See discussion in #18205 and https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/18219#issuecomment-594871230.
106 lines
7 KiB
Markdown
106 lines
7 KiB
Markdown
# Bitcoin Core file system
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**Contents**
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- [Data directory location](#data-directory-location)
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- [Data directory layout](#data-directory-layout)
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- [Multi-wallet environment](#multi-wallet-environment)
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- [GUI settings](#gui-settings)
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- [Legacy subdirectories and files](#legacy-subdirectories-and-files)
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- [Notes](#notes)
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## Data directory location
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The data directory is the default location where the Bitcoin Core files are stored.
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1. The default data directory paths for supported platforms are:
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Platform | Data directory path
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---------|--------------------
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Linux | `$HOME/.bitcoin/`
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macOS | `$HOME/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/`
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Windows | `%APPDATA%\Bitcoin\` <sup>[\[1\]](#note1)</sup>
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2. The non-default data directory path can be specified by `-datadir` option.
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3. All content of the data directory, except for `bitcoin.conf` file, is chain-specific. This means the actual data directory paths for non-mainnet cases differ:
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Chain option | Data directory path
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--------------------|--------------------
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no option (mainnet) | *path_to_datadir*`/`
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`-testnet` | *path_to_datadir*`/testnet3/`
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`-regtest` | *path_to_datadir*`/regtest/`
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## Data directory layout
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Subdirectory | File(s) | Description
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-------------------|-----------------------|------------
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`blocks/` | | Blocks directory; can be specified by `-blocksdir` option (except for `blocks/index/`)
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`blocks/index/` | LevelDB database | Block index; `-blocksdir` option does not affect this path
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`blocks/` | `blkNNNNN.dat`<sup>[\[2\]](#note2)</sup> | Actual Bitcoin blocks (in network format, dumped in raw on disk, 128 MiB per file)
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`blocks/` | `revNNNNN.dat`<sup>[\[2\]](#note2)</sup> | Block undo data (custom format)
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`chainstate/` | LevelDB database | Blockchain state (a compact representation of all currently unspent transaction outputs and some metadata about the transactions they are from)
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`indexes/txindex/` | LevelDB database | Transaction index; *optional*, used if `-txindex=1`
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`indexes/blockfilter/basic/db/` | LevelDB database | Blockfilter index LevelDB database for the basic filtertype; *optional*, used if `-blockfilterindex=basic`
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`indexes/blockfilter/basic/` | `fltrNNNNN.dat`<sup>[\[2\]](#note2)</sup> | Blockfilter index filters for the basic filtertype; *optional*, used if `-blockfilterindex=basic`
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`wallets/` | | [Contains wallets](#multi-wallet-environment); can be specified by `-walletdir` option; if `wallets/` subdirectory does not exist, a wallet resides in the data directory
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`./` | `banlist.dat` | Stores the IPs/subnets of banned nodes
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`./` | `bitcoin.conf` | Contains [configuration settings](bitcoin-conf.md) for `bitcoind` or `bitcoin-qt`; can be specified by `-conf` option
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`./` | `bitcoind.pid` | Stores the process ID (PID) of `bitcoind` or `bitcoin-qt` while running; created at start and deleted on shutdown; can be specified by `-pid` option
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`./` | `debug.log` | Contains debug information and general logging generated by `bitcoind` or `bitcoin-qt`; can be specified by `-debuglogfile` option
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`./` | `fee_estimates.dat` | Stores statistics used to estimate minimum transaction fees and priorities required for confirmation
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`./` | `guisettings.ini.bak` | Backup of former [GUI settings](#gui-settings) after `-resetguisettings` option is used
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`./` | `mempool.dat` | Dump of the mempool's transactions
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`./` | `onion_private_key` | Cached Tor hidden service private key for `-listenonion` option
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`./` | `peers.dat` | Peer IP address database (custom format)
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`./` | `.cookie` | Session RPC authentication cookie; if used, created at start and deleted on shutdown; can be specified by `-rpccookiefile` option
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`./` | `.lock` | Data directory lock file
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## Multi-wallet environment
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Wallets are Berkeley DB (BDB) databases:
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Subdirectory | File(s) | Description
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-------------|-------------------|------------
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`database/` | BDB logging files | Part of BDB environment; created at start and deleted on shutdown; a user *must keep it as safe* as personal wallet `wallet.dat`
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`./` | `db.log` | BDB error file
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`./` | `wallet.dat` | Personal wallet (BDB) with keys and transactions
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`./` | `.walletlock` | Wallet lock file
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1. Each user-defined wallet named "wallet_name" resides in `wallets/wallet_name/` subdirectory.
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2. The default (unnamed) wallet resides in `wallets/` subdirectory; if the latter does not exist, the wallet resides in the data directory.
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3. A wallet database path can be specified by `-wallet` option.
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4. `wallet.dat` files must not be shared across different node instances, as that can result in key-reuse and double-spends due the lack of synchronization between instances.
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5. Any copy or backup of the wallet should be done through a `backupwallet` call in order to update and lock the wallet, preventing any file corruption caused by updates during the copy.
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## GUI settings
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`bitcoin-qt` uses [`QSettings`](https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/qsettings.html) class; this implies platform-specific [locations where application settings are stored](https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/qsettings.html#locations-where-application-settings-are-stored).
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## Legacy subdirectories and files
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These subdirectories and files are no longer used by the Bitcoin Core:
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Path | Description | Repository notes
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---------------|-------------|-----------------
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`blktree/` | Blockchain index; replaced by `blocks/index/` in [0.8.0](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/doc/release-notes/release-notes-0.8.0.md#improvements) | [PR #2231](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/2231), [`8fdc94cc`](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/commit/8fdc94cc8f0341e96b1edb3a5b56811c0b20bd15)
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`coins/` | Unspent transaction output database; replaced by `chainstate/` in 0.8.0 | [PR #2231](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/2231), [`8fdc94cc`](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/commit/8fdc94cc8f0341e96b1edb3a5b56811c0b20bd15)
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`blkindex.dat` | Blockchain index BDB database; replaced by {`chainstate/`, `blocks/index/`, `blocks/revNNNNN.dat`<sup>[\[2\]](#note2)</sup>} in 0.8.0 | [PR #1677](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/1677)
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`blk000?.dat` | Block data (custom format, 2 GiB per file); replaced by `blocks/blkNNNNN.dat`<sup>[\[2\]](#note2)</sup> in 0.8.0 | [PR #1677](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/1677)
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`addr.dat` | Peer IP address BDB database; replaced by `peers.dat` in [0.7.0](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/doc/release-notes/release-notes-0.7.0.md) | [PR #1198](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/1198), [`928d3a01`](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/commit/928d3a011cc66c7f907c4d053f674ea77dc611cc)
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## Notes
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<a name="note1">1</a>. The `/` (slash, U+002F) is used as the platform-independent path component separator in this paper.
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<a name="note2">2</a>. `NNNNN` matches `[0-9]{5}` regex.
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