Bitcoin Core 0.12.1 ===================== Setup --------------------- [Bitcoin Core](http://bitcoin.org/en/download) is the original Bitcoin client and it builds the backbone of the network. However, it downloads and stores the entire history of Bitcoin transactions (which is currently several GBs); 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. Running --------------------- The following are some helpful notes on how to run Bitcoin on your native platform. ### Unix You need the Qt4 run-time libraries to run Bitcoin-Qt. On Debian or Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install libqtgui4 Unpack the files into a directory and run: - bin/32/bitcoin-qt (GUI, 32-bit) or bin/32/bitcoind (headless, 32-bit) - bin/64/bitcoin-qt (GUI, 64-bit) or bin/64/bitcoind (headless, 64-bit) ### Windows Unpack the files into a directory, and then run bitcoin-qt.exe. ### OS X Drag Bitcoin-Core to your applications folder, and then run Bitcoin-Core. ### Need Help? * See the documentation at the [Bitcoin Wiki](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Main_Page) for help and more information. * 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). * Ask for help on the [BitcoinTalk](https://bitcointalk.org/) forums, in the [Technical Support board](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=4.0). Building --------------------- The following are developer notes on how to build Bitcoin on your native platform. They are not complete guides, but include notes on the necessary libraries, compile flags, etc. - [OS X Build Notes](build-osx.md) - [Unix Build Notes](build-unix.md) - [Windows Build Notes](build-windows.md) - [OpenBSD Build Notes](build-openbsd.md) - [Gitian Building Guide](gitian-building.md) Development --------------------- The Bitcoin repo's [root README](/README.md) contains relevant information on the development process and automated testing. - [Developer Notes](developer-notes.md) - [Multiwallet Qt Development](multiwallet-qt.md) - [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) - [Translation Strings Policy](translation_strings_policy.md) - [Unit Tests](unit-tests.md) - [Unauthenticated REST Interface](REST-interface.md) - [Shared Libraries](shared-libraries.md) - [BIPS](bips.md) - [Dnsseed Policy](dnsseed-policy.md) ### Resources * Discuss on the [BitcoinTalk](https://bitcointalk.org/) forums, in the [Development & Technical Discussion board](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=6.0). * 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). ### Miscellaneous - [Assets Attribution](assets-attribution.md) - [Files](files.md) - [Tor Support](tor.md) - [Init Scripts (systemd/upstart/openrc)](init.md) License --------------------- Distributed under the [MIT software license](http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php). This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the [OpenSSL Toolkit](https://www.openssl.org/). This product includes cryptographic software written by Eric Young ([eay@cryptsoft.com](mailto:eay@cryptsoft.com)), and UPnP software written by Thomas Bernard.