github.com/btcsuite/btcd@v0.24.0/docs/index.md (about) 1 # btcd 2 3 [![Build Status](https://github.com/btcsuite/btcd/workflows/Build%20and%20Test/badge.svg)](https://github.com/btcsuite/btcd/actions) 4 [![ISC License](http://img.shields.io/badge/license-ISC-blue.svg)](http://copyfree.org) 5 [![GoDoc](https://img.shields.io/badge/godoc-reference-blue.svg)](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/btcsuite/btcd) 6 7 btcd is an alternative full node bitcoin implementation written in Go (golang). 8 9 This project is currently under active development and is in a Beta state. It 10 is extremely stable and has been in production use since October 2013. 11 12 It properly downloads, validates, and serves the block chain using the exact 13 rules (including consensus bugs) for block acceptance as Bitcoin Core. We have 14 taken great care to avoid btcd causing a fork to the block chain. It includes a 15 full block validation testing framework which contains all of the 'official' 16 block acceptance tests (and some additional ones) that is run on every pull 17 request to help ensure it properly follows consensus. Also, it passes all of 18 the JSON test data in the Bitcoin Core code. 19 20 It also properly relays newly mined blocks, maintains a transaction pool, and 21 relays individual transactions that have not yet made it into a block. It 22 ensures all individual transactions admitted to the pool follow the rules 23 required by the block chain and also includes more strict checks which filter 24 transactions based on miner requirements ("standard" transactions). 25 26 One key difference between btcd and Bitcoin Core is that btcd does *NOT* include 27 wallet functionality and this was a very intentional design decision. See the 28 blog entry [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20171125143919/https://blog.conformal.com/btcd-not-your-moms-bitcoin-daemon) 29 for more details. This means you can't actually make or receive payments 30 directly with btcd. That functionality is provided by the 31 [btcwallet](https://github.com/btcsuite/btcwallet) and 32 [Paymetheus](https://github.com/btcsuite/Paymetheus) (Windows-only) projects 33 which are both under active development. 34 35 ## Documentation 36 37 Documentation is a work-in-progress. It is available at [btcd.readthedocs.io](https://btcd.readthedocs.io). 38 39 ## Contents 40 41 * [Installation](installation.md) 42 * [Update](update.md) 43 * [Configuration](configuration.md) 44 * [Configuring TOR](configuring_tor.md) 45 * [Docker](using_docker.md) 46 * [Controlling](controlling.md) 47 * [Mining](mining.md) 48 * [Wallet](wallet.md) 49 * [Developer resources](developer_resources.md) 50 * [JSON RPC API](json_rpc_api.md) 51 * [Code contribution guidelines](code_contribution_guidelines.md) 52 * [Contact](contact.md) 53 54 ## License 55 56 btcd is licensed under the [copyfree](http://copyfree.org) ISC License. 57