Ord On Mac
This is a how-to guide for setting up Bitcoin-cli and an Ordinals client using Homebrew, allowing you to inscribe directly from your own computer.
Last updated
This is a how-to guide for setting up Bitcoin-cli and an Ordinals client using Homebrew, allowing you to inscribe directly from your own computer.
Last updated
There are two main software components required for setting up your Ordinals client:
Bitcoin Core - This software ran as a command line interface maintains the records of all transactions ever completed on Bitcoin. It is responsible for creating the transactions that inscribe arbitrary data on Bitcoin (Ordinals).
Ordinals Client - This software maintains a record of every inscription created, referencing the transactions on Bitcoin Core. The Ordinals client is also responsible for designing the transactions that meet the Ordinals standard, embedding your arbitrary data on Bitcoin.
Each of these software components maintains its own separate index: one for Bitcoin transactions and one for Ordinals. Both indices are relatively large databases that can be stored on an internal or external drive.
Both pieces of software run as servers. You 'start' the server and then, from another terminal window, send commands to the client.
Ord Setup
First, you need to install Homebrew, a package manager for macOS. Open Terminal and run the following command:
Once Homebrew is installed, you can install Bitcoin Core using Homebrew by running the following command in Terminal:
Connect your external hard drive to your Mac and create a new folder named BitcoinData. You may name this folder whatever you'd like.
The Bitcoin Core Configuration file is responsible for setting the configuration for your Bitcoin node. This includes settings like enabling full index (required for Ordinals) and also where your data directory is stored (if you have chosen an external HDD).
To create a configuration file for Bitcoin Core, follow these steps using TextEdit on macOS:
Open TextEdit: Launch TextEdit from your Applications folder or Spotlight search.
Make the Document Plain Text: Before typing anything, convert your document to plain text. Choose Format > Make Plain Text from the menu bar at the top. If prompted, confirm that you want to convert the document to plain text.
Enter Configuration Details: Type or paste the following configuration into your new plain text document (make sure to read the # comments):
Be sure to replace /Volumes/YourExternalDriveName/BitcoinData with the actual path to your external hard drive's Bitcoin data folder.
Save the File: Choose File > Save, and in the save dialog, enter bitcoin.txt as the file name. Make sure to select a location where you can easily find the file, such as your Desktop.
Rename the File Extension: Locate the bitcoin.txt file you just saved in Finder. Change the file extension from .txt to .conf, resulting in bitcoin.conf. If macOS asks if you are sure you want to change the file extension, confirm by clicking Use .conf.
By following these steps, you will have created a bitcoin.conf configuration file for Bitcoin Core with the specified settings, ready to be used in your Bitcoin node setup.
PLEASE NOTE: Your configuration file will not function if it is not saved with the proper .conf extension. If your document type is listed as 'plain text', it has not been saved correctly.
Right-click, select 'Get Info', and ensure the 'Name & Extension' is set to bitcoin.conf.
Navigate to the ~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin directory on macOS and move your bitcoin.conf file into this folder, follow these steps:
Open Finder: Click on the Finder icon in your Dock to open a new Finder window.
Go to the Menu Bar: Look at the top of your screen to find the menu bar while you have Finder active.
Open the "Go" Menu: Click on Go in the menu bar.
Choose "Go to Folder": From the dropdown menu, select Go to Folder... or use the shortcut Shift + Command (⌘) + G to open the Go to Folder dialog.
Enter the Path: Type ~/Library/Application Support and click Go. This will take you directly to the Application Support folder within your Library. Locate the Bitcoin Folder.
If the Bitcoin folder does not exist, you will need to create it. You can do this by right-clicking (or Ctrl-clicking) within the Application Support folder, selecting New Folder, and naming it Bitcoin.
Move the bitcoin.conf File: Locate the bitcoin.conf file you previously created and saved. You can drag this file from its current location (e.g., Desktop) and drop it into the Bitcoin folder you've just navigated to in Finder.
By following these steps, you will have successfully moved your bitcoin.conf file to the correct directory for Bitcoin Core to use when it runs.
To start the Bitcoin daemon, open the Terminal and run the following command:
To stop Bitcoin Core, use Ctrl+C in that same Terminal window.
To verify the sync progress, from a new terminal window, you can check the blockchain status with:
Install Ord using Homebrew:
When using an external hard drive with ORD, it's necessary to specify the locations of your bitcoin cookie file and the ORD data directory each time you run ORD. To streamline this process, you can create an 'alias' that automatically appends the required paths to your commands.
If you're using Zsh (the default shell in macOS Catalina and later), follow these steps to make the ord alias permanent:
Open Terminal.
Edit Your .zshrc File: Use a text editor to open your ~/.zshrc file. You can do this by typing the following command in the Terminal:
This opens the .zshrc file in Nano, but you can use any text editor you prefer.
Add Your Alias to the .zshrc File: Scroll to the bottom of the file (yours may be empty) and add the alias command. Make sure to replace the placeholder paths with the actual paths on your system:
Ensure there are no typos and that the paths are correct for your setup.
Save Your Changes: If using Nano, save your changes by pressing Ctrl + O, then press Enter, and exit by pressing Ctrl + X.
Apply the Changes: To make sure your current terminal session recognizes the new alias, source your .zshrc file by running:
Verify the Alias: Try using the ord alias in your terminal to ensure it works as expected.
Start the Ord server:
Once the Ord Server is running, you can access your own local version on http://0.0.0.0:80.
From here on out, any commands ran will be in another terminal window.
You need to allow some time for Ord to synchronize with Bitcoin Core, indexing inscriptions. Depending on the specifications of your computer, this process could take several days.
For Internal HDD Users: Place the downloaded file in the following directory:
For External HDD Users: Place the downloaded file in the directory you specified during step 3 of the Ord Setup.
To create a new wallet, in a new terminal window run:
Make sure to securely store the 12-word mnemonic seed phrase provided.
To generate a receiving address for funding:
Use this address to send funds for future inscriptions.
Create your first inscription! You can use any file you want - I'd suggest a text file to get started.
To create an inscription, use the following command:
For instance:
To ensure your Ord client is up to date, follow these steps:
Check Your Current Version:
Determine the version of your Ord client by running:
Update Ord:
First, update Homebrew's formulae to ensure you have the latest version of Ord available:
Then, upgrade the Ord client using:
Cleanup:
After updating, you can remove outdated versions and clean up your system with:
For more information, visit .
To streamline the setup process (depending on your internet speeds), you can download a pre-built index from the following link: .
A small list of helpful commands ordinal can be found on the page.