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Bitcoin Core
=============
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Setup
---------------------
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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.
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To download Bitcoin Core, visit [bitcoincore.org ](https://bitcoincore.org/en/download/ ).
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Running
---------------------
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The following are some helpful notes on how to run Bitcoin Core on your native platform.
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### Unix
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Unpack the files into a directory and run:
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- `bin/bitcoin-qt` (GUI) or
- `bin/bitcoind` (headless)
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### Windows
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Unpack the files into a directory, and then run bitcoin-qt.exe.
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### macOS
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Drag Bitcoin Core to your applications folder, and then run Bitcoin Core.
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### Need Help?
* See the documentation at the [Bitcoin Wiki ](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Main_Page )
for help and more information.
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* 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 ).
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* Ask for help on the [BitcoinTalk ](https://bitcointalk.org/ ) forums, in the [Technical Support board ](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=4.0 ).
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Building
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---------------------
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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.
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- [Dependencies ](dependencies.md )
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- [macOS Build Notes ](build-osx.md )
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- [Unix Build Notes ](build-unix.md )
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- [Windows Build Notes ](build-windows.md )
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- [FreeBSD Build Notes ](build-freebsd.md )
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- [OpenBSD Build Notes ](build-openbsd.md )
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- [NetBSD Build Notes ](build-netbsd.md )
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- [Gitian Building Guide (External Link) ](https://github.com/bitcoin-core/docs/blob/master/gitian-building.md )
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Development
---------------------
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The Bitcoin repo's [root README ](/README.md ) contains relevant information on the development process and automated testing.
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- [Developer Notes ](developer-notes.md )
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- [Productivity Notes ](productivity.md )
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- [Release Notes ](release-notes.md )
- [Release Process ](release-process.md )
- [Source Code Documentation (External Link) ](https://dev.visucore.com/bitcoin/doxygen/ )
- [Translation Process ](translation_process.md )
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- [Translation Strings Policy ](translation_strings_policy.md )
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- [JSON-RPC Interface ](JSON-RPC-interface.md )
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- [Unauthenticated REST Interface ](REST-interface.md )
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- [Shared Libraries ](shared-libraries.md )
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- [BIPS ](bips.md )
- [Dnsseed Policy ](dnsseed-policy.md )
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- [Benchmarking ](benchmarking.md )
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### Resources
* Discuss on the [BitcoinTalk ](https://bitcointalk.org/ ) forums, in the [Development & Technical Discussion board ](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=6.0 ).
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* Discuss project-specific development on #bitcoin -core-dev on Freenode. If you don't have an IRC client, use [webchat here ](http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=bitcoin-core-dev ).
* Discuss general Bitcoin development on #bitcoin -dev on Freenode. If you don't have an IRC client, use [webchat here ](http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=bitcoin-dev ).
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### Miscellaneous
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- [Assets Attribution ](assets-attribution.md )
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- [bitcoin.conf Configuration File ](bitcoin-conf.md )
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- [Files ](files.md )
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- [Fuzz-testing ](fuzzing.md )
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- [Reduce Memory ](reduce-memory.md )
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- [Reduce Traffic ](reduce-traffic.md )
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- [Tor Support ](tor.md )
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- [Init Scripts (systemd/upstart/openrc) ](init.md )
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- [ZMQ ](zmq.md )
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- [PSBT support ](psbt.md )
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License
---------------------
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Distributed under the [MIT software license ](/COPYING ).
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This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the [OpenSSL Toolkit ](https://www.openssl.org/ ). This product includes
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cryptographic software written by Eric Young ([eay@cryptsoft.com](mailto:eay@cryptsoft.com)), and UPnP software written by Thomas Bernard.