Light Full-Node Mode

The light full-node mode in Ergo allows for a more resource-efficient way of running a node while still maintaining full-node security. In this mode, the node only holds the root digest of the dictionary and checks full blocks or a suffix of the blockchain, depending on the setting. It uses AD-transformations to get a new digest from an old one and checks all transactions, but only stores a single digest.

Features and Limitations

The light full-node mode supports wallet functionalities and custom scans, making it suitable for various use cases. However, it has a limitation: it can only accept and broadcast transactions initiated within its own network, not those coming from external peers.

Getting Started

To run the node in light mode, you need to make changes to the ergo.conf file. Specifically, you need to modify the stateType variable to "digest" and set the blocksToKeep variable to specify how many of the previous blocks you want to store. For example, setting blocksToKeep to 1440 will check and store only the last 1440 blocks.

Here is an example configuration for running a light full-node:

ergo {
  node {
    stateType = "digest"
    blocksToKeep = 1440
    mining = false
    nipopow {
           nipopowBootstrap = true
           p2pNipopows = 2
    }

  }


}

scorex {

 restApi {
    # Hex-encoded Blake2b256 hash of an API key. Should be 64-chars long Base16 string.
    apiKeyHash = "6ed54addddaf10fe8fcda330bd443a57914fbce38a9fa27248b07e361cc76a41"
  }
}

In this configuration, the stateType is set to "digest" to maintain only the state root hash and validate transactions via ADProofs. The blocksToKeep variable is set to 1440 to store and validate the last 1440 blocks. The nipopowBootstrap option tells the node to download a PoPoW proof on node bootstrap, reducing the storage requirements after bootstrapping to approximately 100 Mb.

Technical Details

The light full-node mode uses a 2-party authenticated dynamic dictionary built on top of the UTXO set. For more information on the technical workflow and implementation details, you can refer to the light-techworkflow.md document.