Storing blockchain in folder other than /Users/user/Library/Application Support

[akahanky]

I have recently downloaded Bitcoin-Qt.app for Mac and subsequently the blockchain.  My startup disk is not very large and I would rather store the blockchain on another internal drive in my computer.

I have not been successful in doing so yet though after having read about using symbolic links and configuration files and datadir=<path> flags.  Using any of the mentioned methods has only led to Bitcoin-Qt either recreating the Bitcoin folder in Application Support or not syncing at all.  I have not found any solid help for Mac users (most of the help that I found involved people who are running Linux or Windows and explain how to do it for their OS and state that "it will be very similar for Mac").

Anyone out there who can point me to some useful info or tell me what I should be doing?

Thanks.

[akahanky]

bump

[worldlybedouin]

I'm not sure how it's done on a Mac, but here's how it works on a Windows machine.

Typically it's all stored under C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Bitcoin

However, my C: is a small SSD and the databases from BTC and LTC were filling it up fast!  So I learned there is a command line paramter (-datadir=) which allows you to redirect the folder to a new location...so I created a short cut like this:

Code:

bitcoin-qt.exe -datadir=F:\BitcoinData

The -datadir=   optoin on the executable allows it to store the block chain data there.  I'm guessing the same command line argument exists for Mac as it does for Linux/Windows clients.

The above still leaves my wallet.dat on my C: drive but the blockchain database stuff is all on my F: drive instead.

Hope this helps.

[zvs]

I'm not sure how it's done on a Mac, but here's how it works on a Windows machine.

Typically it's all stored under C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Bitcoin

However, my C: is a small SSD and the databases from BTC and LTC were filling it up fast!  So I learned there is a command line paramter (-datadir=) which allows you to redirect the folder to a new location...so I created a short cut like this:

Code:

bitcoin-qt.exe -datadir=F:\BitcoinData

The -datadir=   optoin on the executable allows it to store the block chain data there.  I'm guessing the same command line argument exists for Mac as it does for Linux/Windows clients.

The above still leaves my wallet.dat on my C: drive but the blockchain database stuff is all on my F: drive instead.

Hope this helps.

yeah, in /users/xxx/AppData/Roaming/Bitcoin  

in the bitcoin.conf file

datadir=X:\Blah

the only file in my appdata/roaming/bitcoin is my bitcoin.conf file

the wallet.dat and everything else goes into whatever the datadir is

bitcoin-qt might be different, I only use bitcoind

[DannyHamilton]

OP states:

- snip -
I have not found any solid help for Mac users (most of the help that I found involved people who are running Linux or Windows and explain how to do it for their OS and state that "it will be very similar for Mac").
- snip -

Receives 2 responses:

I'm not sure how it's done on a Mac, but here's how it works on a Windows machine.
- snip -

- snip -
yeah, in /users/xxx/AppData/Roaming/Bitcoin   
- snip -
bitcoin-qt might be different, I only use bitcoind

LOL

 

[toffoo]

Maybe try entering something like this at the Terminal prompt:

Code:

/Applications/Bitcoin-Qt.app/Contents/MacOS/Bitcoin-Qt -datadir=/full/path/you/want/

and let us know if that works for you.


The bitcoin wiki mentions that you can set command-line options with a bitcoin.conf file, but not the -datadir option (because the bitcoin.conf file needs to be in the datadir directory), so you need to do this one as a command-line option.  Running GUI executables with command-line options on Mac is not exactly straightforward, but see if this command works.

[timwizard]

I'd use the ln command. Something like

ln -s /where/you/want ~/Users/user/Library/Application Support/Whereeveritusuallyputsit