Build & Run an iBitHub Node

Building & Running an iBitHub Node 🛠️

iBitHub is a Litecoin 0.8-era Scrypt fork. Wallet compatibility requires Berkeley DB 4.8 and OpenSSL 1.0.2u.

Step 0 — Get a VPS Server

Run your node 24/7 on a VPS with: 2–4 vCPU, 4–8 GB RAM, 50+ GB SSD, good bandwidth, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (or Docker for newer OS).

Recommended providers: Vultr, Hetzner Cloud, OVHcloud, DigitalOcean, Linode.

Option 1 — Native Build on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Recommended for simplicity)

1. Update system & install dependencies

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install -y build-essential git libboost-all-dev libminiupnpc-dev libevent-dev \
                       automake autotools-dev pkg-config

2. Build Berkeley DB 4.8 from source

   cd ~
   wget http://download.oracle.com/berkeley-db/db-4.8.30.NC.tar.gz
   tar -xzf db-4.8.30.NC.tar.gz
   cd db-4.8.30.NC/build_unix
   ../dist/configure --enable-cxx --disable-shared --with-pic
   make -j$(nproc)
   sudo make install

   → Installs to /usr/local/BerkeleyDB.4.8

3. Build OpenSSL 1.0.2u from source

   cd ~
   wget https://www.openssl.org/source/old/1.0.2/openssl-1.0.2u.tar.gz
   tar -xzf openssl-1.0.2u.tar.gz
   cd openssl-1.0.2u
   ./config --prefix=/usr/local/openssl-1.0.2 no-shared no-threads -fPIC
   make -j$(nproc)
   sudo make install

   → Installs to /usr/local/openssl-1.0.2

4. Clone the repository

   cd ~
   git clone https://github.com/ibithub/ibithub.git
   cd ibithub/src

5. Update makefile.unix (add near the top):

   BDB_PREFIX = /usr/local/BerkeleyDB.4.8
   OPENSSL_PREFIX = /usr/local/openssl-1.0.2
   
   CXXFLAGS += -I$(BDB_PREFIX)/include -I$(OPENSSL_PREFIX)/include \
               -Wno-deprecated-declarations -Wno-error
   LDFLAGS  += -L$(BDB_PREFIX)/lib -L$(OPENSSL_PREFIX)/lib
   LIBS     += -ldb_cxx -lssl -lcrypto \
               -lboost_system -lboost_filesystem -lboost_program_options -lboost_thread

   Remove any reference to alert.o if it exists.

6. Build

   make -f makefile.unix clean
   make -f makefile.unix -j$(nproc)

   → Produces ibithubd and ibithub-cli

7. Run iBitHub

   export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/openssl-1.0.2/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
   ./ibithubd -daemon

   Create a minimal ~/.ibithub/ibithub.conf:

   rpcuser=youruser
   rpcpassword=yourpass

Option 2 — Containerized Deterministic Build on modern Ubuntu (e.g. 25.10)

Modern Ubuntu versions ship OpenSSL 3.x and incompatible toolchains → use an Ubuntu 18.04 Docker container for a reproducible legacy environment.

1. Install Docker on host

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install -y docker.io
   sudo systemctl enable --now docker
   sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
   newgrp docker

2. Start Ubuntu 18.04 container

   docker run -it --name ibithub-build ubuntu:18.04 /bin/bash

3. Inside the container — install dependencies & follow Option 1 steps

   apt update
   apt install -y build-essential git libboost-all-dev libminiupnpc-dev libevent-dev \
                  wget automake autotools-dev pkg-config

   Then repeat steps 2–6 from Option 1 inside the container.

4. Copy binaries to host (from another terminal)

   docker cp ibithub-build:/root/ibithub/src/ibithubd .
   docker cp ibithub-build:/root/ibithub/src/ibithub-cli .

Happy building! Run a node to help secure the network — every full node counts.