/bitcoin-elixir

Bitcoin tools and full node implementation in Elixir.

Primary LanguageElixirOtherNOASSERTION

bitcoin-elixir

Bitcoin script and protocol tools plus a full node implementation written in Elxir.

It's still work in progress, not suitable for any kind of usage. Contributions and comments are of course very much welcome, but if you want to jump in, I'd suggest to get in touch (through github issues) because all APIs are still evolving.

Project is a fork of Justin Lynn's Bitcoin-Ex which contained excellent protocol parsers and DNS peer discovery.

Current status

  • Full protocol parser and serialization
  • Basic script interpreter, but still missing many BIPs (currently 1103/1170 of bitcoin core script tests json)
  • Connecting and accepting connections from other peers
  • Syncing blockchain into a postgres database (or temporary memory storage)
  • Using libsecp256k1 for validation
  • Configurable modules (you can plug in your own peer handler, connection manager, storage engine etc.)

Roadmap

  • Storage properly handling reorgs and optimizations
  • Mempool
  • Add missing validations
  • BIPs implementation and script fixes to be able to pass all bitcoin core script and transaction tests
  • Pass TheBlueMatt's test-scripts
  • Allow it to run across multiple nodes

Why?

It's handy to have Bitcoin tools for operations on addresses, signatures, transactions and scripts in the language of your choice. Regarding full node, because it's fun. Given that Bitcoin protocol is defined by the reference client, playing with your own implementation is one of a very few ways to truly understand how Bitcoin works. It is not meant to be used as a wallet.

Usage

To use as a library, add it to your deps:

{:bitcoin, "~> 0.0.2"}

:libsecp256k1 is an optional dependency (because it requires c++ compilation), which means that when bitcoin-elixir is used as a lib, it won't be automatically added. If you want to use it, just add it in your deps:

{:libsecp256k1, [github: "mbrix/libsecp256k1", manager: :rebar]}

When it's not present, erlang's :crypto module is used.

Running the node

To start a node uncomment the following line in the dev.exs

# config :bitcoin, :node, []

To avoid abusing the network you may want to only connect to your local node e.g.:

config :bitcoin, :node, [
  connect: [{127,0,0,1}]
]

Check (config.exs)[config/config.exs] for more details.

License

See the LICENSE file in the project root.

Contributing

Please fork this repository to your own account, create a feature/{short but descriptive name} branch on your own repository and submit a pull request back to develop.

Any kind of contributions are super welcome. Even if it's a comment bitching about how things are done currently.