tri-pi/BOOTSTRAP.md at 64b9d37472fd3ec9a5bd758fef903cb13459cdb6

Files

T

Krystie bb6e53f3f6 Add blockchain bootstrap for fast Pi sync

New features:
- Enhanced bootstrap.sh with blockchain download option
- create-blockchain-snapshot.sh for creating compressed snapshots
- BOOTSTRAP.md documentation

Benefits for Raspberry Pi users:
- Download pre-synced blockchain (~500MB compressed)
- Skip days/weeks of initial sync
- Start mining immediately from latest block
- Interactive installer asks: bootstrap or sync from scratch

Snapshot creation:
- Safely stops daemon
- Excludes wallet.dat (security)
- Compresses to ~70% original size
- Includes checksums and metadata

TODO: Create first snapshot from DNS2 and host on GitHub releases

2026-04-01 12:04:08 -07:00

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TRI-PI Blockchain Bootstrap

Fast-sync your Raspberry Pi node with pre-synced blockchain data.

Why Use Bootstrap?

Without bootstrap:

Sync from genesis block (block 0)
Takes days/weeks on Raspberry Pi
Heavy CPU/disk usage during sync
Network bandwidth intensive

With bootstrap:

Start from latest block height
Ready to mine in minutes
Minimal resource usage
Only ~500MB download

Creating a Blockchain Snapshot

Run on a fully-synced node (DNS2, DNS3, etc.):

# Download snapshot creator
curl -L -o create-snapshot.sh \
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SamiAhmed7777/tri-pi/main/scripts/create-blockchain-snapshot.sh

chmod +x create-snapshot.sh

# Create snapshot (stops daemon temporarily)
./create-snapshot.sh

Output:

tri-blockchain-v5.4.4-YYYY-MM-DD.tar.gz - Compressed blockchain
snapshot-info.txt - Metadata (block height, checksums)

Hosting the Snapshot

Option 1: GitHub Release (recommended for public distribution)

gh release upload v5.4.4 tri-blockchain-*.tar.gz

Option 2: Dropbox

dbxcli put tri-blockchain-*.tar.gz /Krystie/TRI/
dbxcli share /Krystie/TRI/tri-blockchain-*.tar.gz

Option 3: Custom Web Server

scp tri-blockchain-*.tar.gz user@server:/var/www/html/tri/
# Access at: https://example.com/tri/tri-blockchain-v5.4.4-2026-04-01.tar.gz

Updating Bootstrap Script

After uploading, update bootstrap.sh:

# Edit line 9
BLOCKCHAIN_URL="https://your-url-here/tri-blockchain-latest.tar.gz"

Commit and push to make it available to all Pi users!

Snapshot Contents

Included:

blk*.dat - Blockchain data files
database/ - Block index
txleveldb/ - Transaction index
smsgDB/ - Secure messaging database
peers.dat - Known peer cache
smsg.ini - Messaging config

Excluded (for security/privacy):

wallet.dat - NEVER include! Contains private keys
debug.log - Large, regenerated on run
onion/ - Regenerated automatically
tor_data/ - Regenerated automatically

Maintenance Schedule

Recommended: Create new snapshots weekly/monthly as blockchain grows.

Automation example (cron):

# Every Sunday at 2 AM
0 2 * * 0 /usr/local/bin/create-snapshot.sh && \
          gh release upload v5.4.4 /tmp/tmp.*/tri-blockchain-*.tar.gz --clobber

Compression Stats

Typical compression with tar.gz:

Original blockchain: ~2-5GB (depends on block height)
Compressed: ~500MB-1.5GB
Compression ratio: ~70-75%

Security Notes

Never include wallet.dat - Contains private keys!
Verify checksums - Always provide SHA256 hashes
Trust - Only use snapshots from trusted sources
Update regularly - Stale snapshots still require catching up

Testing

Before releasing publicly:

# On a fresh Pi
rm -rf ~/.triangles
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SamiAhmed7777/tri-pi/main/bootstrap.sh | bash
# Choose option 1 (bootstrap download)

# Verify it starts from correct block
trianglesd getinfo | grep blocks

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