Full Node
A TON node that syncs full network state but does not validate. Used by indexers, exchanges, and services that need independent access to block data.
Aliases: full ton node
Full Node is a TON node that maintains the full network state and receives every new block in real time, but does not perform validator duties. It’s a “second-tier” node: knows everything validators know, but doesn’t sign blocks and doesn’t earn rewards.
What it stores
- Full network state. Balances of every account, the live state of every contract.
- Recent blocks. A few days’ worth of blocks, for sync.
- Network config and validator set.
Unlike an archive node, a full node does not keep complete history — older blocks fall out of the retention window. Querying a year-old block requires an archive node.
Why run one
- A lite-server on top. Most public lite-servers are a full node plus an extra API. Wallets and dApps talk to lite-servers.
- Indexing. Your own full node gives you fast, unrate-limited access to state — you can scan accounts, watch events, build analytics.
- Exchanges. Exchange backends usually run their own full node for deposits and withdrawals; public APIs don’t hold up under heavy load.
Hardware
- 8–16 CPU cores.
- 32–64 GB RAM.
- 1–2 TB NVMe disk.
- Stable gigabit link.
Indexers and exchanges need more — especially disk, if they index into a separate database in parallel.
Setup
You launch a full node through mytonctrl, the same tool used for validators, but without joining elections. The installer command sets up a full node out of the box; after that you wait for full sync (typically 1–3 days, depending on network and bandwidth).
Full nodes are the most useful node type for serious services in the TON ecosystem that don’t want to become validators but need reliable, independent access to the network.