Keyboard shortcuts

Press ← or → to navigate between chapters

Press S or / to search in the book

Press ? to show this help

Press Esc to hide this help

Installation

This guide covers installing BLVM from pre-built binaries available on GitHub releases.

Prerequisites

Pre-built binaries are available for Linux, macOS, and Windows on common platforms. No Rust installation required - binaries are pre-compiled and ready to use.

Installing blvm-node

The reference node is the main entry point for running a BLVM node.

Quick Start

  1. Download the latest release from GitHub Releases

  2. Extract the archive for your platform:

    # Linux
tar -xzf blvm-*-linux-x86_64.tar.gz

# macOS
tar -xzf blvm-*-macos-x86_64.tar.gz

# Windows
# Extract the .zip file using your preferred tool

  3. Move the binary to your PATH (optional but recommended):

    # Linux/macOS
sudo mv blvm /usr/local/bin/

# Or add to your local bin directory
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
mv blvm ~/.local/bin/
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"  # Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc

  4. Verify installation:

    blvm --version

Release Variants

Releases include two variants:

Base Variant (blvm-{version}-{platform}.tar.gz)

Stable, minimal release with core Bitcoin node functionality, production optimizations, standard storage backends, and process sandboxing. Use for production deployments prioritizing stability.

Experimental Variant (blvm-experimental-{version}-{platform}.tar.gz)

Full-featured build with experimental features: UTXO commitments, BIP119 CTV, Dandelion++, BIP158, Stratum V2, and enhanced signature operations counting. See Protocol Specifications for details.

Use for development, testing, or when experimental capabilities are required.

Installing blvm-sdk Tools

The SDK tools (blvm-keygen, blvm-sign, blvm-verify) are included in the blvm-node release archives.

After extracting the release archive, you’ll find:

  • blvm - Bitcoin reference node
  • blvm-keygen - Generate governance keypairs
  • blvm-sign - Sign governance messages
  • blvm-verify - Verify signatures and multisig thresholds

All tools are in the same directory. Move them to your PATH as described above.

Platform-Specific Notes

Linux

  • x86_64: Standard 64-bit Linux
  • ARM64: For ARM-based systems (Raspberry Pi, AWS Graviton, etc.)
  • glibc 2.31+: Required for Linux binaries

macOS

  • x86_64: Intel Macs
  • ARM64: Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3)
  • macOS 11.0+: Required for macOS binaries

Windows

  • x86_64: 64-bit Windows
  • Extract the .zip file and run blvm.exe from the extracted directory
  • Add the directory to your PATH for command-line access

Verifying Installation

After installation, verify everything works:

# Check blvm-node version
blvm --version

# Check SDK tools
blvm-keygen --help
blvm-sign --help
blvm-verify --help

Building from Source (Advanced)

Building from source requires Rust 1.70+ and is primarily for development. Clone the blvm repository and follow the build instructions in its README.

Next Steps

See Also