Files
bitcoin/doc
merge-script 161864a038 Merge bitcoin/bitcoin#32579: p2p: Correct unrealistic headerssync unit test behavior
cc5dda1de3 headerssync: Make HeadersSyncState more flexible and move constants (Hodlinator)
8fd1c2893e test(headerssync): Test returning of pow_validated_headers behavior (Hodlinator)
7b00643ef5 test(headerssync): headers_sync_chainwork test improvements (Hodlinator)
04eeb9578c doc(test): Improve comments (Hodlinator)
fe896f8faa refactor(test): Store HeadersSyncState on the stack (Hodlinator)
f03686892a refactor(test): Break up headers_sync_state (Hodlinator)
e984618d0b refactor(headerssync): Process spans of headers (Hodlinator)
a4ac9915a9 refactor(headerssync): Extract test constants ahead of breakup into functions (Hodlinator)

Pull request description:

  ### Background

  As part of the release process we often run *contrib/devtools/headerssync-params.py* and increase the values of the constants `HEADER_COMMITMENT_PERIOD` and `REDOWNLOAD_BUFFER_SIZE` in *src/headerssync.cpp* as per *doc/release-process.md* (example: 11a2d3a63e). This helps fine tune the memory consumption per `HeadersSyncState`-instance in the face of malicious peers.

  (The `REDOWNLOAD_BUFFER_SIZE`/`HEADER_COMMITMENT_PERIOD` ratio determines how many Headers Sync commitment bits must match between PRESYNC & REDOWNLOAD phases before we start permanently storing headers from a peer. For more details see comments in *src/headerssync.h* and *contrib/devtools/headerssync-params.py*).

  ### Problem: Not feeding back headers until completing sync

  During v30 release process #33274 made `REDOWNLOAD_BUFFER_SIZE` exceed the `target_blocks` constant used to control the length of chains generated for testing Headers Sync (`15000`, *headers_sync_chainwork_tests.cpp*).

  The `HeadersSyncState::m_redownloaded_headers`-buffer now does not reach the `REDOWNLOAD_BUFFER_SIZE`-threshold during those unit tests. As a consequence `HeadersSyncState::PopHeadersReadyForAcceptance()` will not start feeding back headers until the PoW threshold has been met. While this will not cause the unit test to start failing on master, it means we have gone from testing behavior that resembles mainnet (way more than `REDOWNLOAD_BUFFER_SIZE` headers to reach the PoW limit), to behavior that is not possible/expected there.

  ### Solution

  Avoid testing this unrealistic condition of completing Headers Sync before reaching `REDOWNLOAD_BUFFER_SIZE` by making tests able to define their own values through the new `HeadersSyncParams` instead of having them hard-coded for all chains & tests.

  ### Commits

  * First 6 commits refactor and improve the unit tests in order to clarify latter changes.
  * We then add checks for the behavior around the `REDOWNLOAD_BUFFER_SIZE` threshold.
  * The main change: we extract the section from *headerssync.cpp* containing the constants to *kernel/chainparams.cpp*, making `HeadersSyncState` no longer hard-coded to mainnet.

  ### Notes

  This PR used to be called "headerssync: Preempt unrealistic unit test behavior".

ACKs for top commit:
  l0rinc:
    reACK cc5dda1de3
  marcofleon:
    code review ACK cc5dda1de3
  danielabrozzoni:
    reACK cc5dda1de3

Tree-SHA512: ccc824dcbbb8ad5ae98c3bf5808b38467aac0230739898a758c9b939eecd74f982df088fa0ba81cc1c1732f19a607b135a6e9577bb9fcf7f8570567ce92f66e6
2025-10-23 06:19:50 -04:00
..
2025-09-23 10:43:55 -04:00
2025-06-24 13:43:32 -07:00
2025-06-30 06:24:00 -04:00
2025-05-06 12:21:32 -07:00
2025-07-13 23:25:37 +01:00
2025-08-07 09:01:55 +01:00
2025-06-19 11:22:14 +01:00
2025-07-26 13:58:01 +03:00

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.