bmmbmm01/bitcoinknotsgui repository overview

⁠Bitcoin Knots GUI — Full Node & Wallet in Docker

Public Docker image: bmmbmm01/bitcoinknotsgui
Release: 29.4.3.knots20260508
Architecture: linux/amd64
Web interface: HTTPS on port 5800

Run the Bitcoin Knots Qt desktop inside Docker and view it through your browser using the jlesage GUI base image⁠. Bitcoin Knots provides a self-verified full node and wallet interface, including its own transaction relay/mempool policy options. Filtering mempool traffic does not remove confirmed transactions from blockchain storage.

⁠Quick start — Unraid / Docker

Pull a versioned image:

docker pull bmmbmm01/bitcoinknotsgui:29.4.3.knots20260508

Create persistent storage for configuration and block files. Use real paths for your server; mount your dedicated SSD before starting Docker. For an Unraid example:

mkdir -p /mnt/user/appdata/bitcoin-gui
# Make sure the intended SSD is actually mounted at /mnt/disks/bitcoin-blockchain

Keep credentials in a host-only environment file such as /root/bitcoin-gui.env (restrict it with chmod 600):

USER_ID=99
GROUP_ID=100
SECURE_CONNECTION=1
WEB_AUTHENTICATION=1
WEB_AUTHENTICATION_USERNAME=bitcoin
WEB_AUTHENTICATION_PASSWORD=CHANGE_TO_A_LONG_UNIQUE_PASSWORD
BITCOIN_PROFILE=standalone
BITCOIN_BLOCKSDIR=/blockchain

Then start the container:

docker run -d \
  --name bitcoin-knots-gui \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  --stop-timeout 180 \
  --env-file /root/bitcoin-gui.env \
  -p 5800:5800 \
  -v /mnt/user/appdata/bitcoin-gui:/config \
  -v /mnt/disks/bitcoin-blockchain:/blockchain \
  bmmbmm01/bitcoinknotsgui:29.4.3.knots20260508

Open https://YOUR-SERVER-IP:5800 from a trusted LAN or VPN. The generated TLS certificate may initially produce a browser warning; configure trusted TLS for wider internal use. Never expose the GUI directly to the public Internet. You can use a named volume for /config instead, but make sure backups include wallet and GUI configuration.

For generic Debian/Linux, choose host paths and USER_ID/GROUP_ID matching the actual account permissions; the Unraid IDs are examples only. Do not use recursive chmod 777.

⁠First-run bitcoin.conf profiles

On the first launch, when /config/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf is missing or empty, the container seeds a readable bitcoin.conf file. The Open Configuration File button in Bitcoin Knots Qt opens it in a graphical text editor.

The generated file is not overwritten if it already contains settings. Changing environment variables later will not silently replace your custom configuration. Edit the file and restart the application to apply most changes.

Standalone profile (default):

prune=0
server=0

Lightning-ready profile (BITCOIN_PROFILE=lightning on a fresh config):

prune=0
server=1
txindex=1
zmqpubrawblock=tcp://127.0.0.1:28332
zmqpubrawtx=tcp://127.0.0.1:28333

This prepares a full archival node for potential LND, Core Lightning or other integrations, but does not install a Lightning daemon, provide RPC credentials, or automatically connect other containers. Modern Lightning implementations have different requirements; consult their documentation.

The 127.0.0.1 ZMQ endpoints are inside this container. A Lightning node in another container needs deliberately configured private networking, corresponding RPC credentials or secure cookie access, and compatible RPC/ZMQ bind addresses. RPC 8332, ZMQ 28332/28333, and native VNC 5900 are not published by the quick-start command. Do not publish them to your LAN or the Internet without carefully planning isolation and access controls.

Do not add daemon=1: bitcoin-qt must stay in the foreground under the container supervisor. There is no startup AUTOUPDATE; use versioned Docker tags and upgrade intentionally.

⁠Persistent storage and blockchain size

An unpruned full node requires hundreds of GB for the chain, with continuing growth. A dedicated 2 TB SSD provides room for current synchronization and future growth, but check capacity and wear over time. With a separate blocks directory, chainstate and wallet files remain on /config, so that volume also needs adequate space and backups.

Wallet keys and recovery information are irreplaceable; blockchain blocks can be resynced. Use secure encrypted offline backups and, for meaningful holdings, prefer offline or hardware-based signing. This image must never include private keys or seed words.

⁠Security and operations

• Protect 5800 with HTTPS, authentication, and LAN/VPN-only firewall rules. A public Docker Hub repository does not mean a public-facing wallet login.
• Never commit bitcoin.conf containing secrets, wallet files, RPC cookies, credentials or recovery phrases to source control or bake them into images.
• Verify upstream Bitcoin Knots binaries and release signatures independently. The image's build currently verifies the downloaded archive against a SHA256 manifest on the same upstream host, not a separately authenticated signature.
• Stop cleanly using docker stop -t 180 bitcoin-knots-gui before disconnecting storage or making offline filesystem copies.
• For upgrades, back up safely, pull an explicit tag, recreate the container with identical mounts and test operation. Do not mix wallet data with disposable container layers.
• The GUI app will need to catch up on blocks missed when the container has been offline.

⁠Resources

• Official Bitcoin Knots⁠
• Bitcoin Knots source⁠
• jlesage GUI base image⁠
• Bitcoin Knots configuration generator⁠
• Configuration generator source⁠

⁠License and credits

The container project is MIT-licensed. Bitcoin Knots and the jlesage base image are separate upstream projects with their own licenses and credits. This independently maintained image is not endorsed or distributed by Bitcoin Knots developers.