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erigon-seg-retire

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Run the Erigon segment retire command to build, merge, and clean snapshot files. Use this for snapshot publication readiness preparation.

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Erigon Segment Retire Command

The erigon seg retire command prepares snapshot files for publication by performing build, merge, and cleanup operations on segment files.

Prerequisites

  1. Erigon must be stopped - The command requires exclusive access to the datadir
  2. Binary must be built - Run /erigon-build first if the binary doesn't exist
  3. Datadir must exist - A synced Erigon datadir with blockchain data

Command

./build/bin/erigon seg retire --datadir=<path>

Replace <path> with the actual path to your Erigon data directory.

What the Command Does

The retire command performs these operations in sequence:

  1. Build Missing Indices - Creates any missing indices for block and Caplin snapshots
  2. Retire Blocks - Freezes blocks from the database into snapshot files
  3. Remove Overlaps - Cleans up overlapping snapshot files
  4. Prune Ancient Blocks - Removes block data from the database that has been successfully snapshotted
  5. Build State History - Creates missing accessors and builds state history snapshot files
  6. Prune State History - Removes state history that has been snapshotted
  7. Merge and Cleanup - Merges smaller snapshot files into larger ones and removes overlaps

Usage in Snapshot Release Workflow

This command is part of the "Publishable v2" snapshot release flow:

  1. Shutdown Erigon
  2. Run seg retire (this command)
  3. Optionally run seg clearIndexing
  4. Run seg index
  5. Create torrent files
  6. Run integrity check
  7. Run publishable command

Example

# Build the binary first (if needed)
make erigon

# Ensure Erigon is stopped, then run seg retire
./build/bin/erigon seg retire --datadir=/data/erigon

Important Notes

  • File Lock: If Erigon is running, the command will fail due to file lock
  • Long running: This command can take significant time on mainnet
  • Disk I/O intensive: Performs extensive read/write operations
  • Resource intensive: Designed to maximize resource utilization