How to install bitcoin knots on Debian

readme.md

🧩 Bitcoin Knots Installation Guide (Debian)

1. Install Required Dependencies

sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential libtool autotools-dev automake pkg-config bsdmainutils curl git
sudo apt install libssl-dev libevent-dev libboost-system-dev libboost-filesystem-dev libboost-test-dev libboost-thread-dev
sudo apt install libminiupnpc-dev libzmq3-dev libsqlite3-dev

2. Clone the Bitcoin Knots Repository

git clone https://github.com/bitcoinknots/bitcoin.git
cd bitcoin

3. Checkout the Latest Stable Release

git checkout $(git tag | grep 'v[0-9]' | sort -V | tail -n1)

4. Build Bitcoin Knots

./autogen.sh
./configure
make -j$(nproc)

5. Install the Binaries

sudo make install

6. Run Bitcoin Knots

bitcoind -daemon

To check the status:

bitcoin-cli getblockchaininfo

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📁 Optional: Create bitcoin.conf

File location: ~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf

Example contents:

server=1
daemon=1
txindex=1
rpcuser=yourusername
rpcpassword=yoursecurepassword

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Let me know if you want instructions for GUI (bitcoin-qt), pruning, or testnet configurations.

service.md

⚙️ Set Up Bitcoin Knots as a systemd Service

1. Create a dedicated user (optional but recommended)

sudo adduser --disabled-password --gecos "" bitcoin

Give the bitcoin user ownership of your .bitcoin directory:

sudo mkdir -p /home/bitcoin/.bitcoin
sudo chown -R bitcoin:bitcoin /home/bitcoin/.bitcoin

Move your bitcoin.conf file there if needed.

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2. Create a systemd service unit

Create the service file:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/bitcoind.service

Paste the following contents:

[Unit]
Description=Bitcoin Knots daemon
Documentation=https://github.com/bitcoinknots/bitcoin/blob/master/doc/init.md

After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/opt/bitcoinknots/bin/bitcoind -daemon \
            -pid=/run/bitcoind/bitcoind.pid \
            -conf=/etc/bitcoin/bitcoin.conf \
            -datadir=/var/lib/bitcoind

PermissionsStartOnly=true
ExecStartPre=/bin/chgrp btc /etc/bitcoin

User=btc
Group=btc

Type=forking
PIDFile=/run/bitcoind/bitcoind.pid
Restart=on-failure
TimeoutStopSec=600

# Secure sandboxing options
RuntimeDirectory=bitcoind
RuntimeDirectoryMode=0710
ConfigurationDirectory=bitcoin
ConfigurationDirectoryMode=0710
StateDirectory=bitcoind
StateDirectoryMode=0710

PrivateTmp=true
ProtectSystem=full
ProtectHome=true
NoNewPrivileges=true
PrivateDevices=true
MemoryDenyWriteExecute=true

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

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3. Reload systemd and enable the service

sudo systemctl daemon-reexec
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable bitcoind
sudo systemctl start bitcoind

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4. Check service status

systemctl status bitcoind

You should see something like:

Active: active (running)

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✅ Notes

• If you compiled bitcoind into a non-standard path, adjust ExecStart accordingly.
• Make sure bitcoin.conf has proper permissions (chmod 600) and is owned by the bitcoin user.
• Logs are available via journalctl:

journalctl -u bitcoind -f

Awesome info, thanks for sharing!