btcd/README.md
Dave Collins f21410e47c
blockchain: Add block validation infrastructure.
This adds a full-blown testing infrastructure in order to test consensus
validation rules.  It is built around the idea of dynamically generating
full blocks that target specific rules linked together to form a block
chain.  In order to properly test the rules, each test instance starts
with a valid block that is then modified in the specific way needed to
test a specific rule.

Blocks which exercise following rules have been added for this initial
version.  These tests were largely ported from the original Java-based
'official' block acceptance tests as well as some additional tests
available in the Core python port.  It is expected that further tests
can be added over time as consensus rules change.

* Enough valid blocks to have a stable base of mature coinbases to spend
  for futher tests
* Basic forking and chain reorganization
* Double spends on forks
* Too much proof-of-work coinbase (extending main chain, in block that
  forces a reorg, and in a valid fork)
* Max and too many signature operations via various combinations of
  OP_CHECKSIG, OP_MULTISIG, OP_CHECKSIGVERIFY, and OP_MULTISIGVERIFY
* Too many and max signature operations with offending sigop after
  invalid data push
* Max and too many signature operations via pay-to-script-hash redeem
  scripts
* Attempt to spend tx created on a different fork
* Attempt to spend immature coinbase (on main chain and fork)
* Max size block and block that exceeds the max size
* Children of rejected blocks are either orphans or rejected
* Coinbase script too small and too large
* Max length coinbase script
* Attempt to spend tx in blocks that failed to connect
* Valid non-coinbase tx in place of coinbase
* Block with no transactions
* Invalid proof-of-work
* Block with a timestamp too far in the future
* Invalid merkle root
* Invalid proof-of-work limit (bits header field)
* Negative proof-of-work limit (bits header field)
* Two coinbase transactions
* Duplicate transactions
* Spend from transaction that does not exist
* Timestamp exactly at and one second after the median time
* Blocks with same hash via merkle root tricks
* Spend from transaction index that is out of range
* Transaction that spends more that its inputs provide
* Transaction with same hash as an existing tx that has not been
  fully spent (BIP0030)
* Non-final coinbase and non-coinbase txns
* Max size block with canonical encoding which exceeds max size with
  non-canonical encoding
* Spend from transaction earlier in same block
* Spend from transaction later in same block
* Double spend transaction from earlier in same block
* Coinbase that pays more than subsidy + fees
* Coinbase that includes subsidy + fees
* Invalid opcode in dead execution path
* Reorganization of txns with OP_RETURN outputs
* Spend of an OP_RETURN output
* Transaction with multiple OP_RETURN outputs
* Large max-sized block reorganization test (disabled by default since
  it takes a long time and a lot of memory to run)

Finally, the README.md files in the main and docs directories have been
updated to reflect the use of the new testing framework.
2016-10-17 12:16:53 -05:00

4.7 KiB

btcd

[Build Status] (https://travis-ci.org/btcsuite/btcd)

btcd is an alternative full node bitcoin implementation written in Go (golang).

This project is currently under active development and is in a Beta state. It is extremely stable and has been in production use since October 2013.

It properly downloads, validates, and serves the block chain using the exact rules (including consensus bugs) for block acceptance as Bitcoin Core. We have taken great care to avoid btcd causing a fork to the block chain. It includes a full block validation testing framework which contains all of the 'official' block acceptance tests (and some additional ones) that is run on every pull request to help ensure it properly follows consensus. Also, it passes all of the JSON test data in the Bitcoin Core code.

It also properly relays newly mined blocks, maintains a transaction pool, and relays individual transactions that have not yet made it into a block. It ensures all individual transactions admitted to the pool follow the rules required by the block chain and also includes more strict checks which filter transactions based on miner requirements ("standard" transactions).

One key difference between btcd and Bitcoin Core is that btcd does NOT include wallet functionality and this was a very intentional design decision. See the blog entry here for more details. This means you can't actually make or receive payments directly with btcd. That functionality is provided by the btcwallet and Paymetheus (Windows-only) projects which are both under active development.

Requirements

Go 1.6 or newer.

Installation

Windows - MSI Available

https://github.com/btcsuite/btcd/releases

Linux/BSD/MacOSX/POSIX - Build from Source

  • Install Go according to the installation instructions here: http://golang.org/doc/install

  • Ensure Go was installed properly and is a supported version:

$ go version
$ go env GOROOT GOPATH

NOTE: The GOROOT and GOPATH above must not be the same path. It is recommended that GOPATH is set to a directory in your home directory such as ~/goprojects to avoid write permission issues. It is also recommended to add $GOPATH/bin to your PATH at this point.

  • Run the following commands to obtain btcd, all dependencies, and install it:
$ go get -u github.com/Masterminds/glide
$ git clone https://github.com/btcsuite/btcd $GOPATH/src/github.com/btcsuite/btcd
$ cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/btcsuite/btcd
$ glide install
$ go install . ./cmd/...
  • btcd (and utilities) will now be installed in $GOPATH/bin. If you did not already add the bin directory to your system path during Go installation, we recommend you do so now.

Updating

Windows

Install a newer MSI

Linux/BSD/MacOSX/POSIX - Build from Source

  • Run the following commands to update btcd, all dependencies, and install it:
$ cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/btcsuite/btcd
$ git pull && glide install
$ go install . ./cmd/...

Getting Started

btcd has several configuration options avilable to tweak how it runs, but all of the basic operations described in the intro section work with zero configuration.

Windows (Installed from MSI)

Launch btcd from your Start menu.

Linux/BSD/POSIX/Source

$ ./btcd

IRC

  • irc.freenode.net
  • channel #btcd
  • webchat

Mailing lists

  • btcd: discussion of btcd and its packages.
  • btcd-commits: readonly mail-out of source code changes.

To subscribe to a given list, send email to list+subscribe@opensource.conformal.com

Issue Tracker

The integrated github issue tracker is used for this project.

Documentation

The documentation is a work-in-progress. It is located in the docs folder.

GPG Verification Key

All official release tags are signed by Conformal so users can ensure the code has not been tampered with and is coming from the btcsuite developers. To verify the signature perform the following:

  • Download the public key from the Conformal website at https://opensource.conformal.com/GIT-GPG-KEY-conformal.txt

  • Import the public key into your GPG keyring:

    gpg --import GIT-GPG-KEY-conformal.txt
    
  • Verify the release tag with the following command where TAG_NAME is a placeholder for the specific tag:

    git tag -v TAG_NAME
    

License

btcd is licensed under the copyfree ISC License.