Merge bitcoin/bitcoin#22235: script: add script to generate example bitcoin.conf

b42643c2537ffbe99d6d94fb1fb3b7f9d5234f93 doc: update init.cpp -conf help text (josibake)
970b9987ad5bcb72e581c40a7cdd408d94a48c81 doc: update devtools, release-process readmes (josibake)
50635d27b45d125b6264ac2abfbd6a1129c7228f build: include bitcoin.conf in build outputs (josibake)
6aac946f49aea243de1dc50631bb72f0186bbf58 doc: update bitcoin-conf.md (Josiah Baker)
1c7e820ded0846ef6ab4be9616b0de452336ef64 script: add script to generate example bitcoin.conf (josibake)
b483084d866c16d97a34251ae652bac94f85f61d doc: replace bitcoin.conf with placeholder file (josibake)

Pull request description:

  create a script for parsing the output from `bitcoind --help` to create an example conf file for new users

  ## problem

  per #10746 , `bitcoin.conf` not being put into the data directory during installation causes some confusion for users when running bitcoin. in the discussion on the issue, one proposed solution was to have an example config file and instruct users to `cp` it into their data directory after startup. in addition to #10746 , there have been other requests for a "skeleton config file" (https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/issues/19641) to help users get started with configuring bitcoind.

  the main issue with an example config file is that it creates a second source of truth regarding what options are available for configuring bitcoind. this means any changes to the options (including the addition or removal of options) would have to be updated for the command line and also updated in the example file.

  this PR addresses this issue by providing a script to generate an example file directly from the `bitcoind --help` on-demand by running `contrib/devtools/gen-bitcoin-conf.sh`. this solution was originally proposed on #10746 and would also solve #19641 . this guarantees any changes made to the command-line options or the command-line options help would also be reflected in the example file after compiling and running the script.

  the main purpose of this script is to generate a config file to be included with releases, same as `gen-manpages.sh`. this ensures every release also includes an up-to-date, full example config file for users to edit. the script is also available for users who compile from source for generating an example config for their compiled binary.

  ## special considerations

  this removes the `bitcoin.conf` example file from the repo as it is now generated by this script. the original example file did contain extra text related to how to use certain options but going forward all option help docs should be moved into `init.cpp`

  this also edits `init.cpp` to have the option help indicate that `-conf` is not usable from the config file. this is similar to how `-includeconf` 's help indicates it cannot be used from the command line

ACKs for top commit:
  laanwj:
    Tested and code review ACK b42643c2537ffbe99d6d94fb1fb3b7f9d5234f93

Tree-SHA512: 4546e0cef92aa1398da553294ce4712d02e616dd72dcbe0b921af474e54f24750464ec813661f1283802472d1e8774e634dd1cc26fbf1f13286d3e0406c02c09

3 files changed, 102 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/contrib/devtools/README.md b/contrib/devtools/README.md
index 79b0134adc..54b1a85588 100644
--- a/contrib/devtools/README.md
+++ b/contrib/devtools/README.md
@@ -90,6 +90,21 @@ example:
 BUILDDIR=$PWD/build contrib/devtools/gen-manpages.py
 ```
 
+gen-bitcoin-conf.sh
+===================
+
+Generates a bitcoin.conf file in `share/examples/` by parsing the output from `bitcoind --help`. This script is run during the
+release process to include a bitcoin.conf with the release binaries and can also be run by users to generate a file locally.
+When generating a file as part of the release process, make sure to commit the changes after running the script.
+
+With in-tree builds this tool can be run from any directory within the
+repository. To use this tool with out-of-tree builds set `BUILDDIR`. For
+example:
+
+```bash
+BUILDDIR=$PWD/build contrib/devtools/gen-bitcoin-conf.sh
+```
+
 security-check.py and test-security-check.py
 ============================================
 
diff --git a/contrib/devtools/gen-bitcoin-conf.sh b/contrib/devtools/gen-bitcoin-conf.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..2ebbd42022
--- /dev/null
+++ b/contrib/devtools/gen-bitcoin-conf.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Copyright (c) 2021 The Bitcoin Core developers
+# Distributed under the MIT software license, see the accompanying
+# file COPYING or http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php.
+
+export LC_ALL=C
+TOPDIR=${TOPDIR:-$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)}
+BUILDDIR=${BUILDDIR:-$TOPDIR}
+BINDIR=${BINDIR:-$BUILDDIR/src}
+BITCOIND=${BITCOIND:-$BINDIR/bitcoind}
+SHARE_EXAMPLES_DIR=${SHARE_EXAMPLES_DIR:-$TOPDIR/share/examples}
+EXAMPLE_CONF_FILE=${EXAMPLE_CONF_FILE:-$SHARE_EXAMPLES_DIR/bitcoin.conf}
+
+[ ! -x "$BITCOIND" ] && echo "$BITCOIND not found or not executable." && exit 1
+
+DIRTY=""
+VERSION_OUTPUT=$($BITCOIND --version)
+if [[ $VERSION_OUTPUT == *"dirty"* ]]; then
+  DIRTY="${DIRTY}${BITCOIND}\n"
+fi
+
+if [ -n "$DIRTY" ]
+then
+  echo -e "WARNING: $BITCOIND was built from a dirty tree.\n"
+  echo -e "To safely generate a bitcoin.conf file, please commit your changes to $BITCOIND, rebuild, then run this script again.\n"
+fi
+
+echo 'Generating example bitcoin.conf file in share/examples/'
+
+# create the directory, if it doesn't exist
+mkdir -p "${SHARE_EXAMPLES_DIR}"
+
+# create the header text
+cat > "${EXAMPLE_CONF_FILE}" << 'EOF'
+##
+## bitcoin.conf configuration file.
+## Generated by contrib/devtools/gen-bitcoin-conf.sh.
+##
+## Lines beginning with # are comments.
+## All possible configuration options are provided. To use, copy this file
+## to your data directory (default or specified by -datadir), uncomment
+## options you would like to change, and save the file.
+##
+
+
+### Options
+EOF
+
+# parse the output from bitcoind --help
+# adding newlines is a bit funky to ensure portability for BSD
+# see here for more details: https://stackoverflow.com/a/24575385
+${BITCOIND} --help \
+    | sed '1,/Print this help message and exit/d' \
+    | sed -E 's/^[[:space:]]{2}\-/#/' \
+    | sed -E 's/^[[:space:]]{7}/# /' \
+    | sed -E '/[=[:space:]]/!s/#.*$/&=1/' \
+    | awk '/^#[a-z]/{x=$0;next}{if (NF==0) print x"\n",x="";else print}' \
+    | sed 's,\(^[[:upper:]].*\)\:$,\
+### \1,' \
+    | sed 's/[[:space:]]*$//' >> "${EXAMPLE_CONF_FILE}"
+
+# create the footer text
+cat >> "${EXAMPLE_CONF_FILE}" << 'EOF'
+
+# [Sections]
+# Most options will apply to all networks. To confine an option to a specific
+# network, add it under the relevant section below.
+#
+# Note: If not specified under a network section, the options addnode, connect,
+# port, bind, rpcport, rpcbind, and wallet will only apply to mainnet.
+
+# Options for mainnet
+[main]
+
+# Options for testnet
+[test]
+
+# Options for signet
+[signet]
+
+# Options for regtest
+[regtest]
+EOF
diff --git a/contrib/guix/libexec/build.sh b/contrib/guix/libexec/build.sh
index 2757d10a7c..cdf0020d4d 100755
--- a/contrib/guix/libexec/build.sh
+++ b/contrib/guix/libexec/build.sh
@@ -368,6 +368,10 @@ mkdir -p "$DISTSRC"
                 ;;
         esac
 
+        # copy over the example bitcoin.conf file. if contrib/devtools/gen-bitcoin-conf.sh
+        # has not been run before buildling, this file will be a stub
+        cp "${DISTSRC}/share/examples/bitcoin.conf" "${DISTNAME}/"
+
         # Finally, deterministically produce {non-,}debug binary tarballs ready
         # for release
         case "$HOST" in