Setting Up a Bitcoin Core Node on Raspberry Pi 5: A Guide

Hey everyone, I'm new to Bitcoin and I just got a Raspberry Pi 5 along with a 1 TB external hard drive. I'm looking for a guide to help me get this set up as a Bitcoin Core node. I've seen some videos on YouTube, but they seem to use different software like Umbrel, and I want to stick with what’s recommended on bitcoin.org. It's all a bit overwhelming. If anyone knows of a solid tutorial that would suit my setup, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks for any assistance!

What is best depends on what you need. Umbrel is linux distro which install and configure many things for you, while using bitcoin.org or bitcoincore.org means you do it manually. If you don't need very detailed guide, check https://bitcoin.org/en/full-node#linux-instructions. Just make sure you download ARM Linux 64-bit version.

Thanks ABCbits thats what i was looking for. I would like to use the Bitcoin Core Graphical User Interface , can you tell me what extra libraries and files i will need to download? What is better to use the debian verison or Ubuntu operating system?  Thanks so much for all the help learning something new every day!!

Hi man. 1. I 've made a full tutorial for building a node on RPi 4B+, but should be the same on RPi 5. My setup is full gui-less though. 2. Another gui-less tutorial is the famous RaspiBolt. Incredible tutorial but more technically advanced. 3. Lastly, from the plug-and-play suites, I love Start9. You can just let it run bitcoin core and nothing else. to be honest, if you 're a little geeky, you'll enjoy option (2) more than anything. Go for raspberry Pi's OS because it's meant to work perfectly with the hardware. Careful, if you follow my option (3),  it's the only option in which you don't have to choose an OS because it's already pre-installed on Start9's image.

Bitcoin Core already include all required file/library, so there's no need to extra file/library in almost all cases. Raspberry Pi OS is better choice for most use case. It's created specifically for Raspberry Pi, by the company itself. FYI, Ubuntu use more RAM which means there's less RAM for Bitcoin Core which could slow-down initial sync / block download.

Hi Guys , Update i tried to run the bitcoin core from bitcoin.org and keep getting errors ; i was using raspberry pi OS (debian linux) ,downloaded the ARM verison i could not get it to run So i tried it on a old i5 computer with mint linux installed and it worked in like 3 easy steps? go figure?? Not one to give up on the raspberry pi 5 i install Ubuntu on it and tried to run the bitcoin core and got the same errors ; even after doing apt update , apt upgrade Went i try to run :      /usr/local/bin/bitcoin-qt            I get : cannot execute:required file not found Any help would be great Thanks again

You 've installed Ubuntu on the RPi5? Since you use a GUI, have you just tried to open Bitcoin Core from the applications? (just by double clicking). Btw, I still think Raspbian is better than Ubuntu for the Pi. It's developed to work perfectly with the hardware and is debian-based. So, I wouldn't go for ubuntu or pure debian myself.

I know Ubuntu is kind of slow but i got it to work ; but not the way i wanted tried all day to get the external m.2 1 TB to show up in the btc core i could not get it ,so had to use the 32 gb sd card for now . Running with just 1 gb on bitcoin core dont know how thats going to work but we will see . ; thks for the help ......will keep trying

Take a look at these instructions: https://raspibolt.org/

You mean it's not showing in the GUI's Welcome Screen datadir selection? What is the file system used to format that M.2 External SSD? Is it new, does it came pre-formatted or not? Ubuntu should support the common file systems used by external SSD manufacturers. Check if it's showing in your "Disk Utility" and if it's mounted or has any problem.

Yes it shows up but it keeps crashing looks like it a drive compatabilty problem or defective m.2 drive I formated it with exfat and fat32 It showed up in disk utility no problem ; i read somewhere that some of these drive do no play well with raspberry pi i think this may be one . It is a SP M.2 pcie gen 3 ssd 2280 P34A60 if anyone wants to know what to avoid when looking for one? Again Thanks for the help !!

Learn to quote properly and there's no need to submit consecutive posts for replies to different users, btw this violates rule #32 of Unofficial list of (official) Bitcointalk.org rules, guidelines, FAQ. Why do you download Bitcoin Core from bitcoin.org? Bitcoin Core developers have control over Bitcoin Core's primary and sole site: https://bitcoincore.org which is the only place I would download and verify Bitcoin Core from. Whereever you install the ARM 64-bit version of Bitcoin Core's files, could be ~/bin or /usr/local/bin or /opt/Bitcoin, this path needs to be in your $PATH environment variable to find and easily execute it without stating its absolute path. (I don't bother to integrate Bitcoin Core into the Linux desktop GUI.)

Perhaps it's the usual power issue in RPi since it's PCIe gen3 which requires more power than a normal USB Flash drive. Consider looking for a "Powered External M.2 SSD" Adapter/Hub that is compatible with PCIe gen3 (hubs/adapter above gen3 should be backwards compatible). That however is more of a RPi issue rather than Bitcoin so you might find better answers if you search/post for topics about external SSD setup in RPi forums.

It is recommended to use the genuine Raspberry Pi5 power supply adapter because there are not many which can reliably provide 5.1V and 5A. And still the maximum total(!) power budget for all USB peripherals is only 1.6A the Pi5 can provide if you use a 5A power supply (600mA only if using a 3A power supply). Source: https://github.com/raspberrypi/documentation/blob/develop/documentation/asciidoc/computers/raspberry-pi/power-supplies.adoc 1.6A will barely be enough for only the lowest power demanding M.2 NVMe SSDs! I would say for reliable usage a powered USB3-M.2-NVMe adapter is a must (or a sufficiently powered USB3-hub capable to provide enough power for an unpowered USB3-M.2-NVMe adapter; still a less ideal solution as you have another "active" USB3 component in between the Pi5 and the adapter chip of your M.2-NVMe enclosure). A Pi5 benefits from a less power hungry M.2-NVMe SSD more when you use a Pi5 dedicated adapter board with a proper M.2-NVMe slot that connects via the PCIe connector of the Pi5, skipping USB alltogether.

Hello Guys Just wanted to give a update and thank everyone for the help. I gave up on the raspberry pi for now need to order a new m.2 hat. I have the GUI verision of bitcoin core V28 running on my i 5 with mint linux ,currently download a pruned btc blocks at about 78% done I have installed the tor program and want to know what settings or lines of code do i have to enter in the bitcoin.conf file to get it to work? Or do i need to use the settings under the GUI ,options tab and edit anything there under network tab. Is there a way to see if the BTC core is running thru Tor? Also sorry if i broke any fourm rules Cricktor first time using a help fourm ; learning as i go. Again everyone Thanks for the Help!!!!!

You can choose a setup in this Documentation: https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/doc/tor.md Numbers 1, 2 and 3 aren't steps, you should only choose one to follow. In the GUI? there should be a visible "P" at the lower-right hand side that indicates that it's connected through the Tor proxy that you've set. Then to see if you're connected to onion peers, open your peers window in "Window->Peers". The default setup will still let your node connect to clearnet nodes, there is an option in the documentation above to prevent it if you want.

I think I've excluded clearnet connections to and from my node, I prefer to use Tor connections only. I've the following options in my bitcoin.conf file (feel free to correct me, eager to learn more):

Hi Everyone, I finally got the pruned block chain downloaded looks like the core is working good ; have around 10 out , 2 in peers. Question where is the block chain files stored?  Is it the blocks folder or chainstate folder? This core is running on mint linux dell i5 computer would it be possible to copy the folder and place it on the raspberry pi 5 when i get it setup to run the BTC core program or will i have to redownload the core again? Dont know if the ARM processor on the raspberrypi  will except the X86 - 64 file fomat on the Dell? Thanks for the help!!!!

It's blocks (which gets pruned). But you also need chainstate (which keeps growing in size). As long as you install the correct version of Bitcoin Core, I expect the data files to be compatible.

Hi everyone, First of all, I apologize for posting under someone else’s query. I decided to post here instead of creating a new topic. I’m currently running a fully synced Bitcoin full node and it seems to be connecting correctly. However, I’m struggling to fetch data, such as the number of transactions made on specific addresses, particularly those that are NOT controlled by my own node.  Currently running simple Python script (with a help of ChatGPT). Could anyone help with the right command to use to fetch this data? Thanks in advance for your help!