First beta release of Orange, a blockchain explorer for Bitcoin Core

[msafi]

Hi folks,

Orange is a blockchain explorer for Bitcoin Core. It brings the functionality of a service like blockchain.com/explorer right to your desktop, powered by your own full node.

I just pushed this release last night and I’m excited for somebody to download it and try it. So go ahead and tell me what features you’d like added.

I’m planning for Orange to be more than just a blockchain explorer in the future. This is just the start.

Here's the download link: https://github.com/orange-org/orange/releases/latest

If you need help getting setup or if you have any questions, comment here, email msafi@msafi.com, tweet https://twitter.com/msafi, or file an issue https://github.com/orange-org/orange/issues/new

Edit: remove "macOS only" reference since Windows is also supported now.

[Vod]

Hi folks,

Orange is a blockchain explorer for Bitcoin Core.

(macOS only for now)

Should have programmed it in .NET Core - then it would have run on all platforms.   

Looking forward to trying this when it launches for the PC.

[Initscri]

Hi folks,

Orange is a blockchain explorer for Bitcoin Core.

(macOS only for now)

Should have programmed it in .NET Core - then it would have run on all platforms.  

Looking forward to trying this when it launches for the PC.

If it's built on Electron it should work cross-platform. Windows version just probably hasn't been finely tested/actually built yet.

Looks awesome, although, I do have to admit, I did expect a bit more orange _{(I'm just kidding the design looks great)}

[msafi]

Should have programmed it in .NET Core - then it would have run on all platforms.   

.NET Core is a scam. .NET Cash is the real .NET

If it's built on Electron it should work cross-platform. Windows version just probably hasn't been finely tested/actually built yet.

Looks awesome, although, I do have to admit, I did expect a bit more orange _{(I'm just kidding the design looks great)}

That's exactly right. Making the Windows and Linux versions available is only a matter of figuring out the CI/CD and setting up the virtual machines on my Mac to test them.

Thanks for complimenting the design. I spent a lot of time on it because I'm not a designer or a user experience expert. Hopefully I'll find an open-source volunteer to help in that area in the future.

[msafi]

Alright folks, Orange is now available on Windows!

https://github.com/orange-org/orange/releases/tag/1.0.0-beta.3

Please go ahead and give it a try!

[R.I.U. iol]

Nice release, does the use RPC calls or parse the blocks itself?

[msafi]

Nice release, does the use RPC calls or parse the blocks itself?

Orange works by making RPC calls to Bitcoin Core. It doesn't connect to any peers itself and in fact is configured to be completely isolated from making network calls (except to Bitcoin Core)

[msafi]

Have you considered contacting node providers like Nodl, MyNode etc. to include Orange in their software package?

Good idea! I should try that.

I wanna build out Orange more and make it more compelling first though. There's still a lot more I wanna add, like make it a full wallet with Lightning support. Long way to go!

Thanks for the good suggestion though!

[eckmar]

Looks really good. Does it work with a node that is in regtest mode?

[msafi]

Looks really good. Does it work with a node that is in regtest mode?

Yes, it should work.

When you start Orange, the first thing it will do is look for `bitcoin.conf` in the default location. Based on `bitcoin.conf`, it will decide where to look for the .cookie file and Bitcoin Core RPC server, http://localhost:18332 (testnet), http://localhost:18443 (regtest), or http://localhost:8332 (mainnet). Then it will start communicating with the server and display the information on the UI. It shouldn't matter what network the server is using (I haven't tested using regtest though).

(I'm currently working on support for manually configuring the server URL and authentication: https://github.com/orange-org/orange/issues/19 This should be useful for users who have non-default configurations)

[eckmar]

Looks really good. Does it work with a node that is in regtest mode?

Yes, it should work.

When you start Orange, the first thing it will do is look for `bitcoin.conf` in the default location. Based on `bitcoin.conf`, it will decide where to look for the .cookie file and Bitcoin Core RPC server, http://localhost:18332 (testnet), http://localhost:18443 (regtest), or http://localhost:8332 (mainnet). Then it will start communicating with the server and display the information on the UI. It shouldn't matter what network the server is using (I haven't tested using regtest though).

(I'm currently working on support for manually configuring the server URL and authentication: https://github.com/orange-org/orange/issues/19 This should be useful for users who have non-default configurations)

Yeah that should help a lot. The first use of your software that I though of is the development of software using node in regtest mode, thats why  I asked. Anyway I'll play around with it a bit.