diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 0faf9620f2..6800c0fd1d 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -27,3 +27,6 @@ __pycache__/
 
 # ink!
 contracts/addresses.json
+
+# run_nodes.sh
+run-nodes-local/
diff --git a/scripts/common.sh b/scripts/common.sh
index 9df43ce744..dfece1eae0 100644
--- a/scripts/common.sh
+++ b/scripts/common.sh
@@ -110,3 +110,25 @@ function get_last_block() {
     done
     printf "%d" $last_block
 }
+
+NORMAL=$(tput sgr0)
+GREEN=$(tput setaf 2; tput bold)
+YELLOW=$(tput setaf 3)
+RED=$(tput setaf 1)
+
+function get_timestamp() {
+  echo "$(date +'%Y-%m-%d %T:%3N')"
+}
+
+function error() {
+    echo -e "$(get_timestamp) $RED$*$NORMAL"
+    exit 1
+}
+
+function info() {
+    echo -e "$(get_timestamp) $GREEN$*$NORMAL"
+}
+
+function warning() {
+    echo -e "$(get_timestamp) $YELLOW$*$NORMAL"
+}
diff --git a/scripts/run_nodes.sh b/scripts/run_nodes.sh
index ca3e204708..c403005788 100755
--- a/scripts/run_nodes.sh
+++ b/scripts/run_nodes.sh
@@ -1,123 +1,317 @@
-#!/bin/bash
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+# This script runs locally aleph-node consensus, ie set of aleph-node processes that are either
+# validators (create blocks) or RPC nodes (read only nodes). By default, such consensus consist of
+# one RPC node that is a bootnode, and 6 validator nodes.
+#
+# Before run, a chainspec is generated that is an initial testing AlephZero chain configuration,
+# that is a starting point for all aleph-nodes. Together with the chainspec, we generate a keystore
+# that consist of two types of keys:
+#   * two session keys for each validator (one for authoring blocks called AURA key and one for
+#     participating in AlephBFT consensus called ALEPH key)
+#   * one key for participating in P2P network called p2p key
+# The keystore is stored in a filesystem altogether with database, and this is called base path.
+# Optionally, script can build testing aleph-node binary for you (short session meaning 30 blocks
+# instead of normal 900 blocks session).
+#
+# Each validator has also an associated account on chain called Stash Account which is used for
+# staking. For simplicity, such accounts seeds are generated from cardinal numbers //0, //1, //2, ...
+# We assume RPC nodes have ids //0, //1, //2, ... //N-1, where N is number of RPC nodes, and
+# validators have ids //N, //N+1, ...
+# Obviously, this is just for testing reasons and such seeds must be never used in production.
+# Also, each AlephNode chain has sudo account. Here we assume it is //Alice.
+#
+# Make sure a machine on which you're running your script has enough RAM memory. For testing nodes
+# with empty db, a 1.5 GB per node would be enough.
+#
+# They are 3 set of ports you need to have opened and free on your machine in order to run consensus:
+#  * RPC port - range [9944; 9954) - used for JSON RPC protocol
+#  * P2p port - range [30333; 30343) - used for P2P peer network
+#  * Validator port - range [30343; 30353) - used for consensus mechanism (AlephBFT)
+#
+# You need to have installed following prerequisites in order to use that script:
+#   * jq
+#
+# This script also accepts env variables instead of arguments, see --help for details. All arguments
+# are optional.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# ------------------------ constants --------------------------------------
+
+export ALEPH_NODE="target/release/aleph-node"
+NODE_P2P_PORT_RANGE_START=30333
+NODE_VALIDATOR_PORT_RANGE_START=30343
+NODE_RPC_PORT_RANGE_START=9944
+
+# ------------------------ argument parsing and usage -----------------------
+
+script_path="${BASH_SOURCE[0]}"
+script_dir=$(dirname "${script_path}")
+aleph_node_root_dir=$(realpath "${script_dir}/..")
+pushd "${aleph_node_root_dir}" > /dev/null
+source ./scripts/common.sh
 
 function usage(){
-  echo "Usage:
-      ./run_nodes.sh [-v N_VALIDATORS] [-n N_NON_VALIDATORS] [-b false] [-p BASE_PATH] [-l N_LISTENERES] [-r false] [ALEPH_NODE_ARG]...
-  where 2 <= N_VALIDATORS <= N_VALIDATORS + N_NON_VALIDATORS + N_LISTENERES <= 10
-  (by default, N_VALIDATORS=4, N_NON_VALIDATORS=0, N_LISTENERES=0 and BASE_PATH=/tmp)"
+  cat << EOF
+Usage:
+   $0
+    [-v|--validators VALIDATORS]
+      number of validators to bootstrap and start
+    [-n|--rpc-nodes RPC_NODES]
+      number of RPC nodes to bootstrap and start
+    [-p|--base-path BASE_PATH]
+        if specified, use given base path (keystore, db, AlephBFT backups)
+        if not specified, base path is ./run-nodes-local
+    [--dont-bootstrap]
+      set if you don't want to bootstrap chain, ie generate keystore and chainspec
+    [--dont-build]
+       set if you do not want to build testing aleph-node binary
+    [--dont-delete-db]
+      set to not delete database
+    [--dont-remove-abtf-backups]
+      set to not delete AlephBFT backups; by default they are removed since
+      this script is intended to bootstrap chain by default, in which case you do not want to have
+      them in 99% of scenarios
+EOF
+  exit 0
 }
 
-N_VALIDATORS=4
-N_NON_VALIDATORS=0
-N_LISTENERES=0
-BUILD_ALEPH_NODE='true'
-BASE_PATH='/tmp'
-BOOTSTRAP='true'
-
-while getopts "v:n:b:p:l:r:" flag
-do
-  case "${flag}" in
-    v) N_VALIDATORS=${OPTARG};;
-    n) N_NON_VALIDATORS=${OPTARG};;
-    b) BUILD_ALEPH_NODE=${OPTARG};;
-    p) BASE_PATH=${OPTARG};;
-    l) N_LISTENERES=${OPTARG};;
-    r) BOOTSTRAP=${OPTARG};;
-    *)
+VALIDATORS=${VALIDATORS:-6}
+RPC_NODES=${RPC_NODES:-1}
+BASE_PATH=${BASE_PATH:-"./run-nodes-local"}
+DONT_BOOTSTRAP=${DONT_BOOTSTRAP:-""}
+DONT_BUILD_ALEPH_NODE=${DONT_BUILD_ALEPH_NODE:-""}
+DONT_DELETE_DB=${DONT_DELETE_DB:-""}
+DONT_REMOVE_ABFT_BACKUPS=${DONT_REMOVE_ABFT_BACKUPS:-""}
+
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+  case "$1" in
+    -v|--validators)
+      VALIDATORS="$2"
+      shift;shift
+      ;;
+    -n|--rpc-nodes)
+      RPC_NODES="$2"
+      shift;shift
+      ;;
+    -p|--base-path)
+      BASE_PATH="$2"
+      shift;shift
+      ;;
+    --dont-bootstrap)
+      DONT_BOOTSTRAP="true"
+      shift
+      ;;
+    --dont-build)
+      DONT_BUILD_ALEPH_NODE="true"
+      shift
+      ;;
+    --dont-delete-db)
+      DONT_DELETE_DB="true"
+      shift
+      ;;
+    --help)
       usage
-      exit
+      shift
+      ;;
+    --dont-remove-abft-backups)
+      DONT_REMOVE_ABFT_BACKUPS="true"
+      shift
+      ;;
+    *)
+      error "Unrecognized argument $1!"
       ;;
   esac
 done
 
-shift $((OPTIND-1))
+# -----------------------  functions --------------------------------------
+function get_backup_folders() {
+  base_path="${1}"
+  shift
+  accounts_ids=("$@")
 
-killall -9 aleph-node
+  declare -a backup_folders
+  for account_id in ${accounts_ids[@]}; do
+    maybe_backup_folder="${base_path}/${account_id}/backup-stash"
+    if [[ -d "${maybe_backup_folder}" ]]; then
+      backup_folders+=("${maybe_backup_folder}")
+    fi
+  done
 
-set -e
+  echo ${backup_folders[@]}
+}
 
-clear
+function get_ss58_address_from_seed() {
+  local seed="$1"
+  local aleph_node_path="$2"
 
+  echo $(${aleph_node_path} key inspect --output-type json ${seed} | jq -r '.ss58Address')
+}
 
-if $BUILD_ALEPH_NODE ; then
-  cargo build --release -p aleph-node --features "short_session enable_treasury_proposals"
+function run_node() {
+  local index="$1"
+  local account_id="$2"
+  local bootnode="$3"
+
+  local node_name="node-${index}"
+  local validator_port=$((NODE_VALIDATOR_PORT_RANGE_START + index))
+
+  local node_args=(
+    --validator
+    --public-validator-addresses "127.0.0.1:${validator_port}"
+    --chain "${BASE_PATH}/chainspec.json"
+    --bootnodes "${bootnode}"
+    --base-path "${BASE_PATH}/${account_id}"
+    --name "${node_name}"
+    --rpc-port $((NODE_RPC_PORT_RANGE_START + index))
+    --port $((NODE_P2P_PORT_RANGE_START + index))
+    --validator-port "${validator_port}"
+    --node-key-file "${BASE_PATH}/${account_id}/p2p_secret"
+    --backup-path "${BASE_PATH}/${account_id}/backup-stash"
+    --rpc-cors=all
+    --no-mdns
+    --pool-limit 1024
+    --db-cache 1024
+    --runtime-cache-size 2
+    --max-runtime-instances 8
+    --enable-log-reloading
+    --detailed-log-output
+    -laleph-party=debug
+    -laleph-network=debug
+    -lnetwork-clique=debug
+    -laleph-finality=debug
+    -laleph-justification=debug
+    -laleph-data-store=debug
+    -laleph-updater=debug
+    -laleph-metrics=debug
+  )
+
+  info "Running node ${index}..."
+  ./target/release/aleph-node "${node_args[@]}"  2> "${BASE_PATH}/${node_name}.log" > /dev/null &
+}
+
+# ------------------------- input checks ----------------------------------
+
+if [[ "${VALIDATORS}" -lt 4 ]]; then
+  error "Number of validators should be at least 4!"
+fi
+if [[ "${RPC_NODES}" -lt 1 ]]; then
+  error "Number of RPC nodes should be at least 1!"
+fi
+if [[ $(( VALIDATORS + RPC_NODES )) -gt 10 ]]; then
+  info "Current number of validators is ${VALIDATORS} and RPC nodes is ${RPC_NODES}"
+  error "Total number of validators and rpc nodes should not be greater than 10!"
+fi
+if [[ -z "${DONT_BOOTSTRAP}" && "${DONT_DELETE_DB}" == "true" ]]; then
+  error "--dont-delete-db is set and --dont-bootstrap is not set
+        When bootstraping chain, db must be deleted!
+        Or if you want just to remove database, pass --dont-bootstrap to this script."
+fi
+if [[ "${DONT_BOOTSTRAP}" == "true" && ! -f "${BASE_PATH}/chainspec.json" ]]; then
+  error "Flag --dont-bootstrap is set and there is no ${BASE_PATH}/chainspec.json file, maybe you
+        forget to bootstrap chain?"
+fi
+if ! command -v jq &> /dev/null; then
+    error "jq could not be found on PATH!"
 fi
 
-declare -a account_ids
-for i in $(seq 0 "$(( N_VALIDATORS + N_NON_VALIDATORS - 1 ))"); do
-  account_ids+=($(./target/release/aleph-node key inspect "//$i" | grep "SS58 Address:" | awk '{print $3;}'))
-done
-validator_ids=("${account_ids[@]::N_VALIDATORS}")
-# space separated ids
-validator_ids_string="${validator_ids[*]}"
-# comma separated ids
-validator_ids_string="${validator_ids_string//${IFS:0:1}/,}"
-
-if $BOOTSTRAP ; then
-  echo "Bootstrapping chain for nodes 0..$((N_VALIDATORS - 1))"
-  ./target/release/aleph-node bootstrap-chain --raw --base-path "$BASE_PATH" --account-ids "$validator_ids_string" --chain-type local > "$BASE_PATH/chainspec.json"
-
-  for i in $(seq "$N_VALIDATORS" "$(( N_VALIDATORS + N_NON_VALIDATORS - 1 ))"); do
-    echo "Bootstrapping node $i"
-    account_id=${account_ids[$i]}
-    ./target/release/aleph-node bootstrap-node --base-path "$BASE_PATH/$account_id" --account-id "$account_id" --chain-type local
-  done
+# ------------------- main script starts here ------------------------------
+
+info "Starting $0"
+info "Creating base path ${BASE_PATH} if it does not exist"
+mkdir -p "${BASE_PATH}"
+info "Stopping all current node processes"
+if ! killall -9 aleph-node 2> /dev/null; then
+  info "No aleph-node processes found."
 fi
 
-addresses=()
-for i in $(seq 0 "$(( N_VALIDATORS + N_NON_VALIDATORS - 1 ))"); do
-    pk=$(./target/release/aleph-node key inspect-node-key --file $BASE_PATH/${account_ids[$i]}/p2p_secret)
-    addresses+=("/dns4/localhost/tcp/$((30334+i))/p2p/$pk")
-done
+if [[ -z "${DONT_BUILD_ALEPH_NODE}" ]]; then
+  info "Building testing aleph-node binary (short session)."
+  cargo build --release -p aleph-node --features "short_session enable_treasury_proposals"
+elif [[ ! -x "${ALEPH_NODE}" ]]; then
+  error "${ALEPH_NODE} does not exist or it's not an executable file!"
+fi
 
-bootnodes=""
-for i in 0 1; do
-    bootnodes+="${addresses[i]} "
+NUMBER_OF_NODES_TO_BOOTSTRAP=$(( VALIDATORS + RPC_NODES ))
+info "Generating ${NUMBER_OF_NODES_TO_BOOTSTRAP} stash accounts identities."
+declare -a rpc_node_account_ids
+for i in $(seq 0 "$(( RPC_NODES - 1 ))"); do
+  rpc_node_account_ids+=($(get_ss58_address_from_seed "//${i}" "${ALEPH_NODE}"))
 done
+declare -a validator_account_ids
+for i in $(seq "${RPC_NODES}" "$(( NUMBER_OF_NODES_TO_BOOTSTRAP - 1 ))"); do
+  validator_account_ids+=($(get_ss58_address_from_seed "//${i}" "${ALEPH_NODE}"))
+done
+
+info "Following identities were generated:"
+info "RPC nodes: ${rpc_node_account_ids[@]}"
+info "Validator nodes: ${validator_account_ids[@]}"
+
+if [[ -z "${DONT_BOOTSTRAP}" ]]; then
+  info "Bootstrapping chain for ${NUMBER_OF_NODES_TO_BOOTSTRAP} nodes."
 
-run_node() {
-  i=$1
-  is_validator=$2
-  auth=node-$i
-  account_id=${account_ids[$i]}
-  validator_port=$((30343 + i))
+  # space separated ids
+  validator_ids_string="${validator_account_ids[*]}"
+  # comma separated ids
+  validator_ids_string="${validator_ids_string//${IFS:0:1}/,}"
 
-  [[ $is_validator = true ]] && validator=--validator || validator=""
+  info "Creating chainspec and generating keystore for validators accounts."
+  "${ALEPH_NODE}" bootstrap-chain --raw --base-path "${BASE_PATH}" --account-ids "${validator_ids_string}" --chain-type local > "${BASE_PATH}/chainspec.json"
 
-  if $BOOTSTRAP ; then
-    ./target/release/aleph-node purge-chain --base-path $BASE_PATH/$account_id --chain $BASE_PATH/chainspec.json -y
+  info "Generating keystores for ${RPC_NODES} RPC nodes"
+  for i in $(seq 0 "$(( RPC_NODES - 1 ))"); do
+    rpc_node_account_id="${rpc_node_account_ids[$i]}"
+    "${ALEPH_NODE}" bootstrap-node --base-path "${BASE_PATH}/${rpc_node_account_id}" --account-id "${rpc_node_account_id}" --chain-type local > /dev/null
+  done
+
+  if [[ "${DONT_REMOVE_ABFT_BACKUPS}" == "true" ]]; then
+    all_account_ids=(${validator_account_ids[@]} ${rpc_node_account_ids[@]})
+    non_empty_backups=$(get_backup_folders "${BASE_PATH}" ${all_account_ids[@]})
+    if [[ -n "${non_empty_backups}" ]]; then
+      warning "Found following non-empty ABFT backups in base path:"
+      warning "${non_empty_backups}"
+      warning "In 99% you want them to be removed when bootstraping chain"
+      warning "Re-run this script without flag --dont-remove-abtf-backups if you want them to be removed."
+    fi
   fi
-  ./target/release/aleph-node \
-    $validator \
-    --chain $BASE_PATH/chainspec.json \
-    --base-path $BASE_PATH/$account_id \
-    --name $auth \
-    --rpc-port $((9943 + i)) \
-    --port $((30334 + i)) \
-    --bootnodes $bootnodes \
-    --node-key-file $BASE_PATH/$account_id/p2p_secret \
-    --backup-path $BASE_PATH/$account_id/backup-stash \
-    --execution Native \
-    --rpc-cors=all \
-    --no-mdns \
-    --public-validator-addresses 127.0.0.1:${validator_port} \
-    --validator-port ${validator_port} \
-    --detailed-log-output \
-    -laleph-party=debug \
-    -laleph-network=debug \
-    -lnetwork-clique=debug \
-    -laleph-finality=debug \
-    -laleph-justification=debug \
-    -laleph-data-store=debug \
-    -laleph-updater=debug \
-    -laleph-metrics=debug \
-    2> $auth.log > /dev/null & \
-}
+fi
 
-for i in $(seq 0 "$(( N_VALIDATORS + N_NON_VALIDATORS - 1 ))"); do
-  run_node "$i" true
+info "Creating bootnode p2p multiaddress."
+p2p_key_public=$("${ALEPH_NODE}" key inspect-node-key --file "${BASE_PATH}/${rpc_node_account_ids[0]}/p2p_secret")
+bootnode_multiaddress="/dns4/localhost/tcp/$((NODE_P2P_PORT_RANGE_START))/p2p/${p2p_key_public}"
+info "Bootnode p2p multiaddress is ${bootnode_multiaddress}"
+
+if [[ -z "${DONT_DELETE_DB}" ]] ; then
+  info "Removing database for all nodes (aka purging chain)."
+  for i in $(seq 0 "$(( RPC_NODES - 1 ))"); do
+    rpc_node_account_id=${rpc_node_account_ids[$i]}
+    "${ALEPH_NODE}" purge-chain --base-path "${BASE_PATH}/${rpc_node_account_id}" --chain "${BASE_PATH}/chainspec.json" -y > /dev/null 2>&1
+  done
+  for i in $(seq 0 "$(( VALIDATORS - 1 ))"); do
+    validator_account_id="${validator_account_ids[$i]}"
+    "${ALEPH_NODE}" purge-chain --base-path "${BASE_PATH}/${validator_account_id}" --chain "${BASE_PATH}/chainspec.json" -y > /dev/null 2>&1
+  done
+fi
+
+if [[ -z "${DONT_REMOVE_ABFT_BACKUPS}" ]]; then
+  all_account_ids=(${validator_account_ids[@]} ${rpc_node_account_ids[@]})
+  backups=$(get_backup_folders "${BASE_PATH}" ${all_account_ids[@]})
+  if [[ "${backups[@]}" ]]; then
+    info "Removing AlephBFT backups."
+    echo "${backups[@]}" | xargs rm -rf
+  fi
+fi
+
+for i in $(seq 0 "$(( RPC_NODES - 1 ))"); do
+  rpc_node_account_id=${rpc_node_account_ids[$i]}
+  run_node "$i" "${rpc_node_account_id}" "${bootnode_multiaddress}"
 done
 
-for i in $(seq "$(( N_VALIDATORS + N_NON_VALIDATORS))" "$(( N_VALIDATORS + N_NON_VALIDATORS - 1 + N_LISTENERES))"); do
-  run_node "$i" false
+for i in $(seq 0 "$(( VALIDATORS - 1 ))"); do
+  validator_account_id=${validator_account_ids[$i]}
+  run_node $(( i + RPC_NODES )) "${validator_account_id}" "${bootnode_multiaddress}"
 done
+
+popd > /dev/null
+exit 0
diff --git a/scripts/setup_staking.sh b/scripts/setup_staking.sh
index 80e2ac5435..e33dfeb870 100755
--- a/scripts/setup_staking.sh
+++ b/scripts/setup_staking.sh
@@ -62,34 +62,7 @@ EOF
   exit 0
 }
 
-NORMAL=$(tput sgr0)
-GREEN=$(tput setaf 2; tput bold)
-YELLOW=$(tput setaf 3)
-RED=$(tput setaf 1)
-
-function get_timestamp() {
-  echo "$(date +'%Y-%m-%d %T:%3N')"
-}
-
-function error() {
-    echo -e "$(get_timestamp) $RED$*$NORMAL"
-    exit 1
-}
-
-function info() {
-    echo -e "$(get_timestamp) $GREEN$*$NORMAL"
-}
-
-function warning() {
-    echo -e "$(get_timestamp) $YELLOW$*$NORMAL"
-}
-
-function sigint_trap()
-{
-   echo
-   info "Ctrl+C pressed, exiting cleanly."
-   exit 0
-}
+source ./scripts/common.sh
 
 trap sigint_trap SIGINT