<p>Did you confirm that your user trying ti use bitcoin-cli has ownership permissions on the .bitcoin directory?  That was what gave me trouble.  To fix, I ran:</p>

<p><code>sudo chown username:username /directory/location/of/.bitcoin</code></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-27T12:24:19.383Z
2018-01-27T12:24:19.383Z
Frankenmint
<p>I have read through a number of posts on here about this error but none seem to solve my problem. I am trying to use Altcoin-cli on my alt-coin (which is an exact clone of the bitcoin source) using my generated Altcoind daemon and Altcoin-cli </p>

<p>I know that it is an exact copy of bitcoin because I forked it myself (for learning purposes) so the error isn't caused by me breaking some code. Here are the steps I am doing:</p>

<p>1) In one terminal I run <code>Altcoind -daemon -reindex</code></p>

<p>2) In my Altcoin.conf fine I have this:</p>

<pre><code>rpcuser=barney
rpcpassword=12345
rpcport=22777
listen=1
server=1
dbcache=50
daemon=1
testnet=0
maxuploadtarget=200
txindex=1
</code></pre>

<p>3) I then run <code>Altcoin-cli generate 1 -1</code> in attempt to mine a block. This is where I get the error:</p>

<p><code>error: couldn't connect to server: unknown (code -1)
(make sure server is running and you are connecting to the correct RPC port)</code></p>

<p>Also, when I run the <code>cli</code> command, this line appears in the <code>debug.log</code></p>

<p><code>keypool reserve 2</code></p>

<p>I will add my debug.log dump below too, but it looks fine to me. The <code>connection refused</code> errors are the coin attempting to connect to seed nodes that don't exist yet.</p>

<p><strong><em>DEBUG.LOG Dump</em></strong></p>

<pre><code>2018-01-04 07:10:51 Bitcoin version v0.1.0.0-0b9d033-dirty
2018-01-04 07:10:51 InitParameterInteraction: parameter interaction: -whitelistforcerelay=1 -&gt; setting -whitelistrelay=1
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Assuming ancestors of block 00000000000000000013176bf8d7dfeab4e1db31dc93bc311b436e82ab226b90 have valid signatures.
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Default data directory /home/veggie/.Teggie
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using data directory /home/veggie/.Teggie
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using config file /home/veggie/.Teggie/Teggie.conf
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using at most 125 automatic connections (1024 file descriptors available)
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using 32 MiB out of 32 requested for signature cache, able to store 1048576 elements
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using 0 threads for script verification
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Binding RPC on address 0.0.0.0 port 22777 failed.
2018-01-04 07:10:51 HTTP: creating work queue of depth 16
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Config options rpcuser and rpcpassword will soon be deprecated. Locally-run instances may remove rpcuser to use cookie-based auth, or may be replaced with rpcauth. Please see share/rpcuser for rpcauth auth generation.
2018-01-04 07:10:51 HTTP: starting 4 worker threads
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using BerkeleyDB version Berkeley DB 4.8.30: (April  9, 2010)
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using wallet wallet.dat
2018-01-04 07:10:51 init message: Verifying wallet...
2018-01-04 07:10:51 CDBEnv::Open: LogDir=/home/veggie/.Teggie/database ErrorFile=/home/veggie/.Teggie/db.log
2018-01-04 07:10:51 scheduler thread start
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Bound to [::]:22822
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Bound to 0.0.0.0:22822
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Cache configuration:
2018-01-04 07:10:51 * Using 6.2MiB for block index database
2018-01-04 07:10:51 * Using 8.0MiB for chain state database
2018-01-04 07:10:51 * Using 35.8MiB for in-memory UTXO set (plus up to 286.1MiB of unused mempool space)
2018-01-04 07:10:51 init message: Loading block index...
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Wiping LevelDB in /home/veggie/.Teggie/blocks/index
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Opening LevelDB in /home/veggie/.Teggie/blocks/index
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Opened LevelDB successfully
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using obfuscation key for /home/veggie/.Teggie/blocks/index: 0000000000000000
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Wiping LevelDB in /home/veggie/.Teggie/chainstate
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Opening LevelDB in /home/veggie/.Teggie/chainstate
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Opened LevelDB successfully
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Wrote new obfuscate key for /home/veggie/.Teggie/chainstate: 2e49fc905edaf50c
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using obfuscation key for /home/veggie/.Teggie/chainstate: 2e49fc905edaf50c
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Initializing databases...
2018-01-04 07:10:51 init message: Verifying blocks...
2018-01-04 07:10:51  block index              15ms
2018-01-04 07:10:51 CTxMemPool::ReadFeeEstimates(): unable to read policy estimator data (non-fatal)
2018-01-04 07:10:51 init message: Loading wallet...
2018-01-04 07:10:51 nFileVersion = 10000
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Keys: 103 plaintext, 0 encrypted, 103 w/ metadata, 103 total
2018-01-04 07:10:51  wallet                    6ms
2018-01-04 07:10:51 setKeyPool.size() = 101
2018-01-04 07:10:51 mapWallet.size() = 0
2018-01-04 07:10:51 mapAddressBook.size() = 1
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Reindexing block file blk00000.dat...
2018-01-04 07:10:51 UpdateTip: new best=0000794e30ec87650feebfdc5c39c51927ebb8407129ed5e93375dd825e50380 height=0 version=0x00000001 log2_work=17 tx=1 date='2017-12-06 14:20:46' progress=1.000000 cache=0.0MiB(0tx)
2018-01-04 07:10:51 mapBlockIndex.size() = 1
2018-01-04 07:10:51 nBestHeight = 0
2018-01-04 07:10:51 init message: Loading addresses...
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Loaded 2 addresses from peers.dat  1ms
2018-01-04 07:10:51 init message: Loading banlist...
2018-01-04 07:10:51 init message: Starting network threads...
2018-01-04 07:10:51 init message: Done loading
2018-01-04 07:10:51 msghand thread start
2018-01-04 07:10:51 opencon thread start
2018-01-04 07:10:51 addcon thread start
2018-01-04 07:10:51 dnsseed thread start
2018-01-04 07:10:51 net thread start
2018-01-04 07:10:51 torcontrol thread start
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Loaded 1 blocks from external file in 210ms
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Reindexing finished
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Imported mempool transactions from disk: 0 successes, 0 failed, 0 expired
2018-01-04 07:10:53 connect() to 207.246.105.211:22822 failed after select(): Connection refused (111)
2018-01-04 07:10:55 connect() to 45.63.111.147:22822 failed after select(): Connection refused (111)
2018-01-04 07:10:58 connect() to 45.63.111.147:22822 failed after select(): Connection refused (111)
2018-01-04 07:11:00 connect() to 207.246.105.211:22822 failed after select(): Connection refused (111)
</code></pre>

<bitcoin-core><bitcoind><server><bitcoin-cli><daemon>
Bitcoin-cli - error: couldn't connect to server: unknown (code -1)
Barney Chambers
# Bitcoin-cli - error: couldn't connect to server: unknown (code -1)

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-01-04)

I have read through a number of posts on here about this error but none seem to solve my problem. I am trying to use Altcoin-cli on my alt-coin (which is an exact clone of the bitcoin source) using my generated Altcoind daemon and Altcoin-cli

I know that it is an exact copy of bitcoin because I forked it myself (for learning purposes) so the error isn't caused by me breaking some code. Here are the steps I am doing:

1) In one terminal I run `Altcoind -daemon -reindex`

2) In my Altcoin.conf fine I have this:

```
rpcuser=username_0
rpcpassword=12345
rpcport=22777
listen=1
server=1
dbcache=50
daemon=1
testnet=0
maxuploadtarget=200
txindex=1

```

3) I then run `Altcoin-cli generate 1 -1` in attempt to mine a block. This is where I get the error:

`error: couldn't connect to server: unknown (code -1)
(make sure server is running and you are connecting to the correct RPC port)`

Also, when I run the `cli` command, this line appears in the `debug.log`

`keypool reserve 2`

I will add my debug.log dump below too, but it looks fine to me. The `connection refused` errors are the coin attempting to connect to seed nodes that don't exist yet.

***DEBUG.LOG Dump***

```
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Bitcoin version v0.1.0.0-0b9d033-dirty
2018-01-04 07:10:51 InitParameterInteraction: parameter interaction: -whitelistforcerelay=1 -> setting -whitelistrelay=1
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Assuming ancestors of block 00000000000000000013176bf8d7dfeab4e1db31dc93bc311b436e82ab226b90 have valid signatures.
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Default data directory /home/veggie/.Teggie
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using data directory /home/veggie/.Teggie
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using config file /home/veggie/.Teggie/Teggie.conf
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using at most 125 automatic connections (1024 file descriptors available)
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using 32 MiB out of 32 requested for signature cache, able to store 1048576 elements
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using 0 threads for script verification
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Binding RPC on address 0.0.0.0 port 22777 failed.
2018-01-04 07:10:51 HTTP: creating work queue of depth 16
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Config options rpcuser and rpcpassword will soon be deprecated. Locally-run instances may remove rpcuser to use cookie-based auth, or may be replaced with rpcauth. Please see share/rpcuser for rpcauth auth generation.
2018-01-04 07:10:51 HTTP: starting 4 worker threads
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using BerkeleyDB version Berkeley DB 4.8.30: (April  9, 2010)
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using wallet wallet.dat
2018-01-04 07:10:51 init message: Verifying wallet...
2018-01-04 07:10:51 CDBEnv::Open: LogDir=/home/veggie/.Teggie/database ErrorFile=/home/veggie/.Teggie/db.log
2018-01-04 07:10:51 scheduler thread start
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Bound to [::]:22822
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Bound to 0.0.0.0:22822
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Cache configuration:
2018-01-04 07:10:51 * Using 6.2MiB for block index database
2018-01-04 07:10:51 * Using 8.0MiB for chain state database
2018-01-04 07:10:51 * Using 35.8MiB for in-memory UTXO set (plus up to 286.1MiB of unused mempool space)
2018-01-04 07:10:51 init message: Loading block index...
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Wiping LevelDB in /home/veggie/.Teggie/blocks/index
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Opening LevelDB in /home/veggie/.Teggie/blocks/index
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Opened LevelDB successfully
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using obfuscation key for /home/veggie/.Teggie/blocks/index: 0000000000000000
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Wiping LevelDB in /home/veggie/.Teggie/chainstate
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Opening LevelDB in /home/veggie/.Teggie/chainstate
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Opened LevelDB successfully
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Wrote new obfuscate key for /home/veggie/.Teggie/chainstate: 2e49fc905edaf50c
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Using obfuscation key for /home/veggie/.Teggie/chainstate: 2e49fc905edaf50c
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Initializing databases...
2018-01-04 07:10:51 init message: Verifying blocks...
2018-01-04 07:10:51  block index              15ms
2018-01-04 07:10:51 CTxMemPool::ReadFeeEstimates(): unable to read policy estimator data (non-fatal)
2018-01-04 07:10:51 init message: Loading wallet...
2018-01-04 07:10:51 nFileVersion = 10000
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Keys: 103 plaintext, 0 encrypted, 103 w/ metadata, 103 total
2018-01-04 07:10:51  wallet                    6ms
2018-01-04 07:10:51 setKeyPool.size() = 101
2018-01-04 07:10:51 mapWallet.size() = 0
2018-01-04 07:10:51 mapAddressBook.size() = 1
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Reindexing block file blk00000.dat...
2018-01-04 07:10:51 UpdateTip: new best=0000794e30ec87650feebfdc5c39c51927ebb8407129ed5e93375dd825e50380 height=0 version=0x00000001 log2_work=17 tx=1 date='2017-12-06 14:20:46' progress=1.000000 cache=0.0MiB(0tx)
2018-01-04 07:10:51 mapBlockIndex.size() = 1
2018-01-04 07:10:51 nBestHeight = 0
2018-01-04 07:10:51 init message: Loading addresses...
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Loaded 2 addresses from peers.dat  1ms
2018-01-04 07:10:51 init message: Loading banlist...
2018-01-04 07:10:51 init message: Starting network threads...
2018-01-04 07:10:51 init message: Done loading
2018-01-04 07:10:51 msghand thread start
2018-01-04 07:10:51 opencon thread start
2018-01-04 07:10:51 addcon thread start
2018-01-04 07:10:51 dnsseed thread start
2018-01-04 07:10:51 net thread start
2018-01-04 07:10:51 torcontrol thread start
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Loaded 1 blocks from external file in 210ms
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Reindexing finished
2018-01-04 07:10:51 Imported mempool transactions from disk: 0 successes, 0 failed, 0 expired
2018-01-04 07:10:53 connect() to 207.246.105.211:22822 failed after select(): Connection refused (111)
2018-01-04 07:10:55 connect() to 45.63.111.147:22822 failed after select(): Connection refused (111)
2018-01-04 07:10:58 connect() to 45.63.111.147:22822 failed after select(): Connection refused (111)
2018-01-04 07:11:00 connect() to 207.246.105.211:22822 failed after select(): Connection refused (111)

```

**Tags:** bitcoin-core, bitcoind, server, bitcoin-cli, daemon


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-01-27. Score: 1

Did you confirm that your user trying ti use bitcoin-cli has ownership permissions on the .bitcoin directory? That was what gave me trouble. To fix, I ran:

`sudo chown username:username /directory/location/of/.bitcoin`


---

