Help With Installing Knots On Linux Mint

[Mists]

Hello,

Can someone please explain to me in really simple terms how to install Bitcoin Knots software on my Linux Mint Node? I followed the instructions on the Knots website
 (https://launchpad.net/~luke-jr/+archive/ubuntu/bitcoinknots) for the UBUNTU PPA as far as entering : "sudo apt update" into the terminal but now I'm stuck.

In all honesty I probably have no business running Linux as I am a newb.

Also I already have BTC core installed so I'd also like to save downloading the whole blockchain again if I can help it (no big deal if it's not possible).

Thanks

[nc50lc]

Just download the other Linux binaries in Bitcoin Knot's official website: bitcoinknots.org
You may also read the security notes about verification below the home page.
Or download the binaries directly from the repo's releases page: github.com/bitcoinknots/bitcoin/releases

I recommend to get the ready-to-use "x86_64-linux-gnu" compressed tar.gz binary (if you're using a common non-arm desktop machine),
Extract it somewhere, go to the 'bin' folder inside it and run "bitcoin-qt"
Similar simple instructions: github.com/bitcoinknots/bitcoin/blob/28.x-knots/doc/README.md

Also I already have BTC core installed so I'd also like to save downloading the whole blockchain again if I can help it (no big deal if it's not possible).

You may set multiple lines of "loadblock=<full path to your blk00xxxx.dat file>" to your bitcoin.conf file and it will try to copy and verify it instead of downloading from other nodes.
The import and verification operation may still take time depending on your machine's specs, so don't expect it to be as fast as copy-paste.

[planingkoala]

Hey @Mists – I feel you on that, I’ve had almost the exact same “uh... what now?” moment the first time I tried Knots on Mint. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. After sudo apt update, you should run sudo apt install bitcoinknots. That’ll pull the package from the PPA you added.

As for re-downloading the whole chain – good news: if your Core install was recent and you're using the default data directory (~/.bitcoin), Knots will just pick it up and continue. Just make sure Core isn't running when you fire up Knots for the first time.

Oh, and don’t sweat being a Linux “newb” – we all start there. Honestly, it’s half the fun (the other half is breaking stuff and learning to fix it).

Let me know where you’re stuck if that doesn’t get it running – happy to help dig in.

[Mists]

Thank you both very much for your help.
I have now managed to get Knots up and running using the method suggested by nc50lc.

As for the Blockchain re download issue, Knots seems to have picked up the information I already had by itself without me needing to do as @nc50lc suggested.

I'm just hoping that there will be no further issues now. I have stopped core from launching on startup in favour of Knots but that is as far as I have gone in removing core from the laptop.

Thank you again. I really appreciate your assistance.

[nc50lc]

Thank you both very much for your help.
I have now managed to get Knots up and running using the method suggested by nc50lc.

As for the Blockchain re download issue, Knots seems to have picked up the information I already had by itself without me needing to do as @nc50lc suggested.

Good, reusing the datadir used by Bitcoin Core will work.
But since you're using a different client, it would be best to let it verify the Blockchain and re-create the UTXO set instead of trusting the blocks that were downloaded by the other client.

Anyways, your previous node is the reference client (Bitcoin Core) so there's not much difference in terms of block storage and it's pretty much safe to use
as long as you verified both software.

[itsnotlevel]

Ok guys I am having an issue. I install knots from ppa ..... mint 22.1 and knots will start but only show the start up screen then it just disappears. I have the drive for the node established.... I changed the name on Mount at start up so the second time I rebooted and started knots it asked where my location for data was. I added the right drive then the knots screen just went away.
When I run top, it doesnt show knots running... core? not sure how its supposed to be listed in top. No icon in lower right hand corner of the screen... Im slightly baffled. Oh and knots shows up in my start menu and I can click on it... same thing, knots screen for about 10 seconds then it disappears... doesnt show up in running processes.

To confirm, I downloaded the package manually and unzipped to run. Double click bitcoin-qt and it starts then disappears. Im stuck. This is on a separate machine that I can remote into...it is not my daily driver but all is up to date and doesnt seem to be missing any dependencies.

Found some other info and it said to install wallet, so I did but still same behavior..... ugghh...

Oh and the machine has a separate drive for data and a separate drive for OS install..... data drive auto mounts....

[Satofan44]

Ok guys I am having an issue. I install knots from ppa ..... mint 22.1 and knots will start but only show the start up screen then it just disappears. I have the drive for the node established.... I changed the name on Mount at start up so the second time I rebooted and started knots it asked where my location for data was. I added the right drive then the knots screen just went away.
When I run top, it doesnt show knots running... core? not sure how its supposed to be listed in top. No icon in lower right hand corner of the screen... Im slightly baffled. Oh and knots shows up in my start menu and I can click on it... same thing, knots screen for about 10 seconds then it disappears... doesnt show up in running processes.

To confirm, I downloaded the package manually and unzipped to run. Double click bitcoin-qt and it starts then disappears. Im stuck. This is on a separate machine that I can remote into...it is not my daily driver but all is up to date and doesnt seem to be missing any dependencies.

Found some other info and it said to install wallet, so I did but still same behavior..... ugghh...

Oh and the machine has a separate drive for data and a separate drive for OS install..... data drive auto mounts....

If you can't find it in the running processes the it is probably not running. To avoid a guessing game of potential issues relating to your configuration, it would be best to look for the debug.log file first. If it has any information in it, that should help us narrow down what is causing it to crash on startup.

On Unix systems the debug.log file, as well as all other files created by the client (blockchain data, databases, etc) are placed by default in ~/.bitcoin; that is, a subdirectory of your home directory named .bitcoin. If you have used -datadir to set a different data directory, debug.log will be placed there instead.

https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/62638/where-is-debug-log-file-in-bitcoin-source-code

Note that we don't need the contents of the whole log, but only information since the last startup. In case you don't know what information that is, just post the whole log.

[itsnotlevel]

@Satofan44

Thanks man for the reply!

here:

32:57Z' progress=0.901505 cache=83.2MiB(609622txo) warning='Miner violated version bit protocol'
2025-05-11T15:29:45Z UpdateTip: new best=000000000000000000002f472084e31b0919e772e807bd682ebd7eb77295a999 height=862522 version=0x236f4000 log2_work=95.170311 tx=1084777799 date='2024-09-23T13:00:07Z' progress=0.901507 cache=84.0MiB(616067txo) warning='Miner violated version bit protocol'
2025-05-11T15:29:49Z UpdateTip: new best=00000000000000000000d3ebbca24c44745cfa14153e758d29af82275e00c00f height=862523 version=0x20026000 log2_work=95.170324 tx=1084781037 date='2024-09-23T13:03:46Z' progress=0.901510 cache=84.5MiB(621958txo) warning='Miner violated version bit protocol'
2025-05-11T15:29:52Z UpdateTip: new best=0000000000000000000164dcfef37624f2cc6b177032bbca57631285c2cd0267 height=862524 version=0x20150000 log2_work=95.170337 tx=1084782848 date='2024-09-23T13:05:37Z' progress=0.901511 cache=85.6MiB(629016txo) warning='Miner violated version bit protocol'
2025-05-11T15:29:55Z UpdateTip: new best=00000000000000000000f9892b8210cc52b3f71c1f37ffcfcecc2dab746b6084 height=862525 version=0x20000000 log2_work=95.170350 tx=1084785304 date='2024-09-23T13:12:13Z' progress=0.901513 cache=86.4MiB(636561txo)

They all seem to be the same so I only posted a bit like you suggested.....

I pulled up top and restarted bitcoin-qt and it stayed open for about 10 seconds and then I spotted a dump in the top process...

then refreshed the debug and you have what the newest lines are.

[Satofan44]

@Satofan44

Thanks man for the reply!

here:

32:57Z' progress=0.901505 cache=83.2MiB(609622txo) warning='Miner violated version bit protocol'
2025-05-11T15:29:45Z UpdateTip: new best=000000000000000000002f472084e31b0919e772e807bd682ebd7eb77295a999 height=862522 version=0x236f4000 log2_work=95.170311 tx=1084777799 date='2024-09-23T13:00:07Z' progress=0.901507 cache=84.0MiB(616067txo) warning='Miner violated version bit protocol'
2025-05-11T15:29:49Z UpdateTip: new best=00000000000000000000d3ebbca24c44745cfa14153e758d29af82275e00c00f height=862523 version=0x20026000 log2_work=95.170324 tx=1084781037 date='2024-09-23T13:03:46Z' progress=0.901510 cache=84.5MiB(621958txo) warning='Miner violated version bit protocol'
2025-05-11T15:29:52Z UpdateTip: new best=0000000000000000000164dcfef37624f2cc6b177032bbca57631285c2cd0267 height=862524 version=0x20150000 log2_work=95.170337 tx=1084782848 date='2024-09-23T13:05:37Z' progress=0.901511 cache=85.6MiB(629016txo) warning='Miner violated version bit protocol'

These lines happen when it is updating normally, I think that warning miner violated version bit protocol can be ignored. In this case, this information does not indicate any crash but rather that the software is receiving information from the network accurately. It is still possible that there is no useful information in the debug log in certain type of crashes, but take another look around the log and the time of the crash (the timestamp is always at the beginning).

2025-05-11T15:29:55Z UpdateTip: new best=00000000000000000000f9892b8210cc52b3f71c1f37ffcfcecc2dab746b6084 height=862525 version=0x20000000 log2_work=95.170350 tx=1084785304 date='2024-09-23T13:12:13Z' progress=0.901513 cache=86.4MiB(636561txo)

Does it cut off in the log where I underlined or is this just an error that comes from the way you copied it?

then refreshed the debug and you have what the newest lines are.

As a tip, you can follow changes to the log in a separate terminal in real time. Run the following command, just make sure to point to location of your log or run the terminal in the folder where the debug.log is.

Code:

tail -f debug.log

Then start Bitcoin Knots, but in the case of a dump information from here is probably not going to help. Still, it only takes a few minutes to check so no harm in doing it.

They all seem to be the same so I only posted a bit like you suggested.....

I pulled up top and restarted bitcoin-qt and it stayed open for about 10 seconds and then I spotted a dump in the top process...

If the process is dumping and not crashing because of some misconfiguration, libraries or hardware errors then maybe it would be good to collect the dump file and post it on Github for analysis. I don't know how the maintainer of Knots handles these bug reports, but I've seen Bitcoin Core work with dumps before to investigate errors. I expect the maintainer to handle it in a similar way. Do you know how to collect the dump file or do you need help with that?

[itsnotlevel]

Hey man I appreciate your attention. The funny thing is When I first installed, manually... bitcoinknots a few weeks ago, it worked great! Then something went wrong and things disappeared one day.
So me being lazy I re-installed a fresh OS...Mint....same OS as before, and re-installed knots and it never started fully, the issues Im showing you now. But at one point it WAS working...lol.

Ive attached three files and they are named by how I collected them and what Im seeing.

And as im telling you this...Im realizing I cant post files here....

Heres a link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jQmYI1ZwLqQ0TCBowTZOFfFhqPsPiA3j/view?usp=drive_link, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ni86pZNNANH5vJE3xgVMk2EilsEsxwNh/view?usp=drive_link, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GrMbfbBbVkp2oYKEYhQWiYTjmiPMCihM/view?usp=drive_link


If the process is dumping and not crashing because of some misconfiguration, libraries or hardware errors then maybe it would be good to collect the dump file and post it on Github for analysis. I don't know how the maintainer of Knots handles these bug reports, but I've seen Bitcoin Core work with dumps before to investigate errors. I expect the maintainer to handle it in a similar way. Do you know how to collect the dump file or do you need help with that?
[/quote]

And I definitely will!

[nc50lc]

2025-05-11T15:29:55Z UpdateTip: new best -snip-

When was the last time you tried to launch Knots?
Because those lines have month-old timestamps of "2025-05-11" or 2025-May-11.
It may be trying to launch with a different datadir and saving the logs elsewhere, try it (the GUI client) with --choosedatadir arg to re-select the correct path.

Anyways, those warnings about the blocks' "version bit violation" shouldn't cause those crashes.

Heres a link:

Those image links aren't shared to the public, please re-upload those to talkimg.com instead.

[Satofan44]

Because those lines have month-old timestamps of "2025-05-11" or 2025-May-11.
It may be trying to launch with a different datadir and saving the logs elsewhere, try it (the GUI client) with --choosedatadir arg to re-select the correct path.

I've totally ignored that part, but you are right. He should just give us a fresh log file, he could upload it fully somewhere.

Those image links aren't shared to the public, please re-upload those to talkimg.com instead.

He can either do that or change the settings to allow guests to view the images.

[itsnotlevel]

Because those lines have month-old timestamps of "2025-05-11" or 2025-May-11.
It may be trying to launch with a different datadir and saving the logs elsewhere, try it (the GUI client) with --choosedatadir arg to re-select the correct path.

I've totally ignored that part, but you are right. He should just give us a fresh log file, he could upload it fully somewhere.

Those image links aren't shared to the public, please re-upload those to talkimg.com instead.

He can either do that or change the settings to allow guests to view the images.

Thank you guys for putting possibilities and helping me!! So, I thought about the date thing that was mentioned and after knowing this data download was from my last install and using that same bitcoin data history....I thought there might be some blocks or corrupt sectors....idk.

So I reformatted the drive I was using and completely removed all of the bitcoin knots install. Rebooted, reinstalled and renamed the data drive to something else....I know, too many things corrected to really tell what was wrong but I wanted to start somewhat fresh.
After the reinstall I had a permission issue with the drive...fixed that, just a naming issue and boom! Im back in biz yo! Again, thanks for all your ideas I really appreciate your fast responses!

[Satofan44]

Thank you guys for putting possibilities and helping me!! So, I thought about the date thing that was mentioned and after knowing this data download was from my last install and using that same bitcoin data history....I thought there might be some blocks or corrupt sectors....idk.

So I reformatted the drive I was using and completely removed all of the bitcoin knots install. Rebooted, reinstalled and renamed the data drive to something else....I know, too many things corrected to really tell what was wrong but I wanted to start somewhat fresh.
After the reinstall I had a permission issue with the drive...fixed that, just a naming issue and boom! Im back in biz yo! Again, thanks for all your ideas I really appreciate your fast responses!

Alright, keep us informed if you run into any issues. A hardware defect could also cause a random failure. By the way, do you mind telling is how exactly do you specify the data drive to the software?

[nc50lc]

So I reformatted the drive I was using and completely removed all of the bitcoin knots install. Rebooted, reinstalled and renamed the data drive to something else....I know, too many things corrected to really tell what was wrong but I wanted to start somewhat fresh.
After the reinstall I had a permission issue with the drive...fixed that, just a naming issue and boom! Im back in biz yo! Again, thanks for all your ideas I really appreciate your fast responses!

You could've started Bitcoin Knots with --choosedatadir like what I've instructed and it should launch exactly like it's the first time you install it.
In the 'Welcome Screen', you can set the correct datadir which may have been set incorrectly or missing (renamed/moved).

Anyways, congrats on solving it with "last resort" measures.

[itsnotlevel]

So I reformatted the drive I was using and completely removed all of the bitcoin knots install. Rebooted, reinstalled and renamed the data drive to something else....I know, too many things corrected to really tell what was wrong but I wanted to start somewhat fresh.
After the reinstall I had a permission issue with the drive...fixed that, just a naming issue and boom! Im back in biz yo! Again, thanks for all your ideas I really appreciate your fast responses!

You could've started Bitcoin Knots with --choosedatadir like what I've instructed and it should launch exactly like it's the first time you install it.
In the 'Welcome Screen', you can set the correct datadir which may have been set incorrectly or missing (renamed/moved).

Anyways, congrats on solving it with "last resort" measures.

Thank you! Thats exactly what I did (thanks to you) and im pretty sure it was the drive im using for data that was the issue...you guys rock!

[itsnotlevel]

Thank you guys for putting possibilities and helping me!! So, I thought about the date thing that was mentioned and after knowing this data download was from my last install and using that same bitcoin data history....I thought there might be some blocks or corrupt sectors....idk.

So I reformatted the drive I was using and completely removed all of the bitcoin knots install. Rebooted, reinstalled and renamed the data drive to something else....I know, too many things corrected to really tell what was wrong but I wanted to start somewhat fresh.
After the reinstall I had a permission issue with the drive...fixed that, just a naming issue and boom! Im back in biz yo! Again, thanks for all your ideas I really appreciate your fast responses!

Alright, keep us informed if you run into any issues. A hardware defect could also cause a random failure. By the way, do you mind telling is how exactly do you specify the data drive to the software?

Im not sure I know what you mean.... "specify the data drive to the software"

[Satofan44]

Im not sure I know what you mean.... "specify the data drive to the software"

There are different ways that you can tell the software the location of the data folder, if you are not using the default one. One is with a configuration file, and the other is as the other user suggested. See below. However, if your problems are resolved then this question is not important anymore. You can lock the thread instead. If issues still persist, let us know what is going on.

You could've started Bitcoin Knots with --choosedatadir like what I've instructed and it should launch exactly like it's the first time you install it.

[itsnotlevel]

I was using the GUI to set the data drive.

Also I have no idea how to lock this thread... :-(

[Satofan44]

I was using the GUI to set the data drive.

That is not an issue if it is set correctly, and as you say your situation is now resolved.

Also I have no idea how to lock this thread... :-(

Open your thread, scroll all the way down to the bottom and look at the left side.