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This guide covers the specific steps required to run op-reth with the historical proofs ExEx (Execution Extension), which allows for saving and serving trie nodes to provide proofs faster.
This tutorial assumes you are using the op-rs fork which contains the historical proof ExEx functionality.

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Prerequisites

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Installation

First, clone and build the op-reth binary from the op-rs fork. 
git clone https://github.com/op-rs/op-reth.git
cd op-reth
cargo build --release --bin op-reth
The binary will be located at ./target/release/op-reth.

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Initialization Steps

Running op-reth with historical proofs requires a two-step initialization process:
  1. Initialize the standard op-reth database.
  2. Initialize the specific proofs storage.

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1. Initialize op-reth

Initialize the core database with the genesis file for your chosen chain (e.g., optimism). 
./target/release/op-reth init \
  --datadir="/path/to/datadir" \
  --chain="optimism"

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Option: Start from a Snapshot

If you prefer to start from a pre-synchronized database snapshot instead of syncing from genesis:
  1. Download and extract the op-reth snapshot into your datadir.
  2. Skip the op-reth init command (step 1 above).
  3. Proceed to Initialize Proofs Storage (step 2 below). The proofs init command will initialize the proofs storage based on the state present in the snapshot.

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2. Initialize Proofs Storage

Initialize the separate storage used by the ExEx to store historical proofs. 
./target/release/op-reth proofs init \
  --datadir="/path/to/datadir" \
  --chain="optimism" \
  --proofs-history.storage-path="/path/to/proofs-db"

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Running op-reth

Once initialized, you can start the execution client with the --proofs-history flag enabled. 
./target/release/op-reth node \
  --datadir="/path/to/datadir" \
  --chain="optimism" \
  --proofs-history \
  --proofs-history.storage-path="/path/to/proofs-db" \
  --proofs-history.window=956200 \
  --proofs-history.prune-interval=10s \
  --http \
  --http.port=8545 \
  --http.addr=0.0.0.0 \
  --http.corsdomain="*" \
  --http.api=admin,net,eth,web3,debug,trace,txpool \
  --ws \
  --ws.addr=0.0.0.0 \
  --ws.port=8546 \
  --ws.api=net,eth,web3,debug,txpool \
  --ws.origins="*" \
  --authrpc.port=8551 \
  --authrpc.jwtsecret="/path/to/jwt.hex" \
  --authrpc.addr=0.0.0.0 \
  --discovery.port=30303 \
  --port=30303 \
  --metrics=0.0.0.0:9001 \
  --rollup.sequencerhttp="https://mainnet-sequencer.optimism.io"
Make sure to include all other standard flags required for your network (e.g., specific bootnodes). See the configuration reference for details.

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Running Consensus Node

Start the consensus client to drive the execution client. You can use either op-node or kona-node.
op-node is the reference implementation of the OP Stack consensus client, written in Go.
op-node \
  --l2=http://127.0.0.1:8551 \
  --l2.jwt-secret="/path/to/jwt.hex" \
  --verifier.l1-confs=1 \
  --network="optimism" \
  --rpc.addr=0.0.0.0 \
  --rpc.port=8547 \
  --l1=<L1_RPC_URL> \
  --l1.beacon=<BEACON_RPC_URL> \
  --p2p.advertise.ip=<YOUR_PUBLIC_IP> \
  --p2p.advertise.tcp=9003 \
  --p2p.advertise.udp=9003 \
  --p2p.listen.ip=0.0.0.0 \
  --p2p.listen.tcp=9003 \
  --p2p.listen.udp=9003 \
  --safedb.path="/path/to/op-node-db"

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Verification

After starting both clients, verify that the historical proofs ExEx is active by checking the logs.
  1. Check op-reth logs: Look for valid initialization messages indicating the ExEx is running. 
    INFO [..] ExEx initialized ...
  2. Check syncing status: Ensure op-node and op-reth are connected and syncing. op-reth should start importing blocks and the proofs storage should begin populating.