No | num-latest-epoch-dbs-to-retain: 3 |
| TRON | Mainnet | Yes | |
| TON | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Unichain | Sepolia | Yes | |
| World Chain | Sepolia | Yes | |
| World Chain | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Xai | Testnet | Yes | |
| Xai | Mainnet | Yes | |
| XRP Ledger | Testnet | Yes | |
| XRP Ledger | Mainnet | Yes | |
| ZKSync | Sepolia | Yes | |
| ZKSync | Mainnet | Yes | |
| Zora | Mainnet | Yes |
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