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c2pool FAQ

Common questions from operators running ./c2pool. See the README for the full option reference and ./c2pool --help for every flag.

Merged mining

How do I add merged coins? Do I implement them in code, or is there a command?

It's a runtime command-line flag — no code changes.

  • LTC + DOGE are built in. They run as embedded SPV nodes (no coin daemon, no config). DOGE merged mining activates automatically — running ./c2pool with no arguments already merge-mines LTC + DOGE.

  • Other aux chains are added by running their daemon and passing --merged:

    ./c2pool --merged PEP:63:127.0.0.1:29377:rpcuser:rpcpass

    Format: COIN:chain_id:host:port:rpcuser:rpcpass. c2pool drives the aux daemon over its createauxblock / submitauxblock RPC. Repeat --merged for multiple chains.

Coin chain_id Backend Notes
DOGE 98 Embedded SPV auto-configured, on by default
PEP 63 External daemon --merged PEP:63:host:port:user:pass
BELLS 16 External daemon --merged BELLS:16:host:port:user:pass
LKY 8211 External daemon --merged LKY:8211:host:port:user:pass
JKC 8224 External daemon --merged JKC:8224:host:port:user:pass
SHIC 74 External daemon --merged SHIC:74:host:port:user:pass

Only LTC and DOGE are daemonless (embedded SPV). Every other aux chain needs its own full node running locally with AuxPoW RPC (createauxblock/submitauxblock) enabled.

Can I merge-mine DigiByte (DGB)? Is DigiByte "SPV" now?

No — DGB cannot be merge-mined as a child of LTC, and it is not an embedded SPV coin today.

DigiByte does not support AuxPoW (auxiliary proof-of-work) and has no AuxPoW chain ID. Unlike Dogecoin (chain_id 98) or Namecoin (chain_id 1), which are child chains that inherit security from a parent's hashrate, DigiByte secures its own chain directly through a MultiAlgo consensus: five independent proof-of-work algorithms — Scrypt, SHA-256d, Qubit, Skein, and Odocrypt — each mined directly on the DGB main chain with its own independent difficulty adjustment. Because DGB is a primary chain with no aux-chain role, it is not a valid --merged target. The --merged flag is only for true AuxPoW coins (DOGE, PEP, BELLS, LKY, JKC, SHIC).

In c2pool, DGB-Scrypt is therefore handled as its own parent chain — a standalone DGB-Scrypt P2Pool node running its own sharechain (Scrypt-only in V36; the other four DGB algos are out of scope for now). That parent-chain support is in development (--net digibyte), not yet in the stable LTC release. Until it ships there is no LTC-side path to mine DGB through c2pool.

Payouts & funds

Where does it mine to when using SPV? How do I access the funds?

c2pool holds no wallet and never custodies coins. The embedded SPV nodes are header-only — they validate the chain but store no keys. Block rewards are paid directly in the block's coinbase to an address you control in your own wallet (Litecoin Core, Dogecoin Core, etc.). There is nothing to "withdraw" from c2pool — the coins land in your address the moment a block matures.

You set your payout address as your stratum username (the P2Pool convention):

LcYourLitecoinAddress.worker1

You normally supply just one address. c2pool auto-derives the payout address for every merged chain from that single primary address — LTC, DOGE and the other Scrypt aux chains all share the same secp256k1 keys, so the same hash160 is re-encoded into each chain's address format automatically. Give your LTC address and your DOGE reward is paid to the matching DOGE address with no extra configuration.

This auto-conversion is conditional on your address type:

Primary address type Merged payout auto-derived?
P2PKH (L..., legacy) ✅ yes
P2SH (M... / 3...) ✅ yes
P2WPKH (ltc1q..., segwit) ✅ yes
P2WSH (ltc1q..., 32-byte) ❌ no — supply merged addresses explicitly
P2TR (ltc1p..., taproot) ❌ no — supply merged addresses explicitly

The 32-byte witness programs (P2WSH/P2TR) can't be reduced to a 20-byte hash160, so for those you must name each chain's address yourself.

To override or set addresses per chain explicitly, use any of:

  • Slash + chain_id (most explicit): LTCADDR/98:DOGEADDR — pays DOGE (chain_id 98) to DOGEADDR. Chain multiple: LTCADDR/98:DOGEADDR/63:PEPADDR.
  • Simple separator (, | ; or space): LTCADDR,DOGEADDR — first is the parent (LTC), second is the merged child.
  • Stratum method: send mining.set_merged_addresses.

c2pool also auto-corrects a swapped order (if it detects the merged-chain address first and the LTC address second) and, if you enter a DOGE address as the primary, reverse-derives the LTC payout from the same key.

Worker names (.worker1 or _worker1) are stripped from each address before use.

Which mode pays whom?

Mode CLI flag Who gets paid
Integrated (default) (none) All miners in the PPLNS window, by sharechain weight — paid to each miner's stratum-username address
Solo --solo Your connected miners, proportional to hashrate — paid to their addresses
Custodial --custodial --address ADDR 100% to the operator's --address; miners are tracked off-chain via /stratum_stats

In integrated and solo modes the miner's address appears directly in the coinbase — the pool never holds the funds. Only --custodial routes everything to the operator for off-chain accounting.

Dashboard & explorer

How do I add the dashboard? The docs don't have the integration files anymore.

The dashboard is built in — there is nothing to install. Whenever c2pool runs (integrated, solo, or custodial mode), it serves the web dashboard and REST API automatically:

http://localhost:8080/

Just open that URL in a browser. Change the port with --web-port PORT (web_port: in YAML). The dashboard files live in web-static/ and are fully user-customizable — edit the HTML/JS/CSS there to restyle it.

Optional lite block explorer — a separate bundled Python app for browsing recent blocks, decoded coinbase scripts, and THE commitment proofs:

# in your config
explorer: true
explorer_url: "http://localhost:9090"
python3 explorer/explorer.py \
  --ltc-c2pool http://127.0.0.1:8080/api/explorer \
  --web-port 9090

Then browse http://localhost:9090/.

Note: the README currently links docs/DASHBOARD_INTEGRATION.md for the full REST API reference, but that file is missing from the tree — tracked in #677. The API endpoints themselves work and are listed in the README's API table; the dashboard is served automatically as described above.

Ports (defaults)

Port Purpose Override
9326 P2Pool sharechain (peer-to-peer) --p2pool-port
9327 Stratum mining -w PORT
8080 Web dashboard + REST API --web-port

On --testnet, P2P shifts to 19326 and stratum to 19327.