---
description: Run Reth with the smallest built-in storage profile.
---

# Minimal Storage Mode

Minimal storage mode is Reth's smallest built-in node profile. It uses the
default [storage V2 layout](/run/storage) with the most aggressive built-in
pruning settings and smaller static file segments.

Use `--minimal` when disk usage matters more than serving old historical RPC
data.

## Size

Measured on disk at block `24,396,823` on Ethereum mainnet, minimal mode with
storage V2 used `224 GB`, compared to `449 GB` with legacy V1 storage.

The latest snapshot download size is compressed and changes as new snapshots
are published. Check [snapshots.reth.rs](https://snapshots.reth.rs) or run
`reth download --list` for the current compressed size.

## Run a minimal node

```bash
reth node \
    --minimal \
    --authrpc.jwtsecret /path/to/secret \
    --authrpc.addr 127.0.0.1 \
    --authrpc.port 8551
```

## Retention profile

| Data segment | Minimal mode behavior |
| ------------ | --------------------- |
| Sender recovery | Fully pruned |
| Transaction lookup | Fully pruned |
| Receipts | Retains the last 64 blocks |
| Account history | Retains the last 10,064 blocks |
| Storage history | Retains the last 10,064 blocks |
| Block bodies | Retains the last 10,064 blocks |
| Static files | Uses 10,000 blocks per file segment |

## Trade-offs

Minimal mode is suitable for nodes that need to follow the chain, serve recent
state, and keep disk usage low. It is not suitable for workloads that require
older transaction lookup, receipts, logs, traces, or historical state.

For more detail on which RPC methods are affected by pruning, see
[Pruning & Node Modes](/run/storage/pruning#rpc-support).

## Snapshots

To start from a [snapshot](/run/storage/snapshots) with the minimal component
set:

```bash
reth download --chain mainnet --minimal

reth node \
    --authrpc.jwtsecret /path/to/secret
```
