To get started with Bitcoin, you first need to set up a machine running Bitcoin. The articles in this chapter describe how to do so, primarily by using a VPS (Virtual Private Server).
After working through this chapter, a developer will be able to:
- Decide Between the Five Major Types of Bitcoin Nodes
- Create a Bitcoin Node for Development
- Create a Local Instance of the Bitcoin Blockchain
Supporting objectives include the ability to:
- Understand the Basic Network Setup of the VPS
- Decide Which Security Priorities to Implement
- Understand the Difference between Pruned and Unpruned Nodes
- Understand the Difference between Mainnet, Testnet, and Regtest Nodes
- Interpret the Basics of the Bitcoin Configuration File
You don't actually need to read this entire chapter. Decide if you want to run a StackScript to set a node up on a Linode VPS (§2.2); or you want to set up on a different environment, such as on an AWS machine or a Mac (§2.3). Then, jump to the appropriate section. Additional information on our suggested setups may also be found in Appendix I.