4b24c3962f
97c738ff1b592270491551cc0a43472d244ffbb0 [tests] Recommend f-strings for formatting, update feature_block to use them (Anthony Towns) 8ae9d314e9af7bcce1e8bc52f0317b9d565109bf Bump minimum python version to 3.6 (Anthony Towns) Pull request description: Python 3.5 has reached [end-of-life](https://devguide.python.org/#status-of-python-branches) as of September 2020, and 3.6 has some moderately nice [features](https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.6.html): - `f'x = {x}'` as an alternative to `'x = {}'.format(x)` format strings (cf https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/13718#issuecomment-406591027) - underscore separators for large numbers, like `1_234_567` - improvements to async - improvements to typing module Note that 3.6 is not available in xenial (16.04), but is available in bionic (18.04), while focal (20.04) has 3.8. CentOS 7 and 8 have 3.6.8, Debian stable has 3.7.3, and [gentoo and arch already had 3.6 and 3.7 in 2018](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/14954#issuecomment-447118707). ACKs for top commit: MarcoFalke: re-ACK 97c738ff1b Tree-SHA512: ec7fce68845edde4d61a42de12c065fd49e5217311a6fda1323206f091a0afd50f293645dffc27d420127e4e5deb864e953f1b67eff735a0dfbbedd7899a9d60
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 a few hundred gigabytes of disk space. Depending on the speed of your computer and network connection, the synchronization process can take anywhere from a few hours to a day 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) orbin/bitcoind(headless)
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?
- See the documentation at the Bitcoin Wiki for help and more information.
- Ask for help on #bitcoin on Freenode. If you don't have an IRC client, use webchat here.
- Ask for help on the BitcoinTalk forums, in the Technical Support board.
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.
- Dependencies
- macOS Build Notes
- Unix Build Notes
- Windows Build Notes
- FreeBSD Build Notes
- OpenBSD Build Notes
- NetBSD Build Notes
- Gitian Building Guide (External Link)
Development
The Bitcoin repo's root README contains relevant information on the development process and automated testing.
- Developer Notes
- Productivity Notes
- Release Notes
- Release Process
- Source Code Documentation (External Link)
- Translation Process
- Translation Strings Policy
- JSON-RPC Interface
- Unauthenticated REST Interface
- Shared Libraries
- BIPS
- Dnsseed Policy
- Benchmarking
Resources
- Discuss on the BitcoinTalk forums, in the Development & Technical Discussion board.
- Discuss project-specific development on #bitcoin-core-dev on Freenode. If you don't have an IRC client, use webchat here.
- Discuss general Bitcoin development on #bitcoin-dev on Freenode. If you don't have an IRC client, use webchat here.
Miscellaneous
- Assets Attribution
- bitcoin.conf Configuration File
- Files
- Fuzz-testing
- Reduce Memory
- Reduce Traffic
- Tor Support
- Init Scripts (systemd/upstart/openrc)
- ZMQ
- PSBT support
License
Distributed under the MIT software license.