Ledger Live added full node support

[Pmalek]

I didn't see anyone write about this so I figured I could mention it briefly...

In its newest release, Ledger Live has added support for full nodes. However, this is still an experimental feature and needs to be manually enabled by the user in the settings. To do that, go to Settings > Experimental feature, find the Connect Bitcoin full node feature and click on connect. Ledger states in its official support doc that they are currently not offering any support for bugs and problems related to the full node feature. There are known bugs that need to be fixed before a system-wide release.


How to establish a connection?

To connect your full node to LL, you need to use Ledger SatStack. It functions as a bridge between your full node and the LL client. It's an open source app. You can read more about it on GitHub.  


Minimum requirements:

- The Full node option is available in version 2.18.0 of Ledger Live. You need to update your client to this version first.

Ledger has posted the following requirements needed to run a full node:

At least 2 GB RAM
350 GB disk space
A broadband connection without data restrictions
6 hours of daily uptime

To understand how to add and configure your bitcoin accounts and set up Ledger SatStack, read the official support doc.
https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017551659-Setting-up-your-Bitcoin-full-node


Known bugs with full node feature enabled

- Unconfirmed transactions don't appear in your transaction history the moment they are sent. You will see them once they receive the first confirmation.
- Confirmed coins are shown as pending.
- The SatStach app has to be updated manually. Ledger Live can't check for updates to it like it does with the crypto apps on your device.

There are more bugs. You can check them at the end of the official support doc.

Official support doc and source of information:
https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017551659-Setting-up-your-Bitcoin-full-node

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[ranochigo]

I'm not a fan of Ledger Live. I prefer using Electrum. Easier and has more useful features. Adding a full node bridge could make some difference but I wouldn't use it.

I know the 6 hours of uptime is from bitcoin.org but what's the point of them including that? The point of Bitcoin.org's article is centered on how full nodes can contribute to the network, which wouldn't be relevant for most users. Isn't the whole point of this allowing the Ledger user to use their own Bitcoin Core as a data source? Why do they need to include that? You can just spin it up whenever you want and it wouldn't make a difference. Definitely not a "Minimum requirements".

[Pmalek]

It's last thing feature i would expect from Ledger Live, considering there are many missing feature (e.g. UTXO selection) and few bug.

They have a pretty long list of bugs and compatibility issues that they can't seem to address. One of the worst things is that the Ledger Live software suddenly stops working on certain computers and can no longer be brought back. Reinstalling, uninstalling, or going back to the older versions of the software doesn't make it operational again. Their team hasn't been able to figure out what kind of hardware or software combination causes this and why. Wasn't @hugeblack one of the users who faced this issue and had to give up on using Ledger Live altogether, or am I thinking of someone else?     

Additionally, there's no mention range of Bitcoin Core they support, it's possible Ledger Live will encounter error with future version of Bitcoin Core or older version of Bitcoin Core if there are change of RPC-JSON command name/behavior.

Interesting point. I think it's worth talking about in their GitHub Discussions page. From the previous topics, I can see that their team is active in the created threads.
Version 2.19.0 is in pre-release stage.
https://github.com/LedgerHQ/ledger-live-desktop/releases
They have already highlighted that some bugs with the full node feature will be fixed, but it will still remain an experimental option.

[HCP]

And it's a bit of a "swing and a miss" with regards to the full node support...



I don't use RPC user/password... I use the .cookie file authentication method, so the user/pass changes every time the node is restarted.

[dkbit98]

I would never connect full Bitcoin node with buggy piece of software like ledger live, when you have other proven software wallet solutions that are working much better, and who knows what ledger collects and stores forever with their app.

I'll consider it if i plan to replace Electrum/Wasabi/Bitcoin Core with Ledger Live to manage my Bitcoin.

I hope you are not serious with this statement...who in the right mind would downgrade like that.

[bob123]

I would never connect full Bitcoin node with buggy piece of software like ledger live

You wouldn't connect "a node width ledger live", but ledger live would connect to a node.
The only difference would be that ledger live no longer would be connecting to the ledger server (which then would query their full node), but you are directly connecting to your own node.

Regardless of the misconception of bitcoin and networks you have, what bugs are you referring to? Are there some serious bugs other than useless displaying issues?
I am not aware of any, but i don't use ledger live since i am absolutely against the "features" they implement (e.g. an instant exchange a.k.a. scam).

[...] when you have other proven software wallet solutions that are working much better, and who knows what ledger collects and stores forever with their app.

I think you are not aware of what kind of information you are leaking when using electrum.
The electrum server basically knows everything about you. Your addresses, balance, IP, geolocation, etc..

Core / Wasabi are the best desktop solutions regarding privacy. Electrum is horrible if used without an own server or at least tor to somewhat reduce the exposure.

[Pmalek]

Bump

[HCP]

This bump (and a few moments of spare time) dropped me into the Ledger Live + SatStacks + Bitcoin Core rabbit hole...

I'm just spent a couple of hours trying to get this working... it's not terribly user friendly... it creates a new "satstacks.dat" wallet in your Bitcoin Core datadir... and then effectively "locks" your Node:


AND "locks" your Ledger bitcoin accounts while it rescans the blockchain for your new satstacks.dat wallet



Additionally, you need to run the "lss.exe" (aka Ledger SatStacks) application in a separate process... and have it running alongside LL+Bitcoin Core to make it all work. Also, as soon as you try and setup your "accounts", they all get deleted from Ledger Live until you've finished getting it all configured and then manually re-add them

Another negative is that all your accounts/xpubs and the RPC user/password are stored in plaintext!!?! in the lss.json file in your Ledger Live userdata directory.


On the plus side, actually adding the accounts to Ledger Live is super fast compared to when you try to do it via the Ledger servers. It added all my accounts pretty much instantaneously! But given how long it actually took for it to setup/scan them all in Bitcoin Core anyway, that's kind of irrelevant

Honestly, it's definitely a good thing that they're offering this functionality and attempting to get this working to give users the opportunity to utilise private nodes instead of the Ledger servers, I'm just not terribly impressed with the execution so far.

It was far easier to simply setup an Electrum server (I use electrs) and then connect my Ledger to Electrum that is configured to only connect to my local node:

Code:

electrum --oneserver --server=localhost:50001:t

[bob123]

Another negative is that all your accounts/xpubs and the RPC user/password are stored in plaintext!!?! in the lss.json file in your Ledger Live userdata directory.

The xpubs always have been stored in plaintext.

The file app.json contains all necessary information for ledger live (xpubs, accounts, balances, timestamps, ...). It is not encrypted. The ledger live password is only used to lock the view.
It does not encrypt/decrypt anything. It is purely just for locking the application. All data which is shown inside of ledger live is still visible if you look at the raw file.

The new update didn't make it worse. It always has been like this. 

[HCP]

The new update didn't make it worse. It always has been like this. 

I should have known... honestly, I originally had high hopes for Ledger Live when it was first announced they were removing the Chrome apps and releasing "proper" apps... LL is far from "proper"