Abe: a free block chain browser for Bitcoin-based currencies. https://github.com/jtobey/bitcoin-abe
Copyright(C) 2011 by John Tobey <[email protected]>
License: GNU Affero General Public License, see the file LICENSE.txt.
Portions Copyright (c) 2010 Gavin Andresen, see bct-LICENSE.txt.
This software reads the Bitcoin block file, transforms and loads the data into a database, and presents a web interface similar to Bitcoin Block Explorer, http://blockexplorer.com/.
Abe draws inspiration from Bitcoin Block Explorer (BBE) and seeks some level of compatibility with it but uses a completely new implementation. This software is in "alpha" status and has not yet been optimised to run as fast as BBE.
Abe depends on Python Crypto modules (Debian package python-crypto) and a database such as PostgreSQL (see README-POSTGRES.txt) or SQLite (package python-pysqlite2). Other SQL databases may work with minor changes. You will need a copy of the block file (blk0001.dat in your Bitcoin directory). You may let Abe read the block file while Bitcoin runs.
The GNU Affero General Public License (LICENSE.txt) requires whoever modifies this code and runs it on a server to make the modified code available to users of the server. You may do this by forking the Github project (if you received this code from Github.com), keeping your modifications in the new project, and linking to it in the page template. Or you may wish to satisfy the requirement by simply passing "--auto-agpl" to "abe.py". This option makes all files in the directory containing abe.py and its subdirectories available to clients. See the comments in abe.conf for more information.
For usage, run "abe.py --help" and see the comments in abe.conf.
You will have to specify a database driver and connection arguments (dbtype and connect-args in abe.conf). The dbtype is the name of a Python module that supports your database. Known to work are psycopg2 (for PostgreSQL) and sqlite3. The value of connect-args depends on your database configuration; consult the module's documentation of the connect() method.
You may specify connect-args in any of the following forms:
-
omit connect-args to call connect() with no arguments
-
named arguments as a JSON object, e.g.: connect-args = { "database": "abe", "password": "b1tc0!n" }
-
positional arguments as a JSON array, e.g.: connect-args = ["abe", "abe", "b1tc0!n"]
-
a single string argument on one line, e.g.: connect-args = /var/lib/abe/abe.sqlite
For JSON syntax, see http://www.json.org.
Reading the block file takes far too long: hours on PostgreSQL and days on SQLite3. (We hope to improve the speed soon.) However, if you use a persistent database, Abe remembers where it stopped reading and starts more quickly the second time.
By default, Abe expects to be run in a FastCGI environment. For an overview of FastCGI setup, see README-FASTCGI.txt.
To run the built-in HTTP server instead of FastCGI, specify a TCP port and network interface in abe.conf, e.g.:
port 2750
host 127.0.0.1 # or a domain name
To display Namecoin or any block chain with data somewhere other than the default Bitcoin directory specify "datadir" in abe.conf, e.g.:
datadir = /home/bitcoin/.namecoin
Note that this software is currently unaware of name transactions.
The datadir directive can include a new chain's basic configuration, e.g.:
datadir += [{
"dirname": "/home/weeds/testnet",
"chain": "Weeds",
"code3": "WDS",
"address_version": "o" }]
Note that "+=" adds to the existing datadir configuration, while "=" replaces it.
Please see TODO.txt for a list of what is not yet implemented but would like to be.
Forum thread: https://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=16141.0
Donations appreciated: 1PWC7PNHL1SgvZaN7xEtygenKjWobWsCuf (BTC) NJ3MSELK1cWnqUa6xhF2wUYAnz3RSrWXcK (NMC)