Distributed under the [MIT/X11 software license](http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php).
This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the [OpenSSL Toolkit](http://www.openssl.org/). This product includes
cryptographic software written by Eric Young ([eay@cryptsoft.com](mailto:eay@cryptsoft.com)), and UPnP software written by Thomas Bernard.
Setup
---------------------
[Bitcoin-Qt](http://bitcoin.org/en/download) is the original Bitcoin client and it builds the backbone of the network. However, it downloads and stores the entire history of Bitcoin transactions (which is currently several GBs); 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.
[Bitcoin-Qt](http://bitcoin.org/en/download) is the original Bitcoin client and it builds the backbone of the network. However, it downloads and stores the entire history of Bitcoin transactions (which is currently several GBs); 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. Thankfully you only have to do this once. If you would like the process to go faster you can [download the blockchain directly](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=145386.0).
Running
---------------------
The following are some helpful notes on how to run Bitcoin on your native platform.
### Unix
@ -21,27 +20,29 @@ You need the Qt4 run-time libraries to run Bitcoin-Qt. On Debian or Ubuntu:
Unpack the files into a directory and run:
- bin/32/bitcoin-qt (GUI, 32-bit)
- bin/32/bitcoind (headless, 32-bit)
- bin/64/bitcoin-qt (GUI, 64-bit)
- bin/64/bitcoind (headless, 64-bit)
- bin/32/bitcoin-qt (GUI, 32-bit) or bin/32/bitcoind (headless, 32-bit)
- bin/64/bitcoin-qt (GUI, 64-bit) or bin/64/bitcoind (headless, 64-bit)
### Windows
Unpack the files into a directory and run bitcoin-qt.exe.
Unpack the files into a directory, and then run bitcoin-qt.exe.
### OSX
Drag Bitcoin-Qt to your applications folder, and then run Bitcoin-Qt.
### Need Help?
* See the documentation at the [Bitcoin Wiki](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Main_Page)
for help and more information.
* Ask for help on [#bitcoin](http://webchat.freenode.net?channels=bitcoin) on Freenode. If you don't have an IRC client use [webchat here](http://webchat.freenode.net?channels=bitcoin).
* Ask for help on the [BitcoinTalk](https://bitcointalk.org/) forums, in the [technical support board](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=4.0).
* Ask for help on the [BitcoinTalk](https://bitcointalk.org/) forums, in the [Technical Support board](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=4.0).
Building
---------------------
The following are developer notes on how to build Bitcoin on your native platform. They are not complete guide, but include notes on the necessary libraries, compile flags, etc.
The following are developer notes on how to build Bitcoin on your native platform. They are not complete guides, but include notes on the necessary libraries, compile flags, etc.
- [OSX Build Notes](build-osx.md)
- [Unix Build Notes](build-unix.md)
@ -59,8 +60,17 @@ The Bitcoin repo's [root README](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/
- [Translation Process](translation_process.md)
- [Unit Tests](unit-tests.md)
Other Pages
---------------------
### Resources
* Discuss on the [BitcoinTalk](https://bitcointalk.org/) forums, in the [Development & Technical Discussion board](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=6.0).
* Discuss on [#bitcoin-dev](http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=bitcoin) on Freenode. If you don't have an IRC client use [webchat here](http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=bitcoin-dev).
### Miscellaneous
- [Assets Attribution](assets-attribution.md)
- [Files](files.md)
- [Tor Support](tor.md)
License
---------------------
Distributed under the [MIT/X11 software license](http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php).
This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the [OpenSSL Toolkit](http://www.openssl.org/). This product includes
cryptographic software written by Eric Young ([eay@cryptsoft.com](mailto:eay@cryptsoft.com)), and UPnP software written by Thomas Bernard.
super3
11 years ago