Run a Full Node
There is no protocol level incentive to run a BOB full node. If you're interested in accessing the BOB chain, but you don't want to set up your own node, see our Node Providers to get RPC access to fully-managed nodes hosted by a third-party provider.
To stay updated on node upgrades and announcements, join our Telegram channel.
Requirements
As of September 2026 we recommend you have at least the following hardware configuration to run a node:
- at least 8 GB RAM
- an SSD, preferably NVME drive with at least 100 GB free
Software stack:
BOB Mainnet activates the Karst hard fork (OP Contracts v7.0.0) at Wed Sep 23 2026 16:00:01 UTC (timestamp 1790179201). The fork is consensus-breaking: every node must run op-node v1.19.3 or later and a Karst-capable op-reth (v2.3.0 or later), with the Karst override enabled, before the activation time. op-geth has reached end of support and cannot be used for Karst — an op-reth execution client is required.
The upgrade also includes EIPs that affect gas pricing and may be relevant to application and smart contract developers — see the breaking changes in Optimism Upgrade 19.
Configuration
We provide a simple Docker Compose configuration to get you started. This guide assumes all data will be stored under /opt/.
1. Create data directories
mkdir -p /opt/op-reth /opt/op-node
2. Generate a JWT secret
The JWT secret authenticates the connection between op-node and op-reth.
openssl rand -hex 32 > /opt/op-reth/jwt.hex
3. Download the BOB genesis file
The built-in bob chain spec in op-reth does not yet include the Karst hardfork timestamp. You must download the genesis file from Conduit and pass it to op-reth via --chain.
curl -o /opt/op-reth/genesis.json \
https://api.conduit.xyz/file/v1/optimism/genesis/bob-mainnet-0
Verify the genesis file includes the Jovian and Karst fork times:
jq '.config | {jovianTime, karstTime}' /opt/op-reth/genesis.json
# Expected:
# {
# "jovianTime": 1773325801,
# "karstTime": 1790179201
# }
4. Configure a trusted execution-layer peer for op-reth
op-node v1.19.1 removed the consensus-layer request/response sync client. If your node stops or falls behind, it catches up through the execution layer: op-reth fetches the missing range from a trusted EL peer. Conduit publishes one for BOB Mainnet:
curl -sf https://api.conduit.xyz/public/network/elPeers/bob-mainnet-0
Write the returned enode to /opt/op-reth/reth.toml:
[peers]
trusted_nodes = [
"enode://5186f8355abafe7bd900259ffe4c913c1d5e94faa53410018aab26fae911849dc87a9604dd0d849255adae1bc554d51958a122bb6631a8954540b61c33319522@35.252.247.209:30303",
]
Without this peer, a node that falls behind can only re-derive the gap from L1, which is slow. The peer retains a rolling window of recent blocks — it closes gaps, it does not bootstrap a node from genesis, so start fresh nodes from a snapshot (available from Conduit on request).
5. Create the op-node environment file
Ensure you have an Ethereum L1 full node RPC available and set OP_NODE_L1_ETH_RPC and OP_NODE_L1_BEACON to the respective RPC endpoints.
OP_NODE_P2P_STATIC is the node's only consensus-layer connectivity: external nodes do not use P2P discovery, so the bootnode settings found in older guides are obsolete as of op-node v1.19.1. Fetch the current static peer from Conduit's API and update it if it changes:
curl -sf https://api.conduit.xyz/public/network/staticPeers/bob-mainnet-0
OP_NODE_L1_ETH_RPC=.....
OP_NODE_L1_BEACON=......
OP_NODE_L1_TRUST_RPC=true
OP_NODE_LOG_LEVEL=WARN
OP_NODE_P2P_STATIC=/ip4/35.252.247.209/tcp/9222/p2p/16Uiu2HAm1cWcrbn5RGL1tnQojsJp9z1VRDqPtJy26m26qUBr5Kx8
OP_NODE_L2_ENGINE_RPC=http://localhost:9551
OP_NODE_L2_ENGINE_KIND=reth
OP_NODE_L2_ENGINE_AUTH=/reth/jwt.hex
OP_NODE_NETWORK=bob-mainnet
OP_NODE_SYNCMODE=execution-layer
OP_NODE_OVERRIDE_JOVIAN=1773325801
OP_NODE_OVERRIDE_KARST=1790179201
OP_NODE_ROLLUP_LOAD_PROTOCOL_VERSIONS=true
OP_NODE_RPC_ENABLE_ADMIN=true
OP_NODE_SAFEDB_PATH=/data
OP_NODE_METRICS_ENABLED=true
OP_NODE_METRICS_ADDR=127.0.0.1
6. Create the Docker Compose file
services:
op-reth:
image: us-docker.pkg.dev/oplabs-tools-artifacts/images/op-reth:v2.4.2
command:
- node
- --chain=/data/genesis.json
- --config=/data/reth.toml
- --full
- --storage.v2
- --datadir=/data
- --rollup.sequencer-http=https://rpc-bob-mainnet-0.t.conduit.xyz
- --rollup.historicalrpc=https://rpc-bob-mainnet-0.t.conduit.xyz
- --rollup.disable-tx-pool-gossip
- --http
- --http.api=web3,debug,eth,txpool,net
- --ws
- --ws.api=web3,debug,eth,txpool,net
- --authrpc.port=9551
- --authrpc.jwtsecret=/data/jwt.hex
- --metrics=127.0.0.1:9001
volumes:
- /opt/op-reth:/data
network_mode: host
restart: unless-stopped
op-node:
image: us-docker.pkg.dev/oplabs-tools-artifacts/images/op-node:v1.19.5
command:
- op-node
env_file: op-node.env
volumes:
- /opt/op-node:/data
- /opt/op-reth:/reth
network_mode: host
restart: unless-stopped
depends_on:
op-reth:
condition: service_started
7. Start the node
docker compose up -d
Verifying Sync Progress
Sync proceeds in pipeline stages. You can monitor progress with:
curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8545 \
-H 'content-type: application/json' \
-d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_syncing","params":[],"id":1}' | jq .
While syncing, eth_syncing returns a status object with per-stage block checkpoints (Headers → Bodies → Execution). Once all stages are complete, it returns false and eth_blockNumber will reflect the live chain head.
Expected sync time from scratch is several hours depending on hardware and network. If you would rather not sync from genesis, Conduit can provide a recent op-reth snapshot on request.
Rollup Configuration and Genesis
The genesis and rollup configuration files for BOB Mainnet are available from Conduit:
The published contracts.json is republished after the Karst activation in a new format aligned with op-contracts/v7.0.0 and OPCMv2. If you rely on the currently published copy, treat its addresses as potentially stale, and re-download the file after activation — updating any hardcoded addresses and parsing logic that assumes the old structure.
BOB Sepolia (Testnet)
You can also run a full node for BOB Sepolia. Configuration information can be found on Conduit's BOB Sepolia hub page.
We do not provide support for running a full node on the testnet. If you have any issues, please refer to the Conduit's node documentation for more information.
Resources
Additional information on how to self-host a node for an OP Stack rollup is available on Conduit's node documentation. Full details on the rollup configuration are available on the Conduit BOB Mainnet hub page.