bitcoind-deck

Static ARMv7 build of Bitcoin Core (bitcoind) for the Braiins Forge Deck, using Nix!

This lets your Deck serve as a Bitcoin Core node.

The currently packaged version of Core is v30.2.0 :)

Quick Start

Download the latest pre-built binary from the releases page.

If you prefer to build from source, see BUILD.md for instructions.

Deployment Notes

Running a full Bitcoin node on the Deck hardware requires specific configuration to ensure stability and completion of the initial block download (IBD).

1. External Storage

You should connect external storage via USB (get a powered USB-C hub so that you can both attach USB devices and power the Deck with one port). The Deck's internal storage is too small and less durable for the full blockchain data.

2. Sync Strategy

Best Practice: Pre-sync the blockchain on a more powerful device (desktop/laptop) and transfer the data directory to the Deck's external storage.

• Why? Syncing from scratch on the Deck can take a literal month. The blockchain is pretty big nowadays!

3. Syncing on the Deck (If you must)

If you choose to perform the Initial Block Download (IBD) directly on the Deck, be aware that the initial steps (processing block headers and early blocks) are memory-intensive and may cause the device to run out of RAM (OOM) and for bitcoind to crash.

This does not harm the Deck, but it halts your progress.

Required Mitigations:

1. Stop the bmc service: During the initial sync phase (especially when pulling block headers), stop the bmc service to free up system resources. This will stop the clock

   service bmc stop

   Note: Once the node settles into processing blocks one-by-one, the memory pressure usually decreases.

2. Use Swap: You must create and mount a swap file, preferably on the external storage.

   • While swapping incurs a performance penalty, it is the difference between the node slowly succeeding and the node crashing repeatedly.
   • A 2GB - 4GB swap file is generally sufficient to handle the spikes.