Step (1) Stop and remove the old version:
If you have followed my guides previously your Blockchain files will be held in /home/pi/bitcoinData and won't be disturbed as part of this upgrade. When the new version runs it will carry on where your last version left off. The new bitcoin software (as part of it's update) may make changes to the format/layout of the index or re-scan the blockchain on first run which may take up to an hour, but you'll be pleased to know a full blockchain re-download won't be necessary. Just a bit of processing to bring the old blockchain up to speed with the new bitcoin node rules.
It is also worth noting that this update guide will work, (with minor tweaks) for updating your Litecoin, Gamecredits or Dogecoin node. Simply change your folder names as appropriate.
If you have followed my guides previously your Blockchain files will be held in /home/pi/bitcoinData and won't be disturbed as part of this upgrade. When the new version runs it will carry on where your last version left off. The new bitcoin software (as part of it's update) may make changes to the format/layout of the index or re-scan the blockchain on first run which may take up to an hour, but you'll be pleased to know a full blockchain re-download won't be necessary. Just a bit of processing to bring the old blockchain up to speed with the new bitcoin node rules.
It is also worth noting that this update guide will work, (with minor tweaks) for updating your Litecoin, Gamecredits or Dogecoin node. Simply change your folder names as appropriate.
Step (2) Download the new Bitcoin Client
Go to the "bin" folder we created in our first guide
cd bin
Then git clone -b 0.17 https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin.git
Go to the "bin" folder we created in our first guide
cd bin
Then git clone -b 0.17 https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin.git
Notes.
* -b installs the latest stable build. Remove this for newer but potentially unstable versions.
* 0.17 indicates the version of bitcoin client to download. There will be a sub-version (0.17.1 currently) and 0.17 command will download the latest stable version of 0.17.x.x (whatever it is at the time you're reading this). The command only needs to be changed when they update to 0.18. It will otherwise give you the newest version.
* -b installs the latest stable build. Remove this for newer but potentially unstable versions.
* 0.17 indicates the version of bitcoin client to download. There will be a sub-version (0.17.1 currently) and 0.17 command will download the latest stable version of 0.17.x.x (whatever it is at the time you're reading this). The command only needs to be changed when they update to 0.18. It will otherwise give you the newest version.
Step (3) Install the New version of the Bitcoin Client
cd bitcoin
./autogen.sh
./configure --enable-upnp-default --disable-wallet
make
**Note** 'make' took around 2 hours on my last build. It has been recommended to use 'make -j2' as the command as it is quicker. The -j2 flag tells the pi how many cores of it's processor to use in that instruction. The pi has 4 cores available but it is not recommended to use them all for a task. If you encounter errors just stick with 'make'.
Then
sudo make install
So to complete, restart the Pi with:
sudo reboot
You're done!
First run could take approx 1hr to initiate. The new bitcoin version rules may need to be applied to the blockchain indexes/block headers. It takes the Pi some time to trawl though all of them and make tweaks. In minor version updates this may not be required and so no lead time will be noticed.
Once started the following commands may be usefull:
bitcoin-cli -datadir=/home/pi/bitcoinData getblockchaininfo
Shows sync status, block height, enforced BIPs and more.
bitcoin-cli -datadir=/home/pi/bitcoinData getnetworkinfo
Shows number of connections and whether via IPv4, IPv6 or Tor/Onion network (if enabled)
This command also shows the bitcoin client version number being used.
Other commands may be available depending on configuration
check out https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Original_Bitcoin_client/API_calls_list for a comprehensive list.
./autogen.sh
./configure --enable-upnp-default --disable-wallet
make
**Note** 'make' took around 2 hours on my last build. It has been recommended to use 'make -j2' as the command as it is quicker. The -j2 flag tells the pi how many cores of it's processor to use in that instruction. The pi has 4 cores available but it is not recommended to use them all for a task. If you encounter errors just stick with 'make'.
Then
sudo make install
- The configuration step isn't required. It should keep the old settings as they were held in /home/pi/bitcoinData/bitcoin.conf and not deleted.
- Your auto-start settings are also still kept and valid, no need to change that either.
So to complete, restart the Pi with:
sudo reboot
You're done!
First run could take approx 1hr to initiate. The new bitcoin version rules may need to be applied to the blockchain indexes/block headers. It takes the Pi some time to trawl though all of them and make tweaks. In minor version updates this may not be required and so no lead time will be noticed.
Once started the following commands may be usefull:
bitcoin-cli -datadir=/home/pi/bitcoinData getblockchaininfo
Shows sync status, block height, enforced BIPs and more.
bitcoin-cli -datadir=/home/pi/bitcoinData getnetworkinfo
Shows number of connections and whether via IPv4, IPv6 or Tor/Onion network (if enabled)
This command also shows the bitcoin client version number being used.
Other commands may be available depending on configuration
check out https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Original_Bitcoin_client/API_calls_list for a comprehensive list.