diff --git a/ansible/roles/ethlambda/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/ethlambda/tasks/main.yml
index 3fda6f8..d8ff446 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/ethlambda/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/ethlambda/tasks/main.yml
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@
         --name {{ node_name }}
         --restart unless-stopped
         --network host
+        {{ '--init --ulimit core=-1 --workdir /data' if (enable_core_dumps | default('') == 'all') or (node_name in (enable_core_dumps | default('')).split(',')) or (node_name.split('_')[0] in (enable_core_dumps | default('')).split(',')) else '' }}
         -v {{ genesis_dir }}:/config:ro
         -v {{ data_dir }}/{{ node_name }}:/data
         {{ ethlambda_docker_image }}
diff --git a/ansible/roles/grandine/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/grandine/tasks/main.yml
index 7679d50..1fd9558 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/grandine/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/grandine/tasks/main.yml
@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@
         --name {{ node_name }}
         --restart unless-stopped
         --network host
+        {{ '--init --ulimit core=-1 --workdir /data' if (enable_core_dumps | default('') == 'all') or (node_name in (enable_core_dumps | default('')).split(',')) or (node_name.split('_')[0] in (enable_core_dumps | default('')).split(',')) else '' }}
         -v {{ genesis_dir }}:/config:ro
         -v {{ data_dir }}/{{ node_name }}:/data
         {{ grandine_docker_image }}
diff --git a/ansible/roles/lantern/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/lantern/tasks/main.yml
index 8f18357..23b9246 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/lantern/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/lantern/tasks/main.yml
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@
         --name {{ node_name }}
         --restart unless-stopped
         --network host
+        {{ '--init --ulimit core=-1 --workdir /data' if (enable_core_dumps | default('') == 'all') or (node_name in (enable_core_dumps | default('')).split(',')) or (node_name.split('_')[0] in (enable_core_dumps | default('')).split(',')) else '' }}
         -v {{ genesis_dir }}:/config:ro
         -v {{ data_dir }}/{{ node_name }}:/data
         {{ lantern_docker_image }}
diff --git a/ansible/roles/lighthouse/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/lighthouse/tasks/main.yml
index 7385715..d87c831 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/lighthouse/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/lighthouse/tasks/main.yml
@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@
         --name {{ node_name }}
         --restart unless-stopped
         --network host
+        {{ '--init --ulimit core=-1 --workdir /data' if (enable_core_dumps | default('') == 'all') or (node_name in (enable_core_dumps | default('')).split(',')) or (node_name.split('_')[0] in (enable_core_dumps | default('')).split(',')) else '' }}
         -v {{ genesis_dir }}:/config:ro
         -v {{ data_dir }}/{{ node_name }}:/data
         {{ lighthouse_docker_image }}
diff --git a/ansible/roles/qlean/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/qlean/tasks/main.yml
index 07579b7..1cb505c 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/qlean/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/qlean/tasks/main.yml
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@
         --restart unless-stopped
         --network host
         --platform {{ qlean_docker_platform }}
+        {{ '--init --ulimit core=-1 --workdir /data' if (enable_core_dumps | default('') == 'all') or (node_name in (enable_core_dumps | default('')).split(',')) or (node_name.split('_')[0] in (enable_core_dumps | default('')).split(',')) else '' }}
         -v {{ genesis_dir }}:/config:ro
         -v {{ data_dir }}/{{ node_name }}:/data
         {{ qlean_docker_image }}
diff --git a/ansible/roles/ream/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/ream/tasks/main.yml
index 1810958..8008fae 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/ream/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/ream/tasks/main.yml
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@
         --name {{ node_name }}
         --restart unless-stopped
         --network host
+        {{ '--init --ulimit core=-1 --workdir /data' if (enable_core_dumps | default('') == 'all') or (node_name in (enable_core_dumps | default('')).split(',')) or (node_name.split('_')[0] in (enable_core_dumps | default('')).split(',')) else '' }}
         -v {{ genesis_dir }}:/config:ro
         -v {{ data_dir }}/{{ node_name }}:/data
         {{ ream_docker_image }}
diff --git a/ansible/roles/zeam/tasks/main.yml b/ansible/roles/zeam/tasks/main.yml
index 74c0473..5026ed6 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/zeam/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/zeam/tasks/main.yml
@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@
         --restart unless-stopped
         --network host
         --security-opt seccomp=unconfined
+        {{ '--init --ulimit core=-1 --workdir /data' if (enable_core_dumps | default('') == 'all') or (node_name in (enable_core_dumps | default('')).split(',')) or (node_name.split('_')[0] in (enable_core_dumps | default('')).split(',')) else '' }}
         -v {{ genesis_dir }}:/config:ro
         -v {{ data_dir }}/{{ node_name }}:/data
         {{ zeam_docker_image }}
diff --git a/parse-env.sh b/parse-env.sh
index 91b2a6a..84db521 100755
--- a/parse-env.sh
+++ b/parse-env.sh
@@ -80,6 +80,11 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
       stopNodes=true
       shift
       ;;
+    --coreDumps)
+      coreDumps="$2"
+      shift # past argument
+      shift # past value
+      ;;
     *)    # unknown option
       shift # past argument
       ;;
@@ -110,3 +115,4 @@ echo "cleanData = $cleanData"
 echo "popupTerminal = $popupTerminal"
 echo "dockerTag = ${dockerTag:-latest}"
 echo "enableMetrics = $enableMetrics"
+echo "coreDumps = ${coreDumps:-disabled}"
diff --git a/run-ansible.sh b/run-ansible.sh
index 5f4eabd..3afd48c 100755
--- a/run-ansible.sh
+++ b/run-ansible.sh
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ validator_config_file="$5"
 sshKeyFile="$6"
 useRoot="$7"  # Flag to use root user (defaults to current user)
 action="$8"   # Action: "stop" to stop nodes, otherwise deploy
+coreDumps="$9"  # Core dump configuration: "all", node names, or client types
 
 # Determine SSH user: use root if --useRoot flag is set, otherwise use current user
 if [ "$useRoot" == "true" ]; then
@@ -37,7 +38,7 @@ fi
 # Validate required arguments
 if [ -z "$configDir" ] || [ -z "$validator_config_file" ]; then
   echo "Error: Missing required arguments"
-  echo "Usage: $0 <configDir> <node> <cleanData> <validatorConfig> <validator_config_file> [sshKeyFile] [useRoot]"
+  echo "Usage: $0 <configDir> <node> <cleanData> <validatorConfig> <validator_config_file> [sshKeyFile] [useRoot] [action] [coreDumps]"
   exit 1
 fi
 
@@ -107,6 +108,10 @@ if [ -n "$validatorConfig" ] && [ "$validatorConfig" != "genesis_bootnode" ]; th
   EXTRA_VARS="$EXTRA_VARS validator_config=$validatorConfig"
 fi
 
+if [ -n "$coreDumps" ]; then
+  EXTRA_VARS="$EXTRA_VARS enable_core_dumps=$coreDumps"
+fi
+
 # Determine deployment mode (docker/binary) - read default from group_vars/all.yml
 # Default to 'docker' if not specified in group_vars
 GROUP_VARS_FILE="$ANSIBLE_DIR/inventory/group_vars/all.yml"
diff --git a/spin-node.sh b/spin-node.sh
index d0f50d5..fd61447 100755
--- a/spin-node.sh
+++ b/spin-node.sh
@@ -10,6 +10,23 @@ fi
 # 0. parse env and args
 source "$(dirname $0)/parse-env.sh"
 
+# Helper function to check if core dumps should be enabled for a node
+# Accepts: "all", exact node names (zeam_0), or client types (zeam)
+should_enable_core_dumps() {
+  local node_name="$1"
+  local client_type="${node_name%%_*}"  # Extract client type (e.g., "zeam" from "zeam_0")
+
+  [ -z "$coreDumps" ] && return 1
+  [ "$coreDumps" = "all" ] && return 0
+
+  IFS=',' read -r -a dump_targets <<< "$coreDumps"
+  for target in "${dump_targets[@]}"; do
+    # Exact node name match or client type match
+    [ "$target" = "$node_name" ] || [ "$target" = "$client_type" ] && return 0
+  done
+  return 1
+}
+
 # Check if yq is installed (needed for deployment mode detection)
 if ! command -v yq &> /dev/null; then
     echo "Error: yq is required but not installed. Please install yq first."
@@ -145,7 +162,7 @@ if [ "$deployment_mode" == "ansible" ]; then
   # Handle stop action
   if [ -n "$stopNodes" ] && [ "$stopNodes" == "true" ]; then
     echo "Stopping nodes via Ansible..."
-    if ! "$scriptDir/run-ansible.sh" "$configDir" "$node" "$cleanData" "$validatorConfig" "$validator_config_file" "$sshKeyFile" "$useRoot" "stop"; then
+    if ! "$scriptDir/run-ansible.sh" "$configDir" "$node" "$cleanData" "$validatorConfig" "$validator_config_file" "$sshKeyFile" "$useRoot" "stop" "$coreDumps"; then
       echo "❌ Ansible stop operation failed. Exiting."
       exit 1
     fi
@@ -154,7 +171,7 @@ if [ "$deployment_mode" == "ansible" ]; then
   
   # Call separate Ansible execution script
   # If Ansible deployment fails, exit immediately (don't fall through to local deployment)
-  if ! "$scriptDir/run-ansible.sh" "$configDir" "$node" "$cleanData" "$validatorConfig" "$validator_config_file" "$sshKeyFile" "$useRoot"; then
+  if ! "$scriptDir/run-ansible.sh" "$configDir" "$node" "$cleanData" "$validatorConfig" "$validator_config_file" "$sshKeyFile" "$useRoot" "" "$coreDumps"; then
     echo "❌ Ansible deployment failed. Exiting."
     exit 1
   fi
@@ -272,7 +289,13 @@ for item in "${spin_nodes[@]}"; do
   # spin nodes
   if [ "$node_setup" == "binary" ]
   then
-    execCmd="$node_binary"
+    # Add core dump support if enabled for this node
+    if should_enable_core_dumps "$item"; then
+      execCmd="ulimit -c unlimited && $node_binary"
+      echo "Core dumps enabled for $item (binary mode)"
+    else
+      execCmd="$node_binary"
+    fi
   else
     # Extract image name from node_docker (find word containing ':' which is the image:tag)
     docker_image=$(echo "$node_docker" | grep -oE '[^ ]+:[^ ]+' | head -1)
@@ -293,6 +316,15 @@ for item in "${spin_nodes[@]}"; do
     # to reach each other via 127.0.0.1 (as configured in nodes.yaml ENR records).
     # Note: Port mapping (-p) doesn't work with --network host, so metrics endpoints
     # are not directly accessible from the macOS host. Use 'docker exec' to access them.
+
+    # Add core dump support if enabled for this node
+    # --init: forwards signals and reaps zombies (required for core dumps)
+    # --workdir /data: dumps land in the mounted volume
+    if should_enable_core_dumps "$item"; then
+      execCmd="$execCmd --init --ulimit core=-1 --workdir /data"
+      echo "Core dumps enabled for $item (dumps will be written to $dataDir/$item/)"
+    fi
+
     execCmd="$execCmd --name $item --network host \
           -v $configDir:/config \
           -v $dataDir/$item:/data \