> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.optimism.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# op-reth

> Canonical hub for op-reth, the OP Stack execution client built on reth, covering what it does, who runs it, and where its guides, reference, releases, source, and spec live.

op-reth is the OP Stack's execution-layer client, written in Rust and built on
[reth](https://github.com/paradigmxyz/reth): it executes the L2 blocks the
rollup node derives and maintains the resulting chain state.

## Overview

op-reth provides the EVM execution environment for OP Stack chains. A rollup
node ([op-node](/op-stack/components/op-node) or
[kona-node](/op-stack/components/kona-node)) derives the
canonical chain from L1 data and drives op-reth through the Engine API;
op-reth executes the payloads, maintains the chain state, and serves JSON-RPC.
It extends upstream reth with the OP Stack protocol changes, such as the
deposit transaction type and L2 fee handling, and bakes the
[Superchain Registry](https://github.com/ethereum-optimism/superchain-registry)'s
chain configurations into the binary, so registry chains work by name via the
`--chain` flag.

It exists because every OP Stack node splits into a consensus half and an
execution half, mirroring post-merge Ethereum, and the execution client is the
half that runs the EVM. op-reth is the primary supported execution client and
the implementation maintained by Optimism: new OP Stack feature development,
including hardfork support, happens on op-reth. See
[Choose your node stack](/use-cases/choose-your-node-stack) for the selection
reasoning.

**Who runs it:** every node operator, paired one-to-one with a rollup node.
Chain operators run it as the execution half of their sequencer, where it
builds the new blocks the sequencing rollup node requests.

## Get started

* [Running a Node With Docker](/node-operators/tutorials/node-from-docker):
  run op-reth and op-node from the official Docker images. To build and run
  from source instead, see
  [Building and running an OP Stack node from source](/node-operators/tutorials/run-node-from-source).

## How-tos

* [Execution client configuration](/node-operators/guides/configuration/execution-clients):
  configure op-reth and connect it to your consensus client.
* [Running op-reth on OP Stack chains](/node-operators/op-reth/run/opstack):
  install op-reth, pair it with a rollup node, and use the rollup-specific
  flags.
* [Sync OP Mainnet](/node-operators/op-reth/run/faq/sync-op-mainnet): import
  Bedrock state and sync OP Mainnet from scratch.
* [Building an archive node](/node-operators/guides/management/archive-node):
  archive versus full nodes, and how to prune op-reth safely.
* [Running op-reth with historical proofs](/node-operators/tutorials/reth-historical-proofs):
  provision the historical proof store that fault-proof infrastructure
  needs.

## Configuration & flags reference

* [op-reth configuration options](/node-operators/reference/op-reth-config):
  routes to the imported op-reth CLI reference, versioned with the op-reth
  source tree.
* [Understanding the op-reth CLI](/node-operators/op-reth/cli/overview): how
  the commands, chain selection, and configuration model fit together.
* [op-reth JSON-RPC reference](/node-operators/reference/op-reth-json-rpc):
  the RPC namespaces op-reth serves.

## Releases

* [op-reth release history](/releases/op-reth)

## Source & spec links

* [Source: `rust/op-reth/`](https://github.com/ethereum-optimism/optimism/tree/develop/rust/op-reth)
  in the Optimism monorepo.
* [Reth book, OP Stack chapter](https://reth.rs/run/opstack): the upstream
  reth project's operational documentation, maintained with reth releases.
* [L2 execution engine specification](https://specs.optimism.io/protocol/exec-engine.html):
  the normative definition of the OP Stack's changes to the execution
  engine.
* [Deposits specification](https://specs.optimism.io/protocol/deposits.html):
  the normative definition of the deposit transaction type op-reth
  implements.