What is a full node?

There are two main methods to get a full node up and running. You can either build from the source code or you can download the pre-compiled version and just install it.

Most people will likely download the pre-compiled version. It is the easiest and simplest method.

For the full and proper process, follow below. There are many ways to do this and it all depends on how fast you want to be up and running. A few extra steps during the setup process can SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the time it takes to get up and running.

Don't be fooled by the simple method above. It is the easiest and slowest way to get a node up and running.

TL;DR

• Download the Windows setup from here
• Run setup
• Let it sync
• Use wallet built into the software once the sync has completed (approx. 150Gb so could take a long time)

There are two main platforms available, with a third coming as soon as possible:

• Windows x64
  • Source and binaries available here -> https://github.com/BTCGPU/BTCGPU/releases
  • This walk-through allow you to install on all versions of Window from Windows 7 . Let us know if you get this up and running on an earlier version of Windows or an Embedded or IOT version
• Linux x64
  • Source and binaries available here -> https://github.com/BTCGPU/BTCGPU/releases
• Mac OS
  • Source and binaries available here -> https://github.com/BTCGPU/BTCGPU/releases

• Download the latest fully compiled version from the latest release here.
• Run the setup file and follow the instructions.
• It will ask you where you want to install the Bitcoin Gold Core. The default location should be fine for most people. If you are not sure, just select the default location which should be -> C:\Program Files\BitcoinGold. ( Important! This is NOT the same location as the blockchain which we will cover later in the 'Setup and Initial Sync' section)

You can either clone the appropriate branch of the source code, or you can download a compressed copy from here.

The rest of the tutorial for this section will follow ASAP! I just wanted to get the simpler method out as quick as possible for all the less technically inclined individuals that are keen to run a full node.

Once the setup has been completed the initialization is pretty similar for all platforms. I will focus on the Windows method and highlight any Linux specific variations you need to be aware of.

There are 3 methods to initialize the Bitcoin Gold Core.

Firstly, run the GUI at least once to make sure you select the correct location where the blockchain will be stored. Once you run it it will prompt you whether you want to use the default location or whether you want to choose a custom location. Choose a location where you can comfortably store 200GB or more of data. Once you have done that, it will automatically find an appropriate node and start downloading the blockchain.

If you leave the GUI open it will download the blockchain from one of the peers on the network as fast as it can. This is the slowest and safest way to do it. We don't specifically recommend this as it takes very long and there is currently a huge load on the few nodes that are currently up making it quite difficult for all nodes to download the blockchain. We recommend one of the other methods.

Don't be afraid of the small black window aka the 'command prompt'. It's simple and easy to follow. Just follow the steps one by one and you will be fine. We will first download the blockchain from a Bitcoin core node which will download everything until the block where the fork for BTG happened. From there we will download the official BTG transactions from other BTG nodes.

• Open your command prompt (aka "Terminal window" in Linux)
• Check the web page https://status.btgofficial.org/dl.php?format=cli
• Choose one of the IP addresses in the list
  • You can also use PingInfoView and copy and paste all the IP addresses into the application to find the IP with the fastest ping response. Download PingInfoView from here -> http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/multiple_ping_tool.html
• Browse to where you have installed the Bitcoin Gold Core application
  • You can also type in the full path to the executable when running the commands, but for our purposes we will browse to the location on the system to make the commands shorter
  • The default location in Windows is "C:\Program Files\BitcoinGold".
• Browse to the 'daemon' folder
• Open another command prompt window
  • Right-click on the existing command prompt window
• Browse to the Bitcoin Gold Core installation folder like you did previously and then go into the daemon folder again
• This might take some time, so go and have a cup of coffee (or ten).
• Start the Bitcoin Gold Core client using the GUI. There isn't much data left to download so this should be fine. Alternatively, you can start the application in the command prompt again
• Let it finish downloading the last bit of data. Once it's done you are running a full Bitcoin Gold Core node while the application is running.

_The wiki is a 'living' wiki and will be kept up to date as and when time permits and as things change.