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+# I2P support in Bitcoin Core
+
+It is possible to run Bitcoin Core as an
+[I2P (Invisible Internet Project)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I2P)
+service and connect to such services.
+
+This [glossary](https://geti2p.net/en/about/glossary) may be useful to get
+started with I2P terminology.
+
+## Run Bitcoin Core with an I2P router (proxy)
+
+A running I2P router (proxy) with [SAM](https://geti2p.net/en/docs/api/samv3)
+enabled is required (there is an [official one](https://geti2p.net) and
+[a few alternatives](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I2P#Routers)). Notice the IP
+address and port the SAM proxy is listening to; usually, it is
+`127.0.0.1:7656`. Once it is up and running with SAM enabled, use the following
+Bitcoin Core options:
+
+```
+-i2psam=<ip:port>
+     I2P SAM proxy to reach I2P peers and accept I2P connections (default:
+     none)
+
+-i2pacceptincoming
+     If set and -i2psam is also set then incoming I2P connections are
+     accepted via the SAM proxy. If this is not set but -i2psam is set
+     then only outgoing connections will be made to the I2P network.
+     Ignored if -i2psam is not set. Listening for incoming I2P
+     connections is done through the SAM proxy, not by binding to a
+     local address and port (default: 1)
+```
+
+In a typical situation, this suffices:
+
+```
+bitcoind -i2psam=127.0.0.1:7656
+```
+
+The first time Bitcoin Core connects to the I2P router, its I2P address (and
+corresponding private key) will be automatically generated and saved in a file
+named `i2p_private_key` in the Bitcoin Core data directory.
+
+## Additional configuration options related to I2P
+
+You may set the `debug=i2p` config logging option to have additional
+information in the debug log about your I2P configuration and connections. Run
+`bitcoin-cli help logging` for more information.
+
+It is possible to restrict outgoing connections in the usual way with
+`onlynet=i2p`. I2P support was added to Bitcoin Core in version 22.0 (mid 2021)
+and there may be fewer I2P peers than Tor or IP ones. Therefore, using
+`onlynet=i2p` alone (without other `onlynet=`) may make a node more susceptible
+to [Sybil attacks](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Weaknesses#Sybil_attack). Use
+`bitcoin-cli -addrinfo` to see the number of I2P addresses known to your node.
+
+## I2P related information in Bitcoin Core
+
+There are several ways to see your I2P address in Bitcoin Core:
+- in the debug log (grep for `AddLocal`, the I2P address ends in `.b32.i2p`)
+- in the output of the `getnetworkinfo` RPC in the "localaddresses" section
+- in the output of `bitcoin-cli -netinfo` peer connections dashboard
+
+To see which I2P peers your node is connected to, use `bitcoin-cli -netinfo 4`
+or the `getpeerinfo` RPC (e.g. `bitcoin-cli getpeerinfo`).
+
+To see which I2P addresses your node knows, use the `getnodeaddresses 0 i2p`
+RPC.
+
+## Compatibility
+
+Bitcoin Core uses the [SAM v3.1](https://geti2p.net/en/docs/api/samv3) protocol
+to connect to the I2P network. Any I2P router that supports it can be used.
+
+## Ports in I2P and Bitcoin Core
+
+Bitcoin Core uses the [SAM v3.1](https://geti2p.net/en/docs/api/samv3)
+protocol. One particularity of SAM v3.1 is that it does not support ports,
+unlike newer versions of SAM (v3.2 and up) that do support them and default the
+port numbers to 0. From the point of view of peers that use newer versions of
+SAM or other protocols that support ports, a SAM v3.1 peer is connecting to them
+on port 0, from source port 0.
+
+To allow future upgrades to newer versions of SAM, Bitcoin Core sets its
+listening port to 0 when listening for incoming I2P connections and advertises
+its own I2P address with port 0. Furthermore, it will not attempt to connect to
+I2P addresses with a non-zero port number because with SAM v3.1 the destination
+port (`TO_PORT`) is always set to 0 and is not in the control of Bitcoin Core.