Just use a Linux laptop with a working battery so you never have to worry about power outages or other system crashes. In that case, you don't need safe sync mode, and you don't have to kill your SSD.
Working battery ≠= avoiding system crashes | my local node has a UPS, and still Monero's client is dicey (Mac & Linux distros).
Particularly on its initial sync, Monero's daemon is flakeyAF.
If you (e.g.) don't allow `sync in background` (why is this not the default behavior?!), the official Monero client is notorious for locking up on wakeup. Once you kill the process, your local blockchain is [most likely] unusable.
Another reason to use safe-sync is (e.g.) if your system (Linux or whatnot) decides to update/restart during the several days it takes to sync-initially.
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Just out of curiosity, why do you abuse an SSD so (safe-mode, or not)?
For SSD-diehards, I'd recomment getting a very large size because this'll last longer, presuming the drive self-levels.
> Once you kill the process, your local blockchain is [most likely] unusable.
Totally false. LMDB is perfectly crash-proof in that scenario and killing the process never damages the DB. The only thing that's not guaranteed is turning off syncs, in the face of an OS crash/power outage.
If you don't sync, you're not abusing the SSD. If you run on Windows, the OS is too unstable to use without safe sync mode though.
This is a well-documented failstate. Usually results in "unable to connect to 127.0.0.1:18081" errorlog, which is most-commonly due to a corrupt database/blockchain (from hardstop/kill).
In order of crashout likelihood: Windows >> MacOS > Linux
>If you don't sync, you're not abusing the SSD.
If you don't sync then you're not (cannot be) a fullnode / network verifyer / ringsigner.
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>LMDB is perfectly crash-proof
It is my understanding that once your initial-sync has completed, the default monero node behavior is to then automatically enter the --safe flag (I described above).
This may be old behavior... I go way back (years beyond a decade). My only modern use in xmrworld is as a personal foot-heating ATM.
> If you don't sync then you're not (cannot be) a fullnode / network verifyer / ringsigner.
I was talking about database sync, not blockchain sync. You don't need to use safe sync mode if you don't have to worry about machine crashes. And just killing the process will never corrupt the blockchain DB.
> This may be old behavior... I go way back
On this particular point, I go way back further than you.
>On this particular point, I go way back further than you.
Definitely know who you are (LMDB programmer &c), and your contributions to world & crypto tech – thanks (few people can claim, like yourself, that their code exists on BILLIONS of machine). I've ALSO been in cryptospace longer than Monero's existance... you are hands down a better programmer than myself (I'm a bluecollar electrician), with much more name recognition.
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BUT: You aren't listening to my "layperson user behavior report" about a common and known behavior of the default getmonero.org node. I would love to help you&team better stabilize/configure the default client behavior/options...
Please don't let hubris stand in our way of spreading the gospel of crypto. If you want me to sign some custome statement with a BTC hash (dating back to the earlytimes) just send me a postcard (I no longer use email). But you shouldn't need that to listen.
>just killing the process will never corrupt the blockchain DB
I would love to show you how easy this is to reproduce, even on fresh installs of Ubuntu and/or MacOS on otherwise-stable hardware (never tried Windows... easier?).
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Loved your 2019 talk on "is XMR still ASIC-proof" – is it still, in 2026, in your opinion? Your line about ~"our goal is to make a hash algorythm so dynamic that if you designed an ASIC processor for it... it'd essentially just be a CPU"~ – classic quoteable.
>> just killing the process will never corrupt the blockchain DB
> I would love to show you how easy this is to reproduce, even on fresh installs of Ubuntu and/or MacOS on otherwise-stable hardware (never tried Windows... easier?).
If it's so easy to reproduce, you should be able to screen record a session with two terminal windows:
1 with monerod running and syncing the blockchain
2 send a `kill -9` to the monerod
1b restart monerod
And then we should see the error message you're referring to.
Particularly on its initial sync, Monero's daemon is flakeyAF.
If you (e.g.) don't allow `sync in background` (why is this not the default behavior?!), the official Monero client is notorious for locking up on wakeup. Once you kill the process, your local blockchain is [most likely] unusable.
Another reason to use safe-sync is (e.g.) if your system (Linux or whatnot) decides to update/restart during the several days it takes to sync-initially.
----
Just out of curiosity, why do you abuse an SSD so (safe-mode, or not)?
For SSD-diehards, I'd recomment getting a very large size because this'll last longer, presuming the drive self-levels.