{% hint style="info" %} A community maintained list of checkpoint sync endpoints can be found here: Ethereum Beacon Chain checkpoint sync endpoints ↗ {% endhint %}
Checkpoint sync, also known as weak subjectivity sync, creates a superior user experience for syncing Beacon Node. It's based on assumptions of weak subjectivity↗ which enables syncing Beacon Chain from a recent weak subjectivity checkpoint instead of genesis. Checkpoint sync makes the initial sync time significantly faster with similar trust assumptions as syncing from genesis.
In practice, this means your node connects to a remote service to download recent finalized states and continues verifying data from that point. The third-party providing the data needs to be trusted to provide the correct information about the finalized state and should be picked carefully.
You must verify the slot and state_root against a known trusted source. This can be a friend, someone from the community that you know or any other source that you trust. There is a maintained list of publicly hosted checkpoint sync endpoints here↗, but it is recommended to use your own trusted source first if possible.
You will need to know the IP & Port of your beacon node.
Option A:
- Check your consensus client logs
- Find the slot number.
- Find the state_root value.
Option B:
- Open
http://YOUR_NODE_IP:YOUR_NODE_PORT/eth/v1/beacon/headers/finalizedin your browser. - Find the slot number.
- Find the state_root value.
Option C:
-
Install curl and jq.
-
In a new terminal window run:
curl -s http://YOUR_NODE_IP:YOUR_NODE_PORT/eth/v1/beacon/headers/finalized | jq .'data.header.message'
If the slot and state_root from your validator matches the slot and state_root from (multiple) other sources, then it's a match, congratulations 🎉. If it's not a match you should start from scratch by wiping your beacon node and starting from the top.