bitcoin/doc/bitcoin-conf.md

bitcoin.conf Configuration File

The configuration file is used by bitcoind, bitcoin-qt and bitcoin-cli.

All command-line options (except for -?, -help, -version and -conf) may be specified in a configuration file, and all configuration file options (except for includeconf) may also be specified on the command line. Command-line options override values set in the configuration file and configuration file options override values set in the GUI.

Configuration File Format

The configuration file is a plain text file and consists of option=value entries, one per line. Leading and trailing whitespaces are removed.

In contrast to the command-line usage:

• an option must be specified without leading -;
• a value of the given option is mandatory; e.g., testnet=1 (for chain selection options), noconnect=1 (for negated options).

Blank lines

Blank lines are allowed and ignored by the parser.

Comments

A comment starts with a number sign (#) and extends to the end of the line. All comments are ignored by the parser.

Comments may appear in two ways:

• on their own on an otherwise empty line (preferable);
• after an option=value entry.

Network specific options

Network specific options can be:

• placed into sections with headers [main] (not [mainnet]), [test] (not [testnet]) or [regtest];
• prefixed with a chain name; e.g., regtest.maxmempool=100.

Configuration File Path

The configuration file is not automatically created; you can create it using your favorite text editor. By default, the configuration file name is bitcoin.conf and it is located in the Bitcoin data directory, but both the Bitcoin data directory and the configuration file path may be changed using the -datadir and -conf command-line options.

The includeconf=<file> option in the bitcoin.conf file can be used to include additional configuration files.