merge-script d3056bc149
Merge bitcoin/bitcoin#34606: doc: clarify swapping impact on IBD performance
a61907e5d9c1988eb1e018cae5831d6b94f4da7f doc: explain swapping in `reduce-memory.md` (Lőrinc)

Pull request description:

  ### Problem
  Sustained [heavy swapping](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrashing_(computer_science)) can grind execution to a halt, but today users get no direct warning from the node when this happens, and this caveat is not documented.

  ### Fix
  We can’t easily detect heavy swap pressure in a reliable, cross-platform way, but we can document what swapping is and why it can severely degrade IBD performance.

  ---

  Note: An earlier version of this PR attempted to detect and warn on heavy swapping (Linux-only), but it was changed to documentation based on review feedback.

ACKs for top commit:
  ajtowns:
    utACK a61907e5d9c1988eb1e018cae5831d6b94f4da7f
  sedited:
    ACK a61907e5d9c1988eb1e018cae5831d6b94f4da7f

Tree-SHA512: b21c40d07d78d890c19d3a17faad4ab4127688884dc433a1bdb63d18de07628c048227eba2f1258c6b542a71a986d4250f8abf8f8ffe0cda433ce0c8673978d4
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Bitcoin Core

Setup

Bitcoin Core is the original Bitcoin client and it builds the backbone of the network. It downloads and, by default, stores the entire history of Bitcoin transactions, which requires several hundred gigabytes or more of disk space. Depending on the speed of your computer and network connection, the synchronization process can take anywhere from a few hours to several days or more.

To download Bitcoin Core, visit bitcoincore.org.

Running

The following are some helpful notes on how to run Bitcoin Core on your native platform.

Unix

Unpack the files into a directory and run:

  • bin/bitcoin-qt (GUI) or
  • bin/bitcoind (headless)
  • bin/bitcoin (wrapper command)

The bitcoin command supports subcommands like bitcoin gui, bitcoin node, and bitcoin rpc exposing different functionality. Subcommands can be listed with bitcoin help.

Windows

Unpack the files into a directory, and then run bitcoin-qt.exe.

macOS

Drag Bitcoin Core to your applications folder, and then run Bitcoin Core.

Need Help?

Building

The following are developer notes on how to build Bitcoin Core on your native platform. They are not complete guides, but include notes on the necessary libraries, compile flags, etc.

Development

The Bitcoin repo's root README contains relevant information on the development process and automated testing.

Resources

Miscellaneous

License

Distributed under the MIT software license.