diff --git a/thundercore/scripts/download.thunder.sh b/thundercore/scripts/download.thunder.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1dd23002
--- /dev/null
+++ b/thundercore/scripts/download.thunder.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+# Exit on error and show commands
+set -ex
+
+# Verify snapshot URL is provided
+if [ -z "$SNAPSHOT_URL" ]; then
+  echo "Error: SNAPSHOT_URL environment variable not set"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Install required tools
+apk add --no-cache wget tar gzip
+
+# Create and prepare directories
+rm -rf /datadir/*
+
+url=$(wget -q -O - $SNAPSHOT_URL)
+echo "downloading $url"
+
+wget --show-progress -c $url -O - | tar -C /datadir -zx
+
+echo "Download and extraction complete"