Frequently Asked Questions

A DigiNode is a device that runs a DigiByte full node, helping to further decentralize the DigiByte network. It can be a Raspberry Pi, a Linux server or a VPS, set up and managed with DigiNode Tools.

The DigiByte blockchain is a decentralized ledger running on computers all around the world. Each computer running the DigiByte software maintains its own entire copy of the DigiByte blockchain. This is known as a full node.

Each block on the blockchain contains a bunch of transactions, and every full node has independently verified every single block that has been added to the blockchain, and by extension it has independently verified every single transaction that has ever occurred on the DigiByte ledger.

Running a full node might sound resource intensive but you can actually run your own full node on an inexpensive computer such as a Raspberry Pi. This is very different to mining DigiByte which uses a lot of energy and can require expensive hardware.

While full nodes maintain a copy of the entire blockchain, there are also lite nodes, or SPV nodes, that only hold recent blocks. They are typically used by mobile wallets and the like where the limitations of space make storing the full blockchain impractical. Light nodes rely on the full nodes for their data. This means that they must trust that the data they get from a full node is accurate.

Running a full node is not the same as mining, but full nodes are every bit as important as miners, in the operation of the DigiByte blockchain.

A full node holds a complete copy of the blockchain and has independently verified the existing blocks, whereas a miner competes to add the next block to the front of the blockchain. Full nodes and miners together help secure the blockchain.

To ensure that the next block added to the blockchain cannot be manipulated by a bad actor, all miners on the blockchain compete in a game of chance to have the right to add the next block.

Miners use extremely powerful computers, or entire warehouses full of computers, and use immense amounts of computing power and electricity to try to solve an extremely difficult cryptographic problem. Miners compete with each other at this, and the winner of each race earns the right to take the latest bunch of transactions awaiting confirmation and include them in the next block in the blockchain. For doing this, they are also awarded some DigiByte, which is the process by which new coins enter circulation.

You can think of this process like having one of those combination padlocks - the ones with multiple number dials - and the combination to unlock it is currently unknown. Miners all compete to guess the combination by randomly trying different number sequences until eventually one of them gets the correct one. The winner immediately broadcasts the correct combination to the rest of the network, proving that they got there first, which they also use to bundle up the waiting transactions in the next block. They also receive DGB as a block reward which is how new DigiByte enter circulation. The process then repeats for the next block. In the case of DigiByte this happens approximately every 15 seconds.

Full nodes independently verify each block generated by the miners and maintain a complete copy of the blockchain.

While mining requires expensive hardware and electricity, running a full node can be done on a low power computer such as a Raspberry Pi, since it is only required to verify the existing blocks. It's the difference between a student working to solve a complicated math problem versus their professor, with the answers already in front of them, checking that the student's solution is correct. It's a lot easier to verify the correct answer than to actually work out the answer yourself.

It is important to note that while miners frequently also run a full node, you can run a full node without also mining.

DigiNode Tools are a suite of Linux scripts that make it easy to set up, monitor and manage your DigiNode from the Linux command line:

DigiNode Setup - Helps you to install, upgrade, back up and restore your DigiByte Node.

DigiNode Dashboard - Quickly check the status of your DigiByte Node.

DigiNode Tools should run on most Ubuntu or Debian systems. A 64-bit OS is required. Both ARM64 and x86_64 hardware are supported. For more info, view the page on System Requirements.

If you are interested in building your own DigiNode, the recommended setup is a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 with 8GB RAM and an SSD, running Raspberry Pi OS Lite 64-bit. See here for the parts you need.

Note: A DigiNode is designed to operate "headless". This means you do not need a display, keyboard or mouse - everything can be set up and managed remotely, using the terminal.

Run diginode-setup and choose Update. This updates DigiNode Tools and DigiByte Core.

You don't need to keep checking: DigiNode Dashboard tells you when a new version of DigiNode Tools or DigiByte Core is available. New versions of DigiNode Tools are usually released every other Tuesday. See what's new in the release notes.

DigiNode Tools is free, and its code is public, so anyone can see exactly what it does on your computer. You can read it on GitHub.

Every DigiByte Core download is checked against its published SHA256 hash before DigiNode Tools will install it, so you can be sure you're getting the genuine release.

If you change your mind, diginode-setup --uninstall removes DigiNode Tools, and lets you choose whether to keep your DigiByte Core install and blockchain data.

Start by reading the System Requirements and these Frequently Asked Questions - the answer may already be here.

If you still need help, please post a message in the DigiNode Tools Telegram group. You can also get in touch with @diginode.tools on Bluesky.

No. The DigiNode Tools X (Twitter) account has been retired and is no longer in use, so messages sent there will not get a response. Please use the DigiNode Tools Telegram group or Bluesky instead.

Yes. This has been tested and works as expected, though you may have issues using the backup and restore scripts, depending on your setup.

Yes. This has been tested and works as expected, though you will not be able to use the backup and restore scripts, as they require access to a USB port on the device. DigiNode Dashboard makes monitoring your DigiByte Node really easy, and DigiNode Setup can be used to easily upgrade it, when needed. Ubuntu Server is recommended. The VPS should ideally have 8GB RAM.

Yes, though DigiNode Tools was designed with a server OS in mind - it is designed to run on a remote server, or a Raspberry Pi on your local network. The idea is that you can run DigiNode Tools on a remote system, and then use DigiNode Dashboard to monitor it over SSH from the terminal on your primary machine. If you are running a Linux desktop OS as your main computer, and do not need the remote monitoring capability, you are likely much better off simply using DigiByte desktop for Linux.

Not at the moment. DigiAssets are a layer built on top of the DigiByte blockchain for issuing digital assets (NFTs), tokens, digital identity and more. Earlier versions of DigiNode Tools could also install a DigiAsset Node, which helped decentralize DigiAsset metadata. That option is currently unavailable, and its replacement, DigiAsset Core, isn't supported by DigiNode Tools yet (see below).

Support is planned, but there is no date yet. The original DigiAsset Node was written in JavaScript and wasn't very reliable, so Matthew Cornelisse rewrote it in C++ as DigiAsset Core. It is available on GitHub, but it hasn't been tested with DigiNode Tools yet.

Would you like to see DigiAsset Core supported sooner? Please consider sponsoring DigiNode Tools - the more support I have, the sooner it can happen.

Possibly, depending on your setup. Your DigiByte Core install folder needs to be accessible from the home folder. Run the DigiNode Setup script as normal, and choose to install DigiNode Tools only. This will install the DigiNode scripts but not set up a DigiByte Node. You need to create a symbolic link in your home folder called 'digibyte' that points at your DigiByte Core install folder. This way the DigiByte CLI binary digibyte-cli should be accessible at ~/digibyte/bin/digibyte-cli, and digibyted at ~/digibyte/bin/digibyted.

That said, it is always recommended to use DigiNode Setup to install your DigiByte Node if you wish to use DigiNode Dashboard. This will give you the full capabilities of the software, and ensures that everything works as expected.

No. When you install DigiNode Tools it configures a DigiByte full node to run 24/7/365 on the device, and to start up automatically if the system reboots. DigiNode Dashboard is simply a dashboard interface to make it easy to check on the status of the DigiByte Node, and see that everything is running correctly. Keeping the Dashboard itself running all the time is not necessary and not recommended. It will quit automatically if it is left running, to prevent it from using too many resources on the system. You can change how long it runs for with the SM_AUTO_QUIT setting in diginode.settings.

It will run a single DigiByte node, but performance will be sluggish, so it's fine for trying DigiNode out, but not recommended for long-term use. Don't run a dual node (Mainnet and Testnet) on it, as it may crash. A Raspberry Pi with 8GB RAM is recommended.

No. Raspberry Pi 3s and older have 1GB RAM or less, which is not enough to run a DigiNode. A Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 with at least 4GB RAM is required, and 8GB is recommended.

It is technically possible, but an SSD is always recommended - performance will be much better and over time the microSD card is more likely to become corrupted. A Pi with 4GB RAM booting from a microSD card will also need a USB stick for its swap file. On a Raspberry Pi 5, an NVMe SSD (connected via PCIe) is faster still.

Possibly. If it has at least 4GB RAM (8GB recommended) and can run a 64-bit version of Ubuntu Server or Debian, it should be fine. Given the easier setup, and generally better performance, a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 with 8GB RAM is still recommended.

Yes. DigiNode Tools is free to use, for any purpose. I build and maintain it in my spare time, and it is funded by the people who sponsor it.

The best way is to sponsor DigiNode Tools on GitHub or Ko-fi. You can sponsor monthly or make a one-time donation, from as little as you like. The more people who sponsor me, the more time I can devote to DigiNode Tools. See the Sponsors page for details.

You can also help by answering other users' questions in the DigiNode Tools Telegram group, reporting bugs on GitHub, and telling other people about DigiNode Tools.

Your support helps me to support new DigiByte Core releases quickly and test them on real hardware, keep your downloads safe by verifying every DigiByte Core release, fix bugs and help users, add new features and improvements, write documentation and tutorials, and cover the hosting costs for this website and the servers that run my DigiByte nodes.

Things I would like to build, as time allows, include DigiAsset Core support, DigiDollar support in DigiNode Dashboard, a menu-driven terminal wallet, improved wallet backup and restore, and a faster DigiNode Dashboard. See the full list on the Sponsors page. The more support I have, the sooner they can happen.

Yes. Featured Sponsors ($300 a month, only 3 places) get their logo and link on the diginode.tools home page and Sponsors page, and on the DigiNode Tools GitHub page, plus their name and link shown to everyone using DigiNode Setup and DigiNode Dashboard. Featured Sponsors are approved by me. If your sponsorship isn't approved, it will be refunded. See the Sponsors page to get started.

Yes. The address to send DGB to, with its QR code, is on the Sponsors page. Thank you!

DigiNode Tools is free to use for any purpose: at home, for a business, a mining pool, a school or a nonprofit. You can also change the code for your own use. What the licence (PolyForm Perimeter 1.0.0) doesn't allow is using the code to make a product that competes with DigiNode Tools.

Not in the strict sense. It's "source available": the code is public so that anyone can see exactly what DigiNode Tools does on their computer, but the licence doesn't allow it to be used to make a competing product. Open source licences don't allow that kind of restriction.

Not one that competes with DigiNode Tools - whether it's free or paid, a script, an app, a website or a service, and in any programming language. That includes a version for another blockchain. This keeps one official DigiNode Tools that everyone can trust.

Yes. Pull requests from the community are welcome on GitHub. The objective is to offer compatibility with a broad variety of systems, so everyone's help is needed to test and improve it. If your changes are significant, you may like to discuss them first in the DigiNode Tools Telegram group. There is no guarantee that all pull requests will be merged.

Please talk to me first. Selling DigiNode Tools, cloud-hosted DigiNodes, plug-and-play DigiNode hardware, or paid support for DigiNode Tools may count as competing. Contact [email protected].

Yes, to link to DigiNode Tools or to write about it (articles, reviews, tutorials, videos and posts), without asking. For anything else, please ask first. See the name and logo policy.

See the full software licence, and the licence FAQ on GitHub.