<p>Only the UTXO set is required to determine whether the inputs for a transaction are available for spending or the funding output for a channel remains unspent. Just like any other full nodes, pruned nodes have processed the entire blockchain and derived the current chainstate by applying all transactions to arrive at the same UTXO set.</p>
<p>I do not consider myself an expert regarding Core Lightning, but the README on the Core Lightning GitHub project states that a pruned node is sufficient to run Core Lightning without further qualifications, so I would read that as Core Lightning having its full capabilities when paired with a pruned node.</p>
<p>LND used to require a full node with <code>txindex</code>. Since pruning is incompatible with the <code>txindex</code> option, this meant that LND could not be used with pruned full nodes. Since LND 0.13 (released in June 2021), LND can also be run with a pruned node, although the <a href="https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/blob/master/docs/INSTALL.md#available-backend-operating-modes" rel="nofollow noreferrer">documentation states</a> that pairing LND with a node that uses the <code>txindex</code> option will be more performant.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-10T12:23:57.710Z
2024-03-10T12:23:57.710Z
Murch
<p>Let's assume that I have two identical clearnet-only Bitcoin Core nodes on the same ethernet LAN. I then moved  1BTC on the same day of October of 2021 to the Core Lightning wallets connected to those Bitcoin Core nodes and I then funded a private channel on the same day in each of those wallets. The only difference is that one of them pruned their Bitcoin Core a week ago to a target of 550MB .</p>
<p>Questions:</p>
<p><strong>1.</strong> Will both of those Bitcoin Core nodes have the same content of <code>.bitcoin/chainstate/</code>?</p>
<p><strong>2.</strong> Will both of those Core Lightning wallets have the same transacting ability? How that could differ if another Lightning implementation be chosen.</p>

<lightning-network><core-lightning><pruning>
Does a pruned node have the same chainstate/ as the unpruned one? Does not seeing historical data impact transacting?
John Smith
# Does a pruned node have the same chainstate/ as the unpruned one? Does not seeing historical data impact transacting?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-03-10)

Let's assume that I have two identical clearnet-only Bitcoin Core nodes on the same ethernet LAN. I then moved 1BTC on the same day of October of 2021 to the Core Lightning wallets connected to those Bitcoin Core nodes and I then funded a private channel on the same day in each of those wallets. The only difference is that one of them pruned their Bitcoin Core a week ago to a target of 550MB .

Questions:

**1.** Will both of those Bitcoin Core nodes have the same content of `.bitcoin/chainstate/`?

**2.** Will both of those Core Lightning wallets have the same transacting ability? How that could differ if another Lightning implementation be chosen.

**Tags:** lightning-network, core-lightning, pruning


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-03-10. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Only the UTXO set is required to determine whether the inputs for a transaction are available for spending or the funding output for a channel remains unspent. Just like any other full nodes, pruned nodes have processed the entire blockchain and derived the current chainstate by applying all transactions to arrive at the same UTXO set.

I do not consider myself an expert regarding Core Lightning, but the README on the Core Lightning GitHub project states that a pruned node is sufficient to run Core Lightning without further qualifications, so I would read that as Core Lightning having its full capabilities when paired with a pruned node.

LND used to require a full node with `txindex`. Since pruning is incompatible with the `txindex` option, this meant that LND could not be used with pruned full nodes. Since LND 0.13 (released in June 2021), LND can also be run with a pruned node, although the [documentation states](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/blob/master/docs/INSTALL.md#available-backend-operating-modes) that pairing LND with a node that uses the `txindex` option will be more performant.


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