Mainnet initial sync

For release tarball users. Do not use bare blvm --network mainnet for first sync — use the example config or script (pruning, IBD tuning, modules off during sync).

Details also in the blvm README.

Start

tar xzf blvm-vX.Y.Z-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
cd blvm-vX.Y.Z-linux-x86_64
sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS-blvm-linux-x86_64

./scripts/start-ibd-mainnet.sh
# BLVM_BACKGROUND=1 ./scripts/start-ibd-mainnet.sh   # background → ~/.local/share/blvm-mainnet/ibd.log

Expected in the first minute:

  • Config loads without TOML errors
  • Network: Mainnet (or equivalent) in logs
  • After peer discovery (often 15–60s): IBD: <height> / <tip> lines as sync progresses

Uses bundled blvm-mainnet-ibd.toml.example, mainnet, and ~/.local/share/blvm-mainnet. The bundled script does not set BLVM_IBD_* env vars. LAN Core is auto-discovered; on WAN-only networks, parallel mode uses multi-peer work-stealing by default — set BLVM_IBD_WAN_SINGLE_PEER=1 to force a single download peer.

Optional: enable the age-tiered UTXO engine with BLVM_IBD_ENGINE=1 before start (see IBD UTXO engine); the example TOML leaves it off.

Manual: blvm --config blvm-mainnet-ibd.toml.example --network mainnet --data-dir ~/.local/share/blvm-mainnet --verbose

Monitor: same flags as start — blvm --network mainnet --config blvm-mainnet-ibd.toml.example sync. During sync, IBD: <height> / <tip> in logs is authoritative.

Resume: same --data-dir every run; do not delete the active backend directory (heed3/, rocksdb/, …).

Expectations

  • Disk / RAM: ~15 GB+ pruned; 4 GB+ RAM typical
  • Time: hours (WAN-only); much faster with LAN Core
  • Startup delay: 15–60s peer discovery before IBD: lines
  • Slowdown ~900k+: assume-valid phase ended — normal full validation

Optional overrides

  • BLVM_IBD_PEERS=<ip>:8333 — pin download peer
  • BLVM_IBD_MODE=sequential|earliest|parallel — change mode (default parallel)
  • BLVM_IBD_WAN_SINGLE_PEER=1 — WAN-only: use one peer instead of multi-peer work-stealing
  • BLVM_IBD_ENGINE=1 — age-tiered UTXO engine during sync (IBD UTXO engine)
  • Port 8333 in use — stop Core or change listen_addr

Troubleshooting

Mainnet IBD