Files
bitcoin/doc
merge-script ea9afb61a1 Merge bitcoin/bitcoin#35602: doc: Clarify build docs about pkgconf / pkg-config requirements
fb8a103886 doc: Clarify build docs about `pkgconf` / `pkg-config` requirements (Hennadii Stepanov)

Pull request description:

  Since https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/34411, `pkgconf`/`pkg-config` is no longer strictly required.

  It is currently required for ZeroMQ on several major distributions and operating systems, including Debian, Ubuntu, the BSD derivatives, and Gentoo.

  Regarding QRencode, our [`FindQRencode.cmake`](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/cmake/module/FindQRencode.cmake) module treats `pkgconf`/`pkg-config` as optional and can successfully locate the package without it.

  This PR amends https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/34411 and updates the build notes accordingly.

  Addresses https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/34411#pullrequestreview-4553185425.

ACKs for top commit:
  purpleKarrot:
    ACK fb8a103886
  sedited:
    ACK fb8a103886

Tree-SHA512: 0f740c954f058ce69fe936a51cfe1dc36dc374d392a94343d5c9f6b0be9565e4163c01015b00fef4e58eb180a8a520e6e81ea8b206868b3bcdf077caf0d24d65
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Bitcoin Core

Setup

Bitcoin Core is the original Bitcoin client and it builds the backbone of the network. It downloads and, by default, stores the entire history of Bitcoin transactions, which requires several hundred gigabytes or more of disk space. Depending on the speed of your computer and network connection, the synchronization process can take anywhere from a few hours to several days or more.

To download Bitcoin Core, visit bitcoincore.org.

Running

The following are some helpful notes on how to run Bitcoin Core on your native platform.

Unix

Unpack the files into a directory and run:

  • bin/bitcoin-qt (GUI) or
  • bin/bitcoind (headless)
  • bin/bitcoin (wrapper command)

The bitcoin command supports subcommands like bitcoin gui, bitcoin node, and bitcoin rpc exposing different functionality. Subcommands can be listed with bitcoin help.

Windows

Unpack the files into a directory, and then run bitcoin-qt.exe.

macOS

Drag Bitcoin Core to your applications folder, and then run Bitcoin Core.

Need Help?

Building

The following are developer notes on how to build Bitcoin Core on your native platform. They are not complete guides, but include notes on the necessary libraries, compile flags, etc.

Development

The Bitcoin repo's root README contains relevant information on the development process and automated testing.

Resources

Miscellaneous

License

Distributed under the MIT software license.