# Download the Latest Blockchain

A running node requires up-to-date blockchain database for operation. You can download and manually deploy the latest database rather than synchronizing your blockchain state. In this case you will skip execution of transactions (validation of signatures, balances etc.) that happens during normal node operation or importing blockchain from binary file.

Warning: Download the blockchain database only from a trusted source. Databases from unknown sources may contain incorrect data or balances. However, after the feature #22 “Light Node” is activated,the download became more secure: as soon as the spoofed data is revealed, the state hash on the node will diverge from the rest of the blockchain network, and the node will either stop or switch to a fork.

To download and manually deploy the latest blockchain database, complete the following steps:

Download the blockchain_last.tar archive containing the latest database from one of the trusted links below (current state from nodes.wavesnodes.com).

Mainnet: http://blockchain.wavesnodes.com/

Testnet: http://blockchain-testnet.wavesnodes.com/

Stagenet: http://blockchain-stagenet.wavesnodes.com/

Approximate size of the latest database is 146 Gb (in March 2024).

💡 On Linux, you can resume the download if it was interrupted, using the command:
```
wget -c <file_url>
```
However, if the blockchain_last.tar file has been updated on the server, it may be impossible to continue the download correctly. Therefore, in case of an unstable connection, we recommend downloading the database at a specific blockchain height: blockchain_Waves-vN.N.HHHHHHHH.tar.
Run the checksum with some tool to test files (checksum of the blockchain_last.tar file should be the same as inside blockchain_last.tar.SHA1SUM file).
Empty the existing directory where the node's database is stored. By default, the database is stored in data subdirectory of the base application directory (in particular, in /var/lib/waves/data for a node installed from a DEB package).

Linux console command

sudo rm -rdf /var/lib/waves/data.
Unpack the downloaded database files (blockchain_last.tar) in the database directory.

Linux console command

tar -xvf blockchain_last.tar -C /var/lib/waves/data
Alternative downloading and unpacking method (Linux)

Traditional downloading and unpacking method requires much disc space. In some cases the disc space is only enough for the blockchain itself and very little extra.

Linux users can save disc space by unpacking the archive during downloading, so that the unpacked database files will be saved on disc without storing the archive. To do this, navigate to the database directory and run the following command:
```
wget -qO- http://blockchain.wavesnodes.com/blockchain_last.tar --show-progress | tar xvf -
```