<p>If your settings are correct, try restarting Armory, and let it run for a few minutes. I had the same concern thinking that Armory was redownloading the blockchain, but it was actually reading from the harddrive (Listen to the harddrive).</p>

<p>After roughly 10 minutes, the block synchronisation went from 0% very quickly to 100%, then the status changed to "Connected". Next Armory synced the transaction history for another 10 to 15 mins.</p>

<p>I guess there is a user experience bug here. Armory should have had a user friendly message somewhere saying something like: "Verifying local blockchain".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-22T15:39:32.043Z
2013-10-22T15:39:32.043Z
user7220
<p>In the Armory settings, you can specify the location of bitcoin-qt installdir, and the home directory of bitcoin (where the blockchain is stored).</p>

<p>Then it uses the already downloaded chain.</p>

<p>regards</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-16T12:55:17.703Z
I tried that and it didn't work
RentFree
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-16T13:03:39.200Z
make sure you point to the bitcoind binary. Not bitcoin-qt. Sorry about the misunderstanding.
Tommek
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-16T14:55:24.277Z
I pointed to /usr/bin because that's where bitcoind is on my system. What should it be really?
RentFree
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-16T15:18:04.840Z
/usr/bin as installdir and /home/yourHomeDir/.bitcoin as "home-Dir"
Tommek
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-16T16:35:06.480Z
I did that, then restarted Armory and it did not start bitcoind.  Armory just says "Offline" and I can't figure out how to make it "Online".
RentFree
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-16T09:48:29.533Z
2013-09-16T09:48:29.533Z
Tommek
<p>With respect to user7220, I think that answer is wrong.  I moved Armory and my QT native blockchain to my E: drive, and Armory started rebuilding the QT chain on C: drive.  After some checking, I found that you can add the path on the command line, using " --satoshi-datadir=[bitcoindatapath]" as a switch. My Armory shortcut is now  </p>

<pre><code>"C:\Program Files (x86)\Armory\ArmoryQt.exe" --datadir="e:/armory" --satoshi-datadir="e:\bitcoin"
</code></pre>

<p>The armory executables are on C: but the freaking huge blockchains are on my outboard E: drive for both Armory and BitcoinQT.  Now my C: drive has space and I can install a wallet that does not require the blockchain, and a copy of the blockchain (bravo, Devs).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-29T06:13:43.303Z
Thanks, just tried it. Armory 0.96.3.99 RC1 works with Bitcoin Core 0.15.1 as `satoshi-datadir`.
XP1
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-26T10:17:19.530Z
2017-07-26T10:17:19.530Z
Steve Hibbert
<p>I'm trying to set up Armory but it wants to download the whole blockchain.  The thing is I already have the blockchain downloaded on the same machine for bitcoin-qt.  Is there any way to get Armory to use the blockchain I already have, both to save space and avoid waiting for hours?</p>

<blockchain><bitcoin-core><armory>
get Armory to use an existing blockchain?
RentFree
# get Armory to use an existing blockchain?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-09-16)

I'm trying to set up Armory but it wants to download the whole blockchain. The thing is I already have the blockchain downloaded on the same machine for bitcoin-qt. Is there any way to get Armory to use the blockchain I already have, both to save space and avoid waiting for hours?

**Tags:** blockchain, bitcoin-core, armory


---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2013-10-22. Score: 3

If your settings are correct, try restarting Armory, and let it run for a few minutes. I had the same concern thinking that Armory was redownloading the blockchain, but it was actually reading from the harddrive (Listen to the harddrive).

After roughly 10 minutes, the block synchronisation went from 0% very quickly to 100%, then the status changed to "Connected". Next Armory synced the transaction history for another 10 to 15 mins.

I guess there is a user experience bug here. Armory should have had a user friendly message somewhere saying something like: "Verifying local blockchain".


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2013-09-16. Score: 1

In the Armory settings, you can specify the location of bitcoin-qt installdir, and the home directory of bitcoin (where the blockchain is stored).

Then it uses the already downloaded chain.

regards

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I tried that and it didn't work  
> **username_2**: make sure you point to the bitcoind binary. Not bitcoin-qt. Sorry about the misunderstanding.  
> **username_0**: I pointed to /usr/bin because that's where bitcoind is on my system. What should it be really?  
> **username_2**: /usr/bin as installdir and /home/yourHomeDir/.bitcoin as "home-Dir"  
> **username_0**: I did that, then restarted Armory and it did not start bitcoind.  Armory just says "Offline" and I can't figure out how to make it "Online".  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-07-26. Score: 1

With respect to username_1, I think that answer is wrong. I moved Armory and my QT native blockchain to my E: drive, and Armory started rebuilding the QT chain on C: drive. After some checking, I found that you can add the path on the command line, using " --satoshi-datadir=[bitcoindatapath]" as a switch. My Armory shortcut is now

```
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Armory\ArmoryQt.exe" --datadir="e:/armory" --satoshi-datadir="e:\bitcoin"

```

The armory executables are on C: but the freaking huge blockchains are on my outboard E: drive for both Armory and BitcoinQT. Now my C: drive has space and I can install a wallet that does not require the blockchain, and a copy of the blockchain (bravo, Devs).

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Thanks, just tried it. Armory 0.96.3.99 RC1 works with Bitcoin Core 0.15.1 as `satoshi-datadir`.  

---

