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 ](https://bitcoincore.org/en/download/ ).
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)
### 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 ](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Main_Page )
for help and more information.
* Ask for help on [Bitcoin StackExchange ](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com ).
* Ask for help on #bitcoin on Libera Chat. If you don't have an IRC client, you can use [web.libera.chat ](https://web.libera.chat/#bitcoin ).
* 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 Core on your native platform. They are not complete guides, but include notes on the necessary libraries, compile flags, etc.
- [Dependencies ](dependencies.md )
- [macOS Build Notes ](build-osx.md )
- [Unix Build Notes ](build-unix.md )
- [Windows Build Notes ](build-windows.md )
- [FreeBSD Build Notes ](build-freebsd.md )
- [OpenBSD Build Notes ](build-openbsd.md )
- [NetBSD Build Notes ](build-netbsd.md )
- [Android Build Notes ](build-android.md )
Development
---------------------
The Bitcoin repo's [root README ](/README.md ) contains relevant information on the development process and automated testing.
- [Developer Notes ](developer-notes.md )
- [Productivity Notes ](productivity.md )
- [Release Notes ](release-notes.md )
- [Release Process ](release-process.md )
- [Source Code Documentation (External Link) ](https://doxygen.bitcoincore.org/ )
- [Translation Process ](translation_process.md )
- [Translation Strings Policy ](translation_strings_policy.md )
- [JSON-RPC Interface ](JSON-RPC-interface.md )
- [Unauthenticated REST Interface ](REST-interface.md )
- [Shared Libraries ](shared-libraries.md )
- [BIPS ](bips.md )
- [Dnsseed Policy ](dnsseed-policy.md )
- [Benchmarking ](benchmarking.md )
### Resources
* Discuss on the [BitcoinTalk ](https://bitcointalk.org/ ) forums, in the [Development & Technical Discussion board ](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=6.0 ).
* Discuss project-specific development on #bitcoin -core-dev on Libera Chat. If you don't have an IRC client, you can use [web.libera.chat ](https://web.libera.chat/#bitcoin-core-dev ).
### Miscellaneous
- [Assets Attribution ](assets-attribution.md )
- [Assumeutxo design ](assumeutxo.md )
- [bitcoin.conf Configuration File ](bitcoin-conf.md )
- [Files ](files.md )
- [Fuzz-testing ](fuzzing.md )
- [I2P Support ](i2p.md )
- [Init Scripts (systemd/upstart/openrc) ](init.md )
- [Managing Wallets ](managing-wallets.md )
- [Multisig Tutorial ](multisig-tutorial.md )
- [P2P bad ports definition and list ](p2p-bad-ports.md )
- [PSBT support ](psbt.md )
- [Reduce Memory ](reduce-memory.md )
- [Reduce Traffic ](reduce-traffic.md )
- [Tor Support ](tor.md )
- [Transaction Relay Policy ](policy/README.md )
- [ZMQ ](zmq.md )
License
---------------------
Distributed under the [MIT software license ](/COPYING ).