497ffc11f0
This is a rather monolithic commit that moves the old RPC server to its own package (rpc/legacyrpc), introduces a new RPC server using gRPC (rpc/rpcserver), and provides the ability to defer wallet loading until request at a later time by an RPC (--noinitialload). The legacy RPC server remains the default for now while the new gRPC server is not enabled by default. Enabling the new server requires setting a listen address (--experimenalrpclisten). This experimental flag is used to effectively feature gate the server until it is ready to use as a default. Both RPC servers can be run at the same time, but require binding to different listen addresses. In theory, with the legacy RPC server now living in its own package it should become much easier to unit test the handlers. This will be useful for any future changes to the package, as compatibility with Core's wallet is still desired. Type safety has also been improved in the legacy RPC server. Multiple handler types are now used for methods that do and do not require the RPC client as a dependency. This can statically help prevent nil pointer dereferences, and was very useful for catching bugs during refactoring. To synchronize the wallet loading process between the main package (the default) and through the gRPC WalletLoader service (with the --noinitialload option), as well as increasing the loose coupling of packages, a new wallet.Loader type has been added. All creating and loading of existing wallets is done through a single Loader instance, and callbacks can be attached to the instance to run after the wallet has been opened. This is how the legacy RPC server is associated with a loaded wallet, even after the wallet is loaded by a gRPC method in a completely unrelated package. Documentation for the new RPC server has been added to the rpc/documentation directory. The documentation includes a specification for the new RPC API, addresses how to make changes to the server implementation, and provides short example clients in several different languages. Some of the new RPC methods are not implementated exactly as described by the specification. These are considered bugs with the implementation, not the spec. Known bugs are commented as such. |
||
|---|---|---|
| chain | ||
| cmd/dropwtxmgr | ||
| docs | ||
| internal | ||
| netparams | ||
| rpc | ||
| snacl | ||
| votingpool | ||
| waddrmgr | ||
| wallet | ||
| walletdb | ||
| wtxmgr | ||
| .gitignore | ||
| .travis.yml | ||
| appveyor.yml | ||
| btcwallet.go | ||
| CHANGES | ||
| config.go | ||
| deps.txt | ||
| log.go | ||
| params.go | ||
| README.md | ||
| rpcserver.go | ||
| sample-btcwallet.conf | ||
| signal.go | ||
| version.go | ||
| walletsetup.go | ||
btcwallet
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.
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.
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. 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 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
$GOPATH/binto yourPATHat this point. -
Run the following commands to obtain and install btcd, btcwallet and all dependencies:
go get -u -v github.com/btcsuite/btcd/...
go get -u -v github.com/btcsuite/btcwallet/...
Getting Started
The following instructions detail how to get started with btcwallet
connecting to a localhost btcd. Commands should be run in cmd.exe
or PowerShell on Windows, or any terminal emulator on *nix.
- Run the following command to start btcd:
btcd --testnet -u rpcuser -P rpcpass
- Run the following command to create a wallet:
btcwallet -u rpcuser -P rpcpass --create
- Run the following command to start btcwallet:
btcwallet -u rpcuser -P rpcpass
If everything appears to be working, it is recommended at this point to copy the sample btcd and btcwallet configurations and update with your RPC username and password.
PowerShell (Installed from MSI):
PS> cp "$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):
$ 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).
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 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:
gpg --import GIT-GPG-KEY-conformal.txt -
Verify the release tag with the following command where
TAG_NAMEis a placeholder for the specific tag:git tag -v TAG_NAME
License
btcwallet is licensed under the liberal ISC License.