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The gen option isnt copiously described in the sample bitcoin.conf file ... does that mean that the daemon started up will attempt to mine for coins?
What does the `gen` option in bitcoin.conf do?
Answers
7
That configuration parameter no longer has any effect because the CPU mining engine has been removed from the mainline client.
Earlier versions of the client did have a built in miner and the gen parameter controlled if it ran in the background. Given the much higher difficulty today the developers felt it no longer served a purpose and would be confusing to new users (who could wait months of even years without generating a single coin). It was removed from the client. The wiki should be updated to reflect that.
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Yes, with -gen=1 on the command line or in the configuration file, bitcoind will use its built-in miner to search for blocks. It is inefficient, does not support pools, and does not use GPUs. It is only left as a reference and for testing, and will probably be removed completely soon.
when i "setgenerate true" in bitcoin-qt console window, and then "gethashespersec" it reports my hashing power, and "getgenerate" returns true, isn't this a proof that it's mining ? – Farghaly – 2014-05-31T15:56:17.693
Yes, but you'll never mine anything with it. It is far too slow. – Pieter Wuille – 2014-06-01T07:02:07.560
2This is incorrect: the built in miner was removed from the GUI, but remains accessible in bitcoind. – Pieter Wuille – 2011-11-13T17:24:04.507
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Your answer is now correct. RIP internal miner (see https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/7507)
– Pieter Wuille – 2016-03-16T12:46:33.307