> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://taraxa.gitbook.io/taraxa-network/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://taraxa.gitbook.io/taraxa-network/node-setup/lite-consensus-node-beta.md).

# Lite Consensus Node (beta)

If you don't wish to run a full archival node, you can choose to run a light-weight consensus node that has \~90% savings in disk space requirements. The Lite Consensus Node achieves the disk space savings by pruning the state DB and only keeping a set of the most recent Periods. 

> Note: due to the extremely large size the Taraxa L1 state has become, pruning has become quite slow for un-optimized machines. In our default published light node docker compose YML file we have disabled the "--light" flag to avoid pruning. 
>
> Instead, we recommend that validators simply sync from lite node snapshots periodically to keep disk space usage under control. The dev team is working on improved pruning in the meantime. 
>
> Please read the guide on how to [sync from snapshot](/taraxa-network/node-setup/syncing-from-snapshot.md). 

Here are the [hardware requirements for a lite consensus node](/taraxa-network/become-a-validator/consensus-node-hardware-requirements.md). 

Here's how you can set up a Lite Consensus Node. 

## 1.  Lite Consensus Node on the Taraxa Mainnet 

### 1.1  Set up a Lite Consensus Node on the Mainnet from scratch 

```bash
mkdir -p mainnet/config
cd mainnet
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Taraxa-project/taraxa-ops/master/taraxa_compose_mainnet/docker-compose.light.yml -O docker-compose.yml
docker-compose up -d
docker-compose logs
```

### 1.2  Turn an existing full node into a Lite Consensus Node on the Mainnet

```bash
cd mainnet
docker-compose down
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Taraxa-project/taraxa-ops/master/taraxa_compose_mainnet/docker-compose.light.yml -O docker-compose.yml
docker-compose up -d
docker-compose logs
```

### 1.3  Syncing from snapshot

Note: due to the extremely large size the Taraxa L1 state has become, pruning has become quite slow for un-optimized machines. In our default published light node docker compose YML file we have disabled the "--light" flag to avoid pruning. 

Instead, we recommend that validators simply sync from lite node snapshots periodically to keep disk space usage under control. The dev team is working on improved pruning in the meantime. 

Please read the guide on how to [sync from snapshot](/taraxa-network/node-setup/syncing-from-snapshot.md), and due to the increased state, pruning can take a very long time as well, so please also be sure to read about the [lite node performance considerations](https://taraxa.gitbook.io/taraxa-network/node-setup/syncing-from-snapshot#light-node-performance-considerations) section on tactics to avoid pruning altogether. 

## 2.  Lite Consensus Node on the Taraxa Testnet  

### 2.1  Set up a Lite Consensus Node on the Testnet from scratch 

```bash
mkdir -p testnet/config
cd testnet
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Taraxa-project/taraxa-ops/master/taraxa_compose/docker-compose.light.yml -O docker-compose.yml
docker-compose up -d
docker-compose logs
```

### 2.2  Turn an existing full node into a Lite Consensus Node on the Testnet

```bash
cd testnet
docker-compose down
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Taraxa-project/taraxa-ops/master/taraxa_compose/docker-compose.light.yml -O docker-compose.yml
docker-compose up -d
docker-compose logs
```

## 3.  Node upgrade & reset  

### 3.1  Node Upgrade 

```bash
cd mainnet
wget -O docker-compose-new.yml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Taraxa-project/taraxa-ops/master/taraxa_compose_mainnet/docker-compose.light.yml && mv docker-compose-new.yml docker-compose.yml
sudo docker-compose down
sudo docker-compose pull
sudo docker-compose up -d
sudo docker-compose logs -f
```

### 3.2  Node Reset

```bash
cd mainnet
wget -O docker-compose-new.yml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Taraxa-project/taraxa-ops/master/taraxa_compose_mainnet/docker-compose.light.yml && mv docker-compose-new.yml docker-compose.yml
sudo docker-compose down -v
sudo docker-compose pull
rm -f config/mainnet.json
sudo docker-compose up -d
sudo docker-compose logs -f
```