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286 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
286 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
# 3.2: Knowing Your Bitcoin Setup
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> :information_source: **NOTE:** This is a draft in progress, so that I can get some feedback from early reviewers. It is not yet ready for learning.
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Before you start playing with Bitcoin, you may always want to come to a better understanding of your setup.
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## Know Your Bitcoin Directory
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To start with, you should understand where everything is kept: the `~/.bitcoin` directory.
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The main directory just contains your config file and the testnet directory:
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```
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$ ls ~/.bitcoin
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bitcoin.conf testnet3
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```
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The setup guides in [Chapter Two: Creating a Bitcoin-Core VPS](02_0_Setting_Up_a_Bitcoin-Core_VPS.md) laid out a standardized config file. [§3.1: Verifying Your Bitcoin Setup](03_1_Verifying_Your_Bitcoin_Setup.md) suggested how to change it to support more advanced setups. If you're interested in learning even more about the config file, you may wish to consult [Jameson Lopp's Bitcoin Core Config Generator](https://jlopp.github.io/bitcoin-core-config-generator/).
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Moving back to your ~/.bitcoin directory, you'll find that the testnet3 directory contains all of the guts:
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```
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$ ls ~/.bitcoin/testnet3
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banlist.dat blocks debug.log mempool.dat peers.dat
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bitcoind.pid chainstate fee_estimates.dat onion_private_key wallets
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```
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You shouldn't mess with most of these files and directories — particularly not the `blocks` and `chainstate` directories, which contain all of the blockchain data, and the information in your `wallets` directory, which contains your personal wallet. However, do take careful note of the `debug.log` file, which you should refer to if you ever have problems with your setup.
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> :link: **TESTNET vs MAINNET:** If you're using mainnet, then _everything_ will instead be placed in the main `~/.bitcoin` directory. These various setups _do_ elegantly stack, so if you are using mainnet, testnet, and regtest, you'll find that `~/.bitcoin` contains your config file and your mainnet data, the `~/.bitcoin/testnet3` directory contains your testnet data, and the `~/.bitcoin/regtest` directory contains your regtest data.
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## Know Your Bitcoin-cli Commands
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Most of your early work will be done with the `bitcoin-cli` command, which offers an easy interface to `bitcoind`. If you ever want more information on its usage, just run it with the `help` argument. Without any other arguments, it shows you every possible command:
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```
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$ bitcoin-cli help
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== Blockchain ==
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getbestblockhash
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getblock "blockhash" ( verbosity )
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getblockchaininfo
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getblockcount
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getblockfilter "blockhash" ( "filtertype" )
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getblockhash height
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getblockheader "blockhash" ( verbose )
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getblockstats hash_or_height ( stats )
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getchaintips
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getchaintxstats ( nblocks "blockhash" )
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getdifficulty
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getmempoolancestors "txid" ( verbose )
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getmempooldescendants "txid" ( verbose )
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getmempoolentry "txid"
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getmempoolinfo
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getrawmempool ( verbose )
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gettxout "txid" n ( include_mempool )
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gettxoutproof ["txid",...] ( "blockhash" )
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gettxoutsetinfo
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preciousblock "blockhash"
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pruneblockchain height
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savemempool
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scantxoutset "action" ( [scanobjects,...] )
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verifychain ( checklevel nblocks )
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verifytxoutproof "proof"
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== Control ==
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getmemoryinfo ( "mode" )
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getrpcinfo
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help ( "command" )
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logging ( ["include_category",...] ["exclude_category",...] )
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stop
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uptime
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== Generating ==
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generatetoaddress nblocks "address" ( maxtries )
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generatetodescriptor num_blocks "descriptor" ( maxtries )
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== Mining ==
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getblocktemplate ( "template_request" )
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getmininginfo
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getnetworkhashps ( nblocks height )
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prioritisetransaction "txid" ( dummy ) fee_delta
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submitblock "hexdata" ( "dummy" )
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submitheader "hexdata"
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== Network ==
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addnode "node" "command"
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clearbanned
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disconnectnode ( "address" nodeid )
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getaddednodeinfo ( "node" )
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getconnectioncount
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getnettotals
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getnetworkinfo
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getnodeaddresses ( count )
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getpeerinfo
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listbanned
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ping
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setban "subnet" "command" ( bantime absolute )
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setnetworkactive state
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== Rawtransactions ==
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analyzepsbt "psbt"
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combinepsbt ["psbt",...]
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combinerawtransaction ["hexstring",...]
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converttopsbt "hexstring" ( permitsigdata iswitness )
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createpsbt [{"txid":"hex","vout":n,"sequence":n},...] [{"address":amount},{"data":"hex"},...] ( locktime replaceable )
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createrawtransaction [{"txid":"hex","vout":n,"sequence":n},...] [{"address":amount},{"data":"hex"},...] ( locktime replaceable )
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decodepsbt "psbt"
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decoderawtransaction "hexstring" ( iswitness )
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decodescript "hexstring"
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finalizepsbt "psbt" ( extract )
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fundrawtransaction "hexstring" ( options iswitness )
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getrawtransaction "txid" ( verbose "blockhash" )
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joinpsbts ["psbt",...]
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sendrawtransaction "hexstring" ( maxfeerate )
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signrawtransactionwithkey "hexstring" ["privatekey",...] ( [{"txid":"hex","vout":n,"scriptPubKey":"hex","redeemScript":"hex","witnessScript":"hex","amount":amount},...] "sighashtype" )
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testmempoolaccept ["rawtx",...] ( maxfeerate )
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utxoupdatepsbt "psbt" ( ["",{"desc":"str","range":n or [n,n]},...] )
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== Util ==
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createmultisig nrequired ["key",...] ( "address_type" )
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deriveaddresses "descriptor" ( range )
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estimatesmartfee conf_target ( "estimate_mode" )
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getdescriptorinfo "descriptor"
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signmessagewithprivkey "privkey" "message"
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validateaddress "address"
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verifymessage "address" "signature" "message"
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== Wallet ==
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abandontransaction "txid"
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abortrescan
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addmultisigaddress nrequired ["key",...] ( "label" "address_type" )
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backupwallet "destination"
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bumpfee "txid" ( options )
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createwallet "wallet_name" ( disable_private_keys blank "passphrase" avoid_reuse )
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dumpprivkey "address"
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dumpwallet "filename"
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encryptwallet "passphrase"
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getaddressesbylabel "label"
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getaddressinfo "address"
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getbalance ( "dummy" minconf include_watchonly avoid_reuse )
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getbalances
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getnewaddress ( "label" "address_type" )
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getrawchangeaddress ( "address_type" )
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getreceivedbyaddress "address" ( minconf )
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getreceivedbylabel "label" ( minconf )
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gettransaction "txid" ( include_watchonly verbose )
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getunconfirmedbalance
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getwalletinfo
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importaddress "address" ( "label" rescan p2sh )
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importmulti "requests" ( "options" )
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importprivkey "privkey" ( "label" rescan )
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importprunedfunds "rawtransaction" "txoutproof"
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importpubkey "pubkey" ( "label" rescan )
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importwallet "filename"
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keypoolrefill ( newsize )
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listaddressgroupings
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listlabels ( "purpose" )
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listlockunspent
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listreceivedbyaddress ( minconf include_empty include_watchonly "address_filter" )
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listreceivedbylabel ( minconf include_empty include_watchonly )
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listsinceblock ( "blockhash" target_confirmations include_watchonly include_removed )
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listtransactions ( "label" count skip include_watchonly )
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listunspent ( minconf maxconf ["address",...] include_unsafe query_options )
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listwalletdir
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listwallets
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loadwallet "filename"
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lockunspent unlock ( [{"txid":"hex","vout":n},...] )
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removeprunedfunds "txid"
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rescanblockchain ( start_height stop_height )
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sendmany "" {"address":amount} ( minconf "comment" ["address",...] replaceable conf_target "estimate_mode" )
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sendtoaddress "address" amount ( "comment" "comment_to" subtractfeefromamount replaceable conf_target "estimate_mode" avoid_reuse )
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sethdseed ( newkeypool "seed" )
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setlabel "address" "label"
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settxfee amount
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setwalletflag "flag" ( value )
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signmessage "address" "message"
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signrawtransactionwithwallet "hexstring" ( [{"txid":"hex","vout":n,"scriptPubKey":"hex","redeemScript":"hex","witnessScript":"hex","amount":amount},...] "sighashtype" )
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unloadwallet ( "wallet_name" )
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walletcreatefundedpsbt [{"txid":"hex","vout":n,"sequence":n},...] [{"address":amount},{"data":"hex"},...] ( locktime options bip32derivs )
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walletlock
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walletpassphrase "passphrase" timeout
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walletpassphrasechange "oldpassphrase" "newpassphrase"
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walletprocesspsbt "psbt" ( sign "sighashtype" bip32derivs )
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== Zmq ==
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getzmqnotifications
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```
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You can also type `bitcoin-cli help [command]` to get even more extensive info on that command. For example:
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```
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getmininginfo
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Returns a json object containing mining-related information.
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Result:
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{ (json object)
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"blocks" : n, (numeric) The current block
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"currentblockweight" : n, (numeric, optional) The block weight of the last assembled block (only present if a block was ever assembled)
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"currentblocktx" : n, (numeric, optional) The number of block transactions of the last assembled block (only present if a block was ever assembled)
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"difficulty" : n, (numeric) The current difficulty
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"networkhashps" : n, (numeric) The network hashes per second
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"pooledtx" : n, (numeric) The size of the mempool
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"chain" : "str", (string) current network name (main, test, regtest)
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"warnings" : "str" (string) any network and blockchain warnings
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}
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Examples:
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> bitcoin-cli getmininginfo
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> curl --user myusername --data-binary '{"jsonrpc": "1.0", "id": "curltest", "method": "getmininginfo", "params": []}' -H 'content-type: text/plain;' http://127.0.0.1:8332/
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```
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> :book: ***What is RPC?*** `bitcoin-cli` is just a handy interface that lets you send commands to the `bitcoind`. More specifically, it's an interface that lets you send RPC (or Remote Procedure Protocol) commands to the `bitcoind`. Often, the `bitcoin-cli` command and the RPC command have identical names and interfaces, but some `bitcoin-cli` commands instead provide shortcuts for more complex RPC requests. Generally, the `bitcoin-cli` interface is much cleaner and simpler than trying to send RPC commands by hand, using `curl` or some other method. However, it also has limitations as to what you can ultimately do.
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## Optional: Know Your Bitcoin Info
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A variety of bitcoin-cli commands can give you additional information on your bitcoin data. The most general ones are:
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```
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$ bitcoin-cli getblockchaininfo
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$ bitcoin-cli getmininginfo
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$ bitcoin-cli getnetworkinfo
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$ bitcoin-cli getnettotals
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$ bitcoin-cli getwalletinfo
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```
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For example `bitcoin-cli getnetworkinfo` gives you a variety of information on your setup and its access to various networks:
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```
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$ bitcoin-cli getnetworkinfo
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{
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"version": 200000,
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"subversion": "/Satoshi:0.20.0/",
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"protocolversion": 70015,
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"localservices": "0000000000000408",
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"localservicesnames": [
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"WITNESS",
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"NETWORK_LIMITED"
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],
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"localrelay": true,
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"timeoffset": 0,
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"networkactive": true,
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"connections": 10,
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"networks": [
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{
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"name": "ipv4",
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"limited": false,
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"reachable": true,
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"proxy": "",
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"proxy_randomize_credentials": false
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},
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{
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"name": "ipv6",
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"limited": false,
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"reachable": true,
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"proxy": "",
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"proxy_randomize_credentials": false
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},
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{
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"name": "onion",
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"limited": false,
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"reachable": true,
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"proxy": "127.0.0.1:9050",
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"proxy_randomize_credentials": true
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}
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],
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"relayfee": 0.00001000,
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"incrementalfee": 0.00001000,
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"localaddresses": [
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{
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"address": "45.79.111.171",
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"port": 18333,
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"score": 1
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},
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{
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"address": "2600:3c01::f03c:92ff:fecc:fdb7",
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"port": 18333,
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"score": 1
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},
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{
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"address": "4wrr3ktm6gl4sojx.onion",
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"port": 18333,
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"score": 4
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}
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],
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"warnings": "Warning: unknown new rules activated (versionbit 28)"
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}
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```
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Feel free to reference any of these and to use "bitcoin-cli help" if you want more information on what any of them do.
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## Summary: Knowing Your Bitcoin Setup
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The `~/.bitcoin` directory contains all of your files, while `bitcoin-cli help` and a variety of info commands can be used to get more information on how your setup and Bitcoin work.
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## What's Next?
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Continue "Understanding Your Bitcoin Setup" with [§3.3: Setting Up Your Wallet](03_3_Setting_Up_Your_Wallet.md).
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