Getting Started
Welcome, fam.
If you’re here, I think you’re in for a really awesome ride. I’m going to teach you how to build your very own Bitcoin node. 🔥
By the end, you’ll have something that you can open on your computer that will look like this:
Nice, right?
Don’t worry, you’ll be there shortly too.
I always like to let people know what they’re getting into before going very far in my articles, so here it is:
- This entire project will definitely cost some money (about $250 USD at time of writing, although you should be able to shop around for something much cheaper and used if you really want to)
- You don’t need to know how to code
- You do need some great computer literacy (installing programs, feeling confident working with SD cards, etc.)
- Once you have the parts (more on that below) you’ll need several hours of time to set everything up
You know I’m all about typing up code to build awesome things, but that’s for another day. This tutorial doesn’t require code because I want everyone to be able to participate!
Okay fam. Let’s get to it.
Hardware Setup
As long as you have the parts you need, you can get your Bitcoin node up and running!You should find instructions for assembling a Raspberry Pi kit in the box. Let me leave that to you. 🏗If not, here’s a walkthrough of setting up a Raspberry Pi package that you can riff off of to try to set up any custom case/parts you might have bought.Done? Nice.You should then make sure your external SSD is formatted correctly. We have to do this, otherwise Umbrel (the software we’ll be using to have a nice GUI dashboard for our Bitcoin node) won’t be able to begin downloading the Bitcoin blockchain.A Windows machine must be formatted for “Ext4” (walkthrough). Make sure your Mac is formatted for “Fat32” (walkthrough).OK? Nice.Let’s talk software now. 🙌🏻
