Blockchaininfo

Overview

Blockchaininfo is your gateway to understanding the heartbeat of the Bitcoin network. Built in Rust for speed and reliability, this application connects seamlessly to your Bitcoin node via RPC, offering real-time, detailed insights into the blockchain, mempool, and overall network health.

Why Blockchaininfo?

In a world where decentralization and security are paramount, Blockchaininfo is designed to monitor and showcase the state of Bitcoin's decentralization, providing actionable insights to ensure the network remains robust and resistant to centralized control. It serves as a vital tool for tracking the health and integrity of the blockchain, offering a comprehensive view of node version distribution, network security metrics, and mempool activity.

Key Features

• Real-Time Data: Stay up-to-date with live blockchain and mempool metrics, ensuring you always have the latest pulse of the network.
• Decentralization Monitoring: Analyze node version distribution to assess the diversity and resilience of the network.
• User-Friendly Dashboard: A live terminal interface delivers formatted, color-coded output, making complex data intuitive and actionable.
• Rust-Powered Efficiency: Leverage Rust’s performance and reliability for seamless and responsive interaction with your Bitcoin node.

Whether you're a developer, node operator, or Bitcoin enthusiast, Blockchaininfo empowers you with the tools to monitor, analyze, and protect the decentralized future of Bitcoin. 🚀

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File Structure

.
├── benches/
│   └── benchmark.rs          # For bench testing.
├── cargo.toml                # Package information and dependencies
├── miners.json               # Miners and known coinbase wallet(s) for hash distribution and best block Miner.
└── src/
    ├── config.rs             # Configuration loading and validation.
    ├── display/
    │   ├── display_blockchain_info.rs      # Displays blockchain data.
    │   ├── display_mempool_info.rs         # Displays mempool data.
    │   ├── display_network_info.rs         # Displays network data.
    │   ├── display_consensus_security_info.rs  # Displays consensus security data.
    ├── display.rs             # Aggregates display modules.
    ├── lib.rs                 # For testing.
    ├── main.rs                # Application entry point.
    ├── models/                # Data and error handling modules.
    │   ├── block_info.rs           # Block data structures.
    │   ├── blockchain_info.rs      # Blockchain data structures and implementations.
    │   ├── mempool_info.rs         # Mempool data structures and implementations.
    │   ├── network_info.rs         # Network data structures.
    │   ├── network_totals.rs       # Network data structures (bytes reveived & sent).
    │   ├── peer_info.rs            # Peers data structures and implementations.
    │   ├── consensus_security.rs   # Consensus security data structures.
    │   ├── flashing_text.rs        # Data structure and implementation to flash a metric.
    │   ├── transaction_info.rs     # Raw transaction data structures and implementations.
    │   └── errors.rs               # Error handling sata structures and implementations.
    ├── models.rs              # Aggregates Data and Error modules.
    ├── rpc/                   # RPC modules for interacting with the Bitcoin node.
    │   ├── block.rs           # Block data fetching.
    │   ├── blockchain.rs      # Blockchain data fetching.
    │   ├── mempool.rs         # Mempool data fetching.
    │   ├── network.rs         # Network data fetching.
    │   ├── network_peers.rs   # Peers data model.
    │   ├── network_totals.rs  # Network data fetching (bytes reveived & sent).
    │   ├── mempool_distro.rs  # Fetches the sampled tx IDs for distribution metrics.
    │   ├── transaction.rs     # Fetches Transaction for lookup.
    │   └── chain_tips.rs      # Fetches chain tips for consensus monitoring.
    ├── rpc.rs                 # Aggregates RPC modules.
    ├── runapp.rs              # Handles TUI terminal setup and main application flow.
    └── utils.rs               # Utility functions (e.g., data formatting).

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Requirements

Here’s the updated README.md section with the new configuration logic (CLI flag & environment variable support). 🔥

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Configuration

The application requires Bitcoin Core RPC credentials to function properly. These credentials can be provided in one of the following ways:

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1. Automatic Failsafe Mode (No Setup Required) 🚀

If no configuration is found, the application will prompt the user to enter their Bitcoin Core RPC credentials interactively and will automatically generate a config.toml file. This ensures that first-time users can get started immediately without manual setup.

• The generated config.toml will be saved at:

  ./target/release/config.toml 
  

• After initial setup, the application will load credentials from this file on future runs.

You can still override this behavior using a custom config path (see below).

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2. config.toml File (Recommended for Customization)

If config.toml exists, the application will load credentials from it automatically.

By default, blockchaininfo looks for this file in:

• ./target/release/config.toml (default location)

You can specify a custom location using:

• CLI flag: --config /path/to/config.toml
• Environment variable: BLOCKCHAININFO_CONFIG=/path/to/config.toml

Example config.toml file:

[bitcoin_rpc]
username = "your_username"
password = "your_password"
address = "http://127.0.0.1:8332"

Replace the values with your actual Bitcoin Core RPC credentials.

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3. Environment Variables (Alternative Method)

If config.toml is not found, and the user does not enter credentials manually, the application will look for the following environment variables:

Variable	Description
RPC_USER	Your Bitcoin Core RPC username
RPC_PASSWORD	Your Bitcoin Core RPC password
RPC_ADDRESS	The Bitcoin Core RPC server address (e.g., http://127.0.0.1:8332, https://your-node.local)

Set them in your terminal before running:

export RPC_USER="your_username"
export RPC_PASSWORD="your_password"
export RPC_ADDRESS="http://127.0.0.1:8332"

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4. macOS Keychain (Recommended for macOS Security) 🔒

On macOS, you can securely store the RPC password in the system Keychain. This is the most secure and recommended method. To set it up:

• Add the password to your Keychain:

  security add-generic-password -a bitcoin -s rpc-password -w "your_password"

• The program will automatically retrieve the password using the Keychain during runtime.
  Ensure RPC_USER and RPC_ADDRESS are set in either:

  • config.toml
  • Environment variables (RPC_USER, RPC_ADDRESS)

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4. Priority Order (How the App Decides Which Config to Use)

The application loads configuration in the following order:

1️⃣ CLI Flag (--config /path/to/config.toml) → Highest priority
2️⃣ Environment Variable (BLOCKCHAININFO_CONFIG) → If no CLI flag is set
3️⃣ Default File Path (./target/release/config.toml) → If no custom path is provided
4️⃣ Environment Variables (RPC_USER, RPC_PASSWORD, RPC_ADDRESS) → If no config file is found
5️⃣ macOS Keychain → If running on macOS & RPC_PASSWORD is missing

🚀 This ensures maximum flexibility while keeping a secure & seamless setup!

5. Rust (Stable)

• Install Rust via rustup.rs.

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Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/TH3BAT/Blockchaininfo.git
   cd Blockchaininfo

2. Build the project:

   cargo build --release

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Usage

1. Ensure your Bitcoin node is running with RPC enabled.

2. Run the application:

   ./target/release/blockchaininfo

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Example Output

Dashboard Overview

Hashrate Distribution

Transaction Lookup

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Error Handling

The program includes robust error handling:

• Configuration Errors: Ensures config.toml or environment variables contains valid credentials and address.
• RPC Communication Errors: Handles failures in connecting to the Bitcoin node.
• Data Parsing Errors: Identifies and reports issues with parsing the JSON response.

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Contributions

We welcome contributions! To get involved:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a feature branch.
3. Open a pull request with a clear description.

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.