bitcoind

bitcoind is a program that implements the Bitcoin protocol for remote procedure call (RPC) use. It is also the second Bitcoin client in the network's history. It is available under the MIT license in 32-bit and 64-bit versions for Windows, GNU/Linux-based OSes, and Mac OS X.

As part of Bitcoin Core, bitcoind has been bundled with the original client from version 0.2.6 to 0.4.9, and with Bitcoin-Qt since 0.5.0.

Running

See running bitcoind for more detail and an example of the configuration file.

Bitcoind is a headless daemon, and also bundles a testing tool for the same daemon. It provides a JSON-RPC interface, allowing it to be controlled locally or remotely which makes it useful for integration with other software or in larger payment systems. Various commands are made available by the API.

To use locally, first start the program in daemon mode:

bitcoind -daemon


Then you can execute API commands, e.g.:

bitcoin-cli getinfo
bitcoin-cli listtransactions


To stop the bitcoin daemon, execute:

bitcoin-cli stop

History of official bitcoind (and predecessor) releases
Version Date Supported platforms Reference
0.16.0 2018-Feb-26 Windows32/64, Linux, ARM Linux, MacOS X [1]
0.15.1 2017-Nov-11 Windows32/64, Linux, ARM Linux, MacOS X [2]
0.15.0.1 2017-Sep-19 Windows32/64, Linux, ARM Linux, MacOS X [3]
0.15.0 2017-Sep-14 Windows32/64, Linux, ARM Linux, MacOS X [4]
0.14.2 2017-Jun-17 Windows32/64, Linux, ARM Linux, MacOS X [5]
0.14.1 2017-Apr-22 Windows32/64, Linux, ARM Linux, MacOS X [6]
0.14.0 2017-Mar-08 Windows32/64, Linux, ARM Linux, MacOS X [7]
0.13.2 2017-Jan-03 Windows32/64, Linux, ARM Linux, MacOS X [8]
0.13.1 2016-Oct-16 Windows32/64, Linux, ARM Linux, MacOS X [9]
0.13.0 2016-Aug-23 Windows32/64, Linux, ARM Linux, MacOS X [10]
0.12.1 2016-Apr-15 Windows32/64, Linux, MacOS X [11]
0.12.0 2016-Feb-23 Windows32/64, Linux, MacOS X [12]
0.11.2 2015-Nov-13 Windows32/64, Linux, MacOS X [13]
0.11.1 2015-Oct-15 Windows32/64, Linux, MacOS X [14]
0.10.3 2015-Oct-14 Windows32/64, Linux, MacOS X [15]
0.11.0 2015-Jul-12 Windows32/64, Linux, MacOS X [16]
0.10.2 2015-May-19 Windows32/64, Linux, MacOS X [17]
0.10.1 2015-Apr-27 Windows32/64, Linux, MacOS X [18]
0.10.0 2015-Feb-16 Windows32/64, Linux, MacOS X [19]
0.9.3 2014-Sep-27 Windows32/64, Linux, MacOS X [20]
0.9.2.1 2014-Jun-19 Windows32/64, Linux, MacOS X [21]
0.9.2 2014-Jun-16 Windows32/64, Linux, MacOS X [22]
0.9.1 2014-Apr-8 Windows32/64, Linux, MacOS X [23]
0.9.0 2014-Mar-19 Windows32/64, Linux, MacOS X [24]
0.8.6 2013-Dec-9 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [25]
0.8.5 2013-Sep-13 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [26]
0.8.4 2013-Sep-3 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [27]
0.8.3 2013-Jun-25 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [28]
0.8.2 2013-May-29 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [29]
0.8.1 2013-Mar-18 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [30]
0.8.0 2013-Feb-19 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [31]
0.7.2 2012-Dec-14 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [32]
0.5.7 2012-Nov-23
0.7.1 2012-Oct-19 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [33]
0.7.0 2012-Sep-17 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [34]
0.5.6 2012-Jul-22 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X
0.4.7 2012-Jul-22 Windows32
0.6.0.9 2012-Jul-08
0.6.3 2012-Jun-25 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [35]
0.6.2 2012-May-08 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [36]
0.6.1 2012-May-04 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X
0.6.0.7 2012-May-04
0.5.5 2012-May-04 Windows32 [37]
0.4.6 2012-May-04 Windows32 [38]
0.5.4 2012-Apr-15 Windows32, Linux [39]
0.4.5 2012-Apr-15
0.6.0 2012-Mar-30 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [40]
0.5.3.1 2012-Mar-17 Windows32 [41]
0.5.3 2012-Mar-14 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [42]
0.4.4 2012-Mar-14 Windows32 [43]
0.5.2 2012-Jan-09 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [44]
0.4.3 2012-Jan-09 Windows32, Linux [45]
0.5.1 2011-Dec-15 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [46]
0.4.2 2011-Dec-12
0.5.0 2011-Nov-21 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [47]
0.4.1 2011-Nov-21 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [48]
0.4.0 2011-Sep-23 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [49]
0.3.24 2011-Jul-08 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [50]
0.3.23 2011-Jun-13 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [51]
0.3.22 2011-Jun-05 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [52]
0.3.21 2011-Apr-27 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [53]
0.3.20 2011-Feb-21 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [54]
0.3.19 2010-12-12 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [55]
0.3.18 2010-12-08 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [56]
0.3.17 2010-11-25 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [57]
0.3.15 2010-11-13 Windows32, Linux [58]
0.3.14 2010-10-21 Windows32, Linux [59]
0.3.13 2010-10-01 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [60]
0.3.12 2010-09-07 Windows32, Linux [61]
0.3.11 2010-08-27 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [62]
0.3.10 2010-08-15 Windows32, Linux32/64, MacOS X [63]
0.3.8.1 2010-08-09 Linux64 [64]
0.3.8 2010-08-03 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [65]
0.3.7 2010-08-01 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [66]
0.3.6 2010-07-29 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [67]
0.3.3 2010-07-25 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [68]
0.3.2.5 2010-07-24 Windows32, Linux [69]
0.3.2 2010-07-17 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [70]
0.3.1 2010-07-15 Windows32, Linux [71]
0.3.0 2010-07-06 Windows32, Linux, MacOS X [72][73]
0.2.0 2009-12-17 06:52 Windows XP /Vista, Linux [74][75]
0.1.5 2009-02-04 19:46 Windows NT/2000/XP [76]
0.1.3 2009-01-12 22:48 Windows NT/2000/XP [77]
0.1.2 2009-01-11 22:32 Windows NT/2000/XP [78]
0.1.0 2009-01-09 Windows NT/2000/XP

Up to and including version 0.3.19 is the "Satoshi code". The founder retired from development with end of 2010. Here are three URLs given where you still(!) (2013-01-04) can download one of the "original Satoshi codes". So also this Bitcoin release history.

Theory of Operation

bitcoind is a multithreaded C++ program. It is designed to be portable across Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. The multithreaded aspect leads to some complexity and the use of certain code patterns to deal with concurrency that may be unfamiliar to many programmers. Also, the code is aggressive in the use of C++ constructs, so it will help to be fluent with map, multimap, set, string, vector, iostream, and templates. As is typical of a C++ program, a lot of code tends to end up in the header files so be sure to search both the .cpp and .h files when looking for a function.

The client is oriented around several major operations, which are described in separate detailed articles and summarized in the following sections.


Initialization and Startup

Upon startup, the client performs various initialization routines including starting multiple threads to handle concurrent operations.

Node Discovery

The client uses various techniques to find out about other Bitcoin nodes that are currently connected to the network.

Node Connectivity

The client initiates and maintains connections to other nodes.

Sockets and Messages

The client processes messages from other nodes and sends messages to other nodes using socket connections.

Block Exchange

Nodes advertise their inventory of blocks to each other and exchange blocks to build block chains.

Transaction Exchange

Nodes exchange and relay transactions with each other. The client associates transactions with bitcoin addresses in the local wallet.

Wallet Services

The client can create transactions using the local wallet. The client associates transactions with bitcoin addresses in the local wallet. The client provides a service for managing the local wallet.

RPC Interface

The client offers an JSON-RPC interface over HTTP over sockets to perform various operational functions and to manage the local wallet.

User Interface

Bitcoind's current user interface is the command line while it used to be based on wxWidgets. A graphical user interface is now provided by Bitcoin-qt in version 0.5+ for the reference client.

I get "Error loading blkindex.dat" when I try to run the client

blkindex.dat is part of the database that stores the local copy of the blockchain which may have become corrupted.

Open the Bitcoin data directory:

  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Bitcoin
  • Linux: ~/.bitcoin
  • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/

Make a backup of that entire folder, then delete everything EXCEPT wallet.dat. Start bitcoin again and it will download a fresh copy of the blockchain (WARNING: This will take a long time).

See Also

References
  1. Bitcoin Core version 0.16.0 released
  2. Bitcoin Core version 0.15.1 released
  3. Bitcoin Core version 0.15.0.1 released
  4. Bitcoin Core version 0.15.0 released
  5. Bitcoin Core version 0.14.2 released
  6. Bitcoin Core version 0.14.1 released
  7. Bitcoin Core version 0.14.0 released
  8. Bitcoin Core version 0.13.2 released
  9. Bitcoin Core version 0.13.1 released
  10. Bitcoin Core version 0.13.0 released
  11. Bitcoin Core version 0.12.1 released
  12. Bitcoin Core version 0.12.0 released
  13. Bitcoin Core version 0.11.2 released
  14. Bitcoin Core version 0.11.1 released
  15. Bitcoin Core version 0.10.3 released
  16. Bitcoin Core version 0.11.0 released
  17. Bitcoin Core version 0.10.2 released
  18. Bitcoin Core version 0.10.1 released
  19. Bitcoin Core version 0.10.0 released
  20. Bitcoin Core version 0.9.3 released
  21. Bitcoin Core version 0.9.2.1 released
  22. Bitcoin Core version 0.9.2 released
  23. Bitcoin Core version 0.9.1 released
  24. Bitcoin Core version 0.9.0 released
  25. Bitcoin-Qt version 0.8.6 released
  26. Bitcoin-Qt version 0.8.5 released
  27. Bitcoin-Qt version 0.8.4 released
  28. Bitcoin-Qt version 0.8.3 released
  29. Bitcoin-Qt version 0.8.2 released
  30. Bitcoin-Qt version 0.8.1 released
  31. Bitcoin-Qt version 0.8.0 released
  32. Bitcoin-Qt/bitcoind version 0.7.2 released
  33. Bitcoin-Qt/bitcoind version 0.7.1 released
  34. Bitcoin-Qt/bitcoind version 0.7.0 released
  35. Bitcoin-Qt / bitcoind version 0.6.3 released
  36. Re: Version 0.6.1 release candidate 2
  37. Version 0.5.5 and 0.4.6 released
  38. Version 0.5.5 and 0.4.6 released
  39. Version 0.5.4 released
  40. bitcoin.org: Bitcoin version 0.6.0 released
  41. URGENT: Windows Bitcoin-Qt update
  42. Bitcoin-Qt, bitcoind version 0.5.3 released
  43. bitcoind version 0.4.4 released
  44. Bitcoin-Qt, bitcoind version 0.5.2 released
  45. bitcoind version 0.4.3 released
  46. Bitcoin-Qt, bitcoind version 0.5.1 released
  47. Bitcoin-Qt/bitcoind version 0.5.0
  48. wxBitcoin/bitcoind version 0.4.1
  49. Bitcoin version 0.4.0 released
  50. Bitcoin version 0.3.24 released
  51. Bitcoin version 0.3.23 released
  52. Bitcoin version 0.3.22
  53. Bitcoin version 0.3.21
  54. Version 0.3.20
  55. Added some DoS limits, removed safe mode (0.3.19)
  56. Version 0.3.18
  57. Version 0.3.17
  58. Version 0.3.15
  59. Version 0.3.14
  60. Version 0.3.13, please upgrade
  61. Version 0.3.12 is now available.
  62. Version 0.3.11 is now available.
  63. tcatm's 4-way SSE2 for Linux 32/64-bit is in 0.3.10
  64. Version 0.3.8.1 update for Linux 64-bit
  65. Please upgrade to 0.3.8!
  66. 0.3.7 Changes
  67. *** ALERT *** Upgrade to 0.3.6
  68. Bitcoin 0.3.3 released -- PLEASE UPGRADE
  69. Version 0.3.2.5 -- please test!
  70. Bitcoin 0.3.2 released
  71. Bitcoin 0.3.1 released
  72. Bitcoin 0.3 released!
  73. Bitcoin 0.3 released!
  74. Bitcoin 0.2 released!
  75. Bitcoin 0.2 released
  76. Bitcoin v0.1.5 released
  77. Bitcoin v0.1.3
  78. Bitcoin v0.1.2 now available

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