arbitrum-reth

arbitrum-reth is an Arbitrum execution and derivation node built on reth. It reads Arbitrum inputs from L1, executes ArbOS state transitions through arbitrum-revm, and writes the resulting L2 chain to a reth database.

It also follows a sequencer feed after catch-up, import Nitro state exports, verify genesis state roots, rewind a local database, and inspect stored blocks.

Experimental software. Do not use it to custody funds or as production infrastructure. You will run into state divergences.

Snapshot sync benchmark

On the same VPS and persisted Arbitrum One snapshot, arbitrum-reth derived 50,000 L2 blocks at 105.36 blocks/s. Nitro v3.11.2 derived the identical range at 26.90 blocks/s, making this run 3.92× faster for arbitrum-reth. The VPS is a netcup VPS 8000 G12 (16 cores @ ~2.2GHz, 64GB RAM). Both nitro and arbitrum-reth ran on the same Local Block Storage Volume.

Client	Range	Time	Throughput
arbitrum-reth	481207204–481257203	474.56 s	105.36 blocks/s
Nitro v3.11.2	481207204–481257203	1858.78 s	26.90 blocks/s

Each measurement starts when the first block in the range becomes available and ends at the last, so process startup is excluded. The arbitrum-reth result used the sparse-trie payload-builder path, persistence-threshold=128, memory-buffer-target=0, and persistence-backpressure=512. The target block's arbitrum-reth hash and state root matched a public canonical RPC. This is one configuration on one machine, not a general performance claim.

Build

The workspace uses a pinned Rust toolchain and git revisions of arbitrum-revm and arbitrum-alloy.

cargo build --release -p arbitrum-reth-node --bin arbitrum-reth
./target/release/arbitrum-reth --help

Run the workspace checks with:

cargo check --workspace --all-targets
cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets -- -D warnings
cargo test --workspace

Run a node

The node needs an L1 execution RPC for derivation. Post-Dencun ranges also need a beacon API endpoint for blob sidecars.

./target/release/arbitrum-reth node \
  --datadir /data/arbitrum-reth \
  --snapshot-head /data/head.stream \
  --l1-rpc https://your-archive-rpc.example \
  --l1-beacon https://your-beacon-api.example \
  --http

The command above is for a snapshot-seeded database. Orbit chains can instead boot from Nitro chaininfo.json and genesis.json.

./target/release/arbitrum-reth node \
  --datadir /data/orbit \
  --chain-info chaininfo.json \
  --genesis genesis.json \
  --l1-rpc https://your-archive-rpc.example \
  --http

See node command before selecting persistence or feed options. For a complete Robinhood mainnet invocation, see the Robinhood chain guide.

Commands

Command	Purpose
node	Run an L1-derived node, optionally with a sequencer feed.
snapshot import and snapshot read	Convert and inspect a Nitro state export.
genesis verify	Verify genesis or a reth-export state stream.
rewind	Remove a local suffix after a confirmed divergence.
dump-blocks	Print headers, transaction hashes, and receipt status from a datadir.

The command index is in docs. The CLI is the source of truth for flags: arbitrum-reth <command> --help.

Workspace layout

• arbitrum-reth-derive: batch, delayed-inbox, brotli, and blob decoding.
• arbitrum-reth-l1: L1 reads and batch resolution.
• arbitrum-reth-sync: resumable L1 catch-up.
• arbitrum-reth-engine: execute-to-derive block production.
• arbitrum-reth-evm: reth EVM integration for arbitrum-revm.
• arbitrum-reth-node: CLI, node wiring, and database lifecycle.
• arbitrum-reth-rpc: Arbitrum RPC conversion and reth RPC integration.
• arbitrum-reth-genesis: genesis import and verification helpers.

Acknowledgements

Chainstack generously provided six months of their Growth plan, which supplies the L1 archive RPC this node derives from.

License

Licensed under either of MIT or Apache-2.0, at your option. The vendored Nitro brotli dependency is BUSL-1.1. See NOTICE.