Open Source, easy AF Bitcoin node for Desktop Computers, and Pi
LINK TO DETAILED INSTALLATION GUIDE
Quick install command: curl https://parmanode.com/install.sh | sh
Download link for Raspberry Pi
Too Hard; Teach Me (personal mentorship with Parman)
Introduction
Parmanode is an automated installation wizard and menu with the following software (list is growing). You don’t have to install all of them!
Parmanode lets you select what you want to include in your set-up:
Parmanode is designed for non-technical users giving them menu choices to download and verify Bitcoin, and Bitcoin-related software, and sync using an external or internal drive, and also have configuration options presented to them. No manual configuration (file editing) will be required – Parmanode takes care of all that in the background.
Users only need to read the menu options CAREFULLY, and respond to the questions – no command line interaction is ever needed. For example, from a menu, bitcoin-cli commands are available, pruning can be activated and rpcuser/rpcpassword can also be set.
The software also comes with helpful information, including links to various articles on my website, armantheparman.com, so that Bitcoiners keep learning more about Bitcoin and how to be safely self-sovereign.
Parmanode will connect the wallet to the node AUTOMAGICALLY. For example:
The most basic usage of Parmanode would be an internal drive to sync the Bitcoin blockchain, running the latest version of Bitcoin Core, and connecting Sparrow or Specter directly to Bitcoin Core on the same computer. If Electrum wallet is preferred, then one of the Electrum servers (Fulcrum or electrs) is also required in addition to Bitcoin Core.
Read The Code?
I have added copious comments to the code so that a non-developer can read it in an instructional way and learn what’s going on. I expect it shouldn’t be that hard to follow. All commands in the code are executable manually in the terminal, so you can experiment and try out things you see.
I suggest using software called Visual Studio Code (VSC), as it colour-codes everything and makes it easier to follow the syntax. Open the Parmanode script folder (~/parman_programs/parmanode/) and read the code in VSC software.
It can be a bit of a maze if you don’t know where to start. I suggest starting at the “run_parmanode.sh” file and branch out from there. Some guidance is on that page, and more is added as you branch out. The majority of the comments for now are related to installing Parmanode, custom functions, and installing Bitcoin Core.
How To Run/Install
Mac and Linux:
The simplest way to install is to copy and paste the following line into the Linux or Mac terminal…
curl https://parmanode.com/install.sh | sh
On Macs, to use git (necessary), you may be asked to install the command line developer tools. You will be given the option to do so with a popup window, and you’ll need to proceed with it to use git. It takes a few minutes to install.
On some barebones Linux systems, curl may not be installed and the above command won’t work. You’ll need to install curl first…
sudo apt-get install curl
VIDEO DEMONSTRATION OF INSTALLATION…
If you are extra cautious, you can see the installation code first (it’s very short), you can type in the above command but omit the “| sh” ending. That will print out the code to the screen.
If you get a fingerprint error/warning when you run the installation command, that’s fine, carry on.
Alternatively, if the installation went smoothly, you can just open terminal and type the following command, then <enter>:
rp
If you wanted to take a more granular approach, you can use these two commands (which the rp command does on its own):
cd ~/parman_programs/parmanode
./run_parmanode.sh
Parmanode is not designed to be run by a user (ie login name) that did not originally install the software. If you try this, you will get errors.
A Note About Superuser
When the program runs, you will be asked at some point for a password – this is your computer’s “sudo” or login password, and is necessary for Parmanode to access system functions like mounting drives.
Please be aware, you cannot run the program as the root user.
Run on a VPS
You can install Parmanode on a virtual private server (VPS) but be aware the data requirement (for Bitcoin Core) can get expensive unless you run it pruned. Remember, you can’t run as root.
A Warning About SSH
You can access the computer with Parmanode (ParmanodL) using SSH, but be aware, some apps are designed to work in a graphical environment. Parmanode might activate pop-up windows such as wallets, but you won’t see them via SSH. It’s fine to access by SSH, but just be mindful of this.
Instructions to Upgrade
Use the update option within the Parmanode software to update.
Note, this will NOT automatically update the apps that Parmanode installed for you on your system.
To get newer versions of updated apps, you need to uninstall the particular app, (you should use Parmanode-remove tools), then reinstall it (with the new version of Parmanode) – it will then install the newer version of the app for you.
If updating Parmanode itself from within the software is glitching, you can try this command to fix it:
curl https://parmanode.com/refresh_parmanode | sh
Make Your Own “PARMANODL”
ParmanodL is a computer running Linux and Parmanode which can be purchased ready-made with the blockchain synced (contact Parman for info).
Or you can make your own. On a Linux computer, run this line in terminal:
curl https://parmanode.com/get_parmanodl_installer | sh
You just follow the instructions and the installer will flash a microSD card for you for your Pi – all the downloading, verifying, flashing – it’s automatic.
If for some reason, the above procedure fails, you can get a pre-made Raspberry Pi (64-bit) image file of ParmanodL OS in one of three different ways.
ONE: Download from archive.com. You can get the image zip and the signature using the terminal – cut and paste these two commands, or click to download.
Download link…
curl -LO https://archive.org/download/parmanod-l-pi-v-3.0.0.img/ParmanodL-PI-v3.0.0.img.xz
curl -LO https://archive.org/download/parmanod-l-pi-v-3.0.0.img/ParmanodL-PI-v3.0.0.img.xz.sig
Then verify the signature. Import my pubkey then verify. Commands must be run using Terminal and you must be in the same directory as the two files.
gpg --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-key E7C061D4C5E5BC98
gpg --verify ParmanodL-PI-v3.0.0.img.xz.sig ParmanodL-PI-v3.0.0.img.xzTWO: You can use the Tor Browser to access my private server and download it from there. Verify the download with the hash (see below for how).
https://7zatnd4wode263mlx5tmvvbyon4ej64noftfp3lloayhiwbogm63kdad.onion:7777/index.html
THREE: From this torrent. Torrents are links to the file on a network of shared computers. When you download the file, if you leave it in place, and leave the torrent software running, then other people can download from you too; sharing is caring.
You’ll need a program like qBitTorrent for Mac or Linux. For Linux, make sure to make the qBitTorrent file executable with
sudo chmod +x /path/to/AppImage
Once you download the ParmanodL image file, check the sha256 hash. The command for that is:
shasum -a 256 /path/to/the/image/file
I hope I don’t have to explain that you replace /path/to/the/image/file with the actual path of the image file!
You should get:
53d3d918779346eff9d2137786ffe5d5da57ef856caad8470108bc852565f0fd
Make sure you don’t just trust the comments inside the torrent file with its printed hash. Compare it with what is above as well. Then if you hash output matches, you’ll know you’re really getting the file I am wanting to deliver, and not be a victim of a man-in-the-middle attack.
Then flash the image to a microSD card using Balena Etcher, then stick it in the Pi and switch it on. Access the Pi as a traditional desktop computer, or via ssh with
ssh parman@parmanodl.local (user=parman, password=parmanodl)
But to make your own ParmanodL with a regular 64-bit (x86-64 or AMD) Linux machine (Desktop or Laptop), you can download the official Linux Mint ISO by running this command (the following is a very long single line of text):
cd ~/Downloads && curl -LO https://mirrors.advancedhosters.com/linuxmint/isos/stable/21.2/linuxmint-21.2-cinnamon-64bit.iso
Hash the downloaded file (to be sure it’s safe). The command is:
shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/linuxmint-21.2-cinnamon-64bit.iso
You should get:
116578dda0e03f1421c214acdd66043b586e7afc7474e0796c150ac164a90a2a
Then flash the file to a USB drive (a thumb drive or even a full external SSD drive). The 1Tb drive you need for the blockchain will do nicely; you can use it for this and then use it for the blockchain data next.
Use Balena Etcher to flash the iso file to the drive. This will make it a Linux drive and no longer readable by a Windows or Mac computer, so when it’s finished flashing, ignore the pop-up offering you to format it.
Then, on the computer you wish to install the operating system, figure out how to boot from the USB. Every computer will be different; Google is your friend here.
You’ll then get a Linux boot menu. Choose the OEM install. You’ll install the software as though you were the computer manufacturer, preparing the software for a customer. All the settings you choose are temporary, so don’t stress about what choices you make during the installation.
Once installed, you’ll see an icon on the desktop to “ship to end user”. Double-click it. Then dismiss the pop-up and restart the computer. You’ll be asked to remove the USB drive.
This time when the computer boots up, you’ll make your computer account and fill in details that will remain.
Next, make sure you have an internet connection and run the following commands in terminal (black icon on the taskbar at the bottom), one after the other, and hit after each line. Copy/paste is best:
curl https://parmanode.com/install.sh | sh
The above command will install git, then use git to download Parmanode and create a Desktop icon for you to run the program.
Too hard, just sell me one ready-made
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