How to Set Up a Bitcoin Full Node (Pruned) on Ubuntu

Step 1: Get Your Server Ready

Before we begin, make sure you have:

A Linux server running Ubuntu (VPS or baremetal)
SSH access to the server (you should be able to connect via terminal)
At least 2GB of RAM and 50GB of storage (depending on your needs)
A stable internet connection

Step 2: Update Your Server

Log into your server and update the package lists:

 sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 3: Install Bitcoin Core Dependencies

Install required libraries for Bitcoin Core:

sudo apt install -y build-essential libtool autotools-dev automake pkg-config bsdmainutils python3
sudo apt install -y libssl-dev libevent-dev libboost-system-dev libboost-filesystem-dev libboost-chrono-dev libboost-test-dev
sudo apt install -y libzmq3-dev libminiupnpc-dev libsodium-dev
sudo apt install -y libdb-dev libdb++-dev libnatpmp-dev
sudo apt install -y libssl-dev libevent-dev

Step 4: Download Bitcoin Core

Next, we’ll download Bitcoin Core from the official website:

wget https://bitcoin.org/bin/bitcoin-core-24.0/bitcoin-24.0-x86_64-linux-gnu.tar.gz
tar -xvf bitcoin-24.0-x86_64-linux-gnu.tar.gz
cd bitcoin-24.0

Step 5: Install Bitcoin Core

Now install Bitcoin Core:

sudo cp -r bitcoin-24.0/bin/* /usr/local/bin/


				
				
				
				
				Step 6: Configure Bitcoin Core (Pruned Mode)
Create a Bitcoin configuration file to enable pruned mode.


				
				
				
				
				
    mkdir ~/.bitcoin
nano ~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf


				
				
				
				
				Paste the following configuration into the bitcoin.conf file:


				
				
				
				
				
    # Bitcoin Core configuration file
server=1
rpcuser=yourrpcuser
rpcpassword=yourrpcpassword
rpcallowip=127.0.0.1
rpcport=8332
prune=550
txindex=1
daemon=1


				
				
				
				
				

rpcuser and rpcpassword: You can set these to whatever you'd like (make them strong).


prune=550: This will set the node to prune the blockchain after 550MB (you can adjust this for more storage).


txindex=1: Ensures that transaction indexing is enabled (helps with querying).


Save and exit.


				
				
				
				
				Step 7: Start Bitcoin Core
Now, start Bitcoin Core:


				
				
				
				
				
    bitcoind -daemon


				
				
				
				
				Step 8: Check Your Node’s Status
To check if Bitcoin Core is running, use:


				
				
				
				
				
    bitcoin-cli getblockchaininfo


				
				
				
				
				You should see information about the blockchain, indicating that your node is syncing.