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General

Course start dateThursday, 28 May 2026

The developers of Bitcoin Core are working to ensure our security and freedom. We'll learn many of the features they've implemented that few people know about. We'll start with how to create a wallet, make single- and multi-signature transactions, use time-based locks, and many other functionalities, all from the Bitcoin Core command line. This is an excellent opportunity to gain an initial understanding of Bitcoin programming.

Course Content

Section outline

  • General

    • Curriculum

      Lesson 1: Introduction, general concepts, working method.

      Introduction to practical exercises, where the working method will be demonstrated and questions answered. General concepts of P2PKH, node installation. Starting the node in regtest mode. Review of general concepts of Bitcoin: K2PKH, P2SH, P2WPKH, P2WSH, and P2TR transactions. Commands for the first exercise. Fields in the transaction decoder.

      Lesson 2: Creating wallets and making transactions, descriptors, RBF, CPFP, sequence.

      Brief explanation of commands in bitcoin-cli. Transaction fields in bitcoin-cli. Sequence, Vbytes. estimatefee command. RBF (Replace-by-Fee). CPFP (Child-Pays-For-Parent). Descriptors, listdescriptors command.

      Lesson 3: PSBT, Multisignature.

      Review of descriptors, output descriptors, internal and external descriptors. Watch-only wallet, importing descriptors. Explanation of multisignature transactions and PSBT (Partially Signed Bitcoin Transaction). Commands to create a PSBT transaction.

      Lesson 4: Timelocks, CSV, CLTV, OP_RETURN.

      Relative and absolute timelocks, Data in Bitcoin with OP_RETURN.

      Lesson 5: Creating multi-signature transactions and timelocks using miniscripts. Taproot.

      We will learn how, using miniscripts, we can create and sign more complex transactions from the command line, combining multi-signatures and timelocks. Taproot on the command line.

    • Course Details

      In this course, we will take advantage of the opportunities that Bitcoin Core offers when interacting with the command line.

      This is a great opportunity to gain an introductory understanding of Bitcoin programming and kickstart your career in the industry.

      Prerequisites

      • Computer or Chromebook with a Linux terminal environment (see links for each operating system).
      • Basic knowledge of programming, variables, conditionals...
      • Basic knowledge of Bitcoin.

      Instructions for Windows: Activate WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) using the Windows command-line environment. You'll find the instructions at: https://learn.microsoft.com/es-es/windows/wsl/install When you can try the Ubuntu-24.04 or Debian 12 distribution

      Instructions for Chromebook: Activate developer mode, instructions: https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/9145439?hl=en-419

      To open the command line on a Mac, use the Terminal app

    • Lesson icon
      Lesson. Introduction

      This is the first introduction to command line

Teacher

Rosa Fenollar