lbcwallet/README.md

btcwallet
=========

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btcwallet is a daemon handling bitcoin wallet functionality for a
single user.  It acts as both an RPC client to btcd and an RPC server
for wallet clients and legacy RPC applications.

Public and private keys are derived using the heirarchical
deterministic format described by
[BIP0032](https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0032.mediawiki).
Unencrypted private keys are not supported and are never written to
disk.  btcwallet uses the
`m/44'/<coin type>'/<account>'/<branch>/<address index>`
HD path for all derived addresses, as described by
[BIP0044](https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0044.mediawiki).

Due to the sensitive nature of public data in a BIP0032 wallet,
btcwallet provides the option of encrypting not just private keys, but
public data as well.  This is intended to thwart privacy risks where a
wallet file is compromised without exposing all current and future
addresses (public keys) managed by the wallet. While access to this
information would not allow an attacker to spend or steal coins, it
does mean they could track all transactions involving your addresses
and therefore know your exact balance.  In a future release, public data
encryption will extend to transactions as well.

btcwallet is not an SPV client and requires connecting to a local or
remote btcd instance for asynchronous blockchain queries and
notifications over websockets.  Full btcd installation instructions
can be found [here](https://github.com/btcsuite/btcd).  An alternative
SPV mode that is compatible with btcd and Bitcoin Core is planned for
a future release.

No release-ready graphical frontends currently exist, however the
proof-of-concept [btcgui](https://github.com/btcsuite/btcgui) project
shows some of the possibilities of btcwallet.  In the coming months a
new stable RPC API is planned, at which point a high quality graphical
frontend can be finished.

Mainnet support is currently disabled by default.  Use of btcwallet on
mainnet requires passing the `--mainnet` flag on the command line or
adding `mainnet=1` to the configuration file.  Mainnet will be enabled
by default in a future release after further database changes and
testing.

## Installation and updating

### Windows - MSIs Available

Install the latest MSIs available here:

https://github.com/btcsuite/btcd/releases

https://github.com/btcsuite/btcwallet/releases

### Windows/Linux/BSD/POSIX - Build from source

- If necessary, install Go according to the installation instructions
  here: http://golang.org/doc/install.  It is recommended to add
  `$GOPATH/bin` to your `PATH` at this point.

- Run the following commands to obtain and install btcd, btcwallet
  and all dependencies:
```
go get -u -v github.com/btcsuite/btcd/...
go get -u -v github.com/btcsuite/btcwallet/...
```

## Getting Started

The following instructions detail how to get started with btcwallet
connecting to a localhost btcd.  Commands should be run in `cmd.exe`
or PowerShell on Windows, or any terminal emulator on *nix.

- Run the following command to start btcd:

```
btcd --testnet -u rpcuser -P rpcpass
```

- Run the following command to create a wallet:

```
btcwallet -u rpcuser -P rpcpass --create
```

- Run the following command to start btcwallet:

```
btcwallet -u rpcuser -P rpcpass
```

If everything appears to be working, it is recommended at this point to
copy the sample btcd and btcwallet configurations and update with your
RPC username and password.

PowerShell (Installed from MSI):
```
PS> cp "$env:ProgramFiles\Btcd Suite\Btcd\sample-btcd.conf" $env:LOCALAPPDATA\Btcd\btcd.conf
PS> cp "$env:ProgramFiles\Btcd Suite\Btcwallet\sample-btcwallet.conf" $env:LOCALAPPDATA\Btcwallet\btcwallet.conf
PS> $editor $env:LOCALAPPDATA\Btcd\btcd.conf
PS> $editor $env:LOCALAPPDATA\Btcwallet\btcwallet.conf
```

PowerShell (Installed from source):
```
PS> cp $env:GOPATH\src\github.com\btcsuite\btcd\sample-btcd.conf $env:LOCALAPPDATA\Btcd\btcd.conf
PS> cp $env:GOPATH\src\github.com\btcsuite\btcwallet\sample-btcwallet.conf $env:LOCALAPPDATA\Btcwallet\btcwallet.conf
PS> $editor $env:LOCALAPPDATA\Btcd\btcd.conf
PS> $editor $env:LOCALAPPDATA\Btcwallet\btcwallet.conf
```

Linux/BSD/POSIX (Installed from source):
```bash
$ cp $GOPATH/src/github.com/btcsuite/btcd/sample-btcd.conf ~/.btcd/btcd.conf
$ cp $GOPATH/src/github.com/btcsuite/btcwallet/sample-btcwallet.conf ~/.btcwallet/btcwallet.conf
$ $EDITOR ~/.btcd/btcd.conf
$ $EDITOR ~/.btcwallet/btcwallet.conf
```

## Client Usage

Clients wishing to use btcwallet are recommended to connect to the
`ws` endpoint over a websocket connection.  Messages sent to btcwallet
over this websocket are expected to follow the standard Bitcoin JSON
API (partially documented
[here](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Original_Bitcoin_client/API_Calls_list)).
Websocket connections also enable additional API extensions and
JSON-RPC notifications (currently undocumented).  The btcd packages
`btcjson` and `btcws` provide types and functions for creating and
JSON (un)marshaling these requests and notifications.

## Issue Tracker

The [integrated github issue tracker](https://github.com/btcsuite/btcwallet/issues)
is used for this project.

## GPG Verification Key

All official release tags are signed by Conformal so users can ensure the code
has not been tampered with and is coming from the btcsuite developers.  To
verify the signature perform the following:

- Download the public key from the Conformal website at
  https://opensource.conformal.com/GIT-GPG-KEY-conformal.txt

- Import the public key into your GPG keyring:
  ```bash
  gpg --import GIT-GPG-KEY-conformal.txt
  ```

- Verify the release tag with the following command where `TAG_NAME` is a
  placeholder for the specific tag:
  ```bash
  git tag -v TAG_NAME
  ```

## License

btcwallet is licensed under the liberal ISC License.