Pocket Node Relay

Headless chainstate relay server for Bitcoin Pocket Node.

Serves validated Bitcoin chainstate over Tor so Pocket Node phones can bootstrap a full node without trusting a third party. Speaks the same HTTP protocol as the phone-to-phone sharing feature.

What It Does

• Runs a pruned bitcoind and keeps chainstate current
• Serves chainstate snapshots via the same HTTP API the app uses for phone-to-phone sharing
• Exposes the server as a Tor hidden service (.onion address)
• Pocket Node's existing ShareClient connects without modification

Endpoints (same as phone ShareServer)

Endpoint	Description
GET /	Landing page (browser-friendly)
GET /info	Node info: height, version, filters
GET /manifest	File list with sizes for download planning
GET /file/{path}	Individual file download
GET /peer-limits	Learned channel opening minimums

Requirements

• Linux (Debian 12 recommended)
• Python 3.10+
• Bitcoin Core (bitcoind)
• Tor

Quick Start

# Clone
git clone https://github.com/FreeOnlineUser/pocket-node-relay.git
cd pocket-node-relay

# Install
chmod +x install.sh
sudo ./install.sh

# Configure
cp config.example.yaml config.yaml
nano config.yaml  # Set your bitcoind path

# Run
python3 relay.py

Architecture

Phone (Arti client) --> .onion --> Tor --> localhost:8432 --> relay.py --> bitcoind data

The relay is the server-side equivalent of the phone's ShareServer.kt. Phones connect using their existing ShareClient over Tor, same as they would to another phone on LAN, but routed through onion services.

License

MIT