DigitalOcean Ubuntu 21.04 Bitcoin Core Setup

ubuntu_2104_bitcoin_core_setup.md

Bitcoin Core Setup on Ubuntu 21.04

N. P. O'Donnell, 2021

Update / Install:

# As root
apt update
apt install -y git

Set up non-root user:

useradd user
sudo usermod -a -G sudo user
sudo -u user mkdir /home/user/.ssh
sudo -u user chmod 700 /home/user/.ssh
cp /root/.ssh/authorized_keys /home/user/.ssh/authorized_keys
chown -R user /home/user/.ssh
chgrp -R user /home/user/.ssh

Disable password for sudo:

sudo visudo

and make the following change:

# Allow members of group sudo to execute any command
-%sudo   ALL=(ALL:ALL): ALL
+%sudo   ALL=(ALL:ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL

Setup tmux:

su user
echo '[[ ! -z $TMUX ]] || tmux attach || tmux' >> ~/.bash_profile
su - user

Build and install bitcoin core:

sudo chmod 777 /mnt/volume_lon1_01
mkdir /mnt/volume_lon1_01/bitcoin

sudo apt install -y build-essential autoconf libtool pkg-config libboost1.71*

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

cd bitcoin
./autogen.sh
./configure --without-bdb
make
sudo make install

Save this config file to /etc/bitcoin/bitcoin.conf:

rpcallowip=0.0.0.0/0
rpcbind=0.0.0.0
rpcuser=user
rpcpassword=hodl2themoon
txindex=1

Remember to choose a good password

Save this unit-file to /etc/systemd/system/bitcoind.service:

[Unit]
Description=Bitcoin daemon
Documentation=https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/doc/init.md
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/bitcoind -daemon \
                            -pid=/run/bitcoind/bitcoind.pid \
                            -conf=/etc/bitcoin/bitcoin.conf \
                            -datadir=/mnt/volume_lon1_01/bitcoin
PermissionsStartOnly=true
ExecStartPre=/bin/chgrp user /etc/bitcoin
Type=forking
PIDFile=/run/bitcoind/bitcoind.pid
Restart=on-failure
TimeoutStopSec=600
User=user
Group=user
RuntimeDirectory=bitcoind
RuntimeDirectoryMode=0710
ConfigurationDirectory=bitcoin
ConfigurationDirectoryMode=0710
MemoryDenyWriteExecute=true
PrivateDevices=true
NoNewPrivileges=true
ProtectHome=true
ProtectSystem=full
PrivateTmp=true

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start the service:

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

Check if the blockchain is syncing:

tail -f /mnt/volume_lon1_01/bitcoin/debug.log

Set up RPC client(s):

vi ~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf

Client config file:

rpcconnect=X.X.X.X # omit this line if local.
rpcport=8332
rpcuser=user
rpcpassword=hodl2themoon

Finally, test connection:

bitcoin-cli help