<p><a href="https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=18870.0" rel="noreferrer">Somebody posted a portable client</a>, but I don't trust them, so I'll show you how to make your own.</p>
<h2>Windows guide</h2>
<ol>
<li><p>Download the windows .zip from <a href="http://bitcoin.org/en/download" rel="noreferrer">bitcoin.org</a></p>
</li>
<li><p>Unpack it. Go into that directory.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Make a file called <code>launch.txt</code><br />
Put this in it:</p>
<pre><code> start bitcoin-qt.exe -datadir=data
</code></pre>
</li>
<li><p>Rename it to <code>launch.bat</code></p>
</li>
<li><p>Make a folder called <code>data</code></p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>It should look like <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Gv5UM.jpg" rel="noreferrer">this</a>. Double-click <code>launch.bat</code> to start it. If files show up in the data folder you made, then you've done things correctly.</p>
<h2>Macintosh guide</h2>
<p>Download the Mac .dmg from <a href="http://bitcoin.org/en/download" rel="noreferrer">bitcoin.org</a></p>
<p>Find the Bitcoin-Qt.app file, and copy it to to your flash drive.</p>
<p>Go to Launchpad, type in 'terminal'. Hit enter.</p>
<p>When the terminal comes up, type:</p>
<pre><code>cd /path/to/flash/drive
mkdir data
cd Bitcoin-Qt.app/Content/MacOS
nano start.sh; chmod +x start.sh
</code></pre>
<p>Type in:</p>
<pre><code>#!/bin/bash
dir1=$(cd &quot;$(dirname &quot;$0&quot;)&quot;; pwd)
dir=`echo $dir1 | sed 's/&quot;/\\&quot;/g' | tr -d '\n'`
data=&quot;$dir/../../data&quot;
&quot;$dir&quot;/bitcoin -datadir=&quot;$data&quot;
</code></pre>
<p>Now hit Ctrl-O, enter, Ctrl-X. You should be back at the terminal.</p>
<pre><code>cd ..
nano Info.plist
</code></pre>
<p>Find the lines that look like this:</p>
<pre><code>    &lt;key&gt;CFBundleExecutable&lt;/key&gt;
    &lt;string&gt;Bitcoin-Qt&lt;/string&gt;
</code></pre>
<p>Change it to:</p>
<pre><code>    &lt;key&gt;CFBundleExecutable&lt;/key&gt;
    &lt;string&gt;start.sh&lt;/string&gt;
</code></pre>
<p>Now hit Ctrl-O, enter, Ctrl-X. You should be back at the terminal. Now we just need to give it a better name.</p>
<pre><code>cd ../..
mv Bitcoin-Qt.app BitcoinPortable.app
</code></pre>
<p>Try running your BitcoinPortable.app. If you see files show up in the data directory next to it, then you've done things correctly!</p>
<p><a href="https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=16258.0" rel="noreferrer">Thanks to Pygy for the script</a><br />
<em>Note: I don't have a Mac, so this is untested.</em></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-29T17:29:09.603Z
`cd Bitcoin-Qt.app/Content/Resources
cd ../MacOS` why not just `cd Bitcoin-Qt.app/Content/MacOS`?
o0'.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-17T14:04:34.283Z
Works for Dogecoin too. Had to point the installer to the external drive and then follow your instructions (on Windows). Thanks!
Alexander Rechsteiner
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-08T22:19:38.653Z
Doesn't work for me. After the 'nano Info.plist' it creates a new file, so it's not possible to change those lines...
Brian Fabian Crain
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-29T02:16:35.680Z
2014-12-15T16:57:32.217Z
2020-06-16T11:10:03.350Z
Nick ODell
<p>This is what worked for me on MAC OS 10.6.8 with Bitcoin-Qt 0.8.1-beta.
I'm combining and editing the <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/733824/how-to-run-a-sh-script-in-an-unix-console-mac-terminal">Pygmy script</a> and Nick ODells answer, there were a few typos.</p>

<p>Also note, I opened the application with right-click >> "Show Package Contents" and then edited the files with the finder, and TextWrangler. No Terminal required!</p>

<p>1) Create new directory in <code>Bitcoin-Qt.app/Contents/Resources</code> and name it <code>data</code></p>

<p>2) Navigate up a level and then open the MacOS folder</p>

<p>3) In that folder, create a new file called <code>start.sh</code></p>

<p>4) open that new file in a text editor and write:</p>

<pre><code>#! /bin/sh
dir1=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")"; pwd)
dir=`echo $dir1 | sed 's/"/\\"/g' | tr -d '\n'`
data="$dir/../Resources/data"
"$dir"/Bitcoin-Qt -datadir="$data"
</code></pre>

<p>note that the last line contains the name of the only other file in the MacOS folder (Bitcoin-Qt). That's important! Because that is the program that will be executed a the end of the script you just wrote. Also, that fourth line has to link to the 'data' folder we created in step #1</p>

<p>5) Navigate back up a level to <code>Bitcoin-Qt.app/Contents/</code> and open the file called <code>Info.plist</code></p>

<p>6) Find the lines that look like this:</p>

<pre><code>&lt;key&gt;CFBundleExecutable&lt;/key&gt;
&lt;string&gt;Bitcoin-Qt&lt;/string&gt;
</code></pre>

<p>Change it to:</p>

<pre><code>&lt;key&gt;CFBundleExecutable&lt;/key&gt;
&lt;string&gt;start.sh&lt;/string&gt;
</code></pre>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-29T17:13:24.983Z
2013-03-29T17:13:24.983Z
2017-05-23T12:34:59.703Z
pinhead
<p>I work in an office with lots of computers, and I am on a different workstation every day. Is there a bitcoin client I can keep on a FireWire/USB drive?</p>

<p>Bitcoin-Qt on Mac leaves all the files in the home directory - the block chain, the wallet, etc. Someone else is going to be using this computer tomorrow! I want to keep all those files, and even the application itself, on a portable drive.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-01T12:34:35.857Z
Asking about how to change the default storage location has been posted many, many times. The future canonical question is probably *[Bitcoin-Qt setup: Change block-chain file location, settings? documentation?](http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/9259)*. Possible duplicate of *[Bitcoin-Qt setup: Change block-chain file location, settings? documentation?](http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/9259)*.
Peter Mortensen
<client><portable>
How to make Bitcoin-Qt or other client run off of a flash drive (Mac)
pinhead
# How to make Bitcoin-Qt or other client run off of a flash drive (Mac)

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-03-29)

I work in an office with lots of computers, and I am on a different workstation every day. Is there a bitcoin client I can keep on a FireWire/USB drive?

Bitcoin-Qt on Mac leaves all the files in the home directory - the block chain, the wallet, etc. Someone else is going to be using this computer tomorrow! I want to keep all those files, and even the application itself, on a portable drive.

**Tags:** client, portable

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Asking about how to change the default storage location has been posted many, many times. The future canonical question is probably *[Bitcoin-Qt setup: Change block-chain file location, settings? documentation?](http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/9259)*. Possible duplicate of *[Bitcoin-Qt setup: Change block-chain file location, settings? documentation?](http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/9259)*.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2013-03-29. Score: 7

[Somebody posted a portable client](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=18870.0), but I don't trust them, so I'll show you how to make your own.

## Windows guide

1. Download the windows .zip from [bitcoin.org](http://bitcoin.org/en/download)
2. Unpack it. Go into that directory.
3. Make a file called `launch.txt`  
   Put this in it:

   ```
    start bitcoin-qt.exe -datadir=data

   ```
4. Rename it to `launch.bat`
5. Make a folder called `data`

It should look like [this](https://i.sstatic.net/Gv5UM.jpg). Double-click `launch.bat` to start it. If files show up in the data folder you made, then you've done things correctly.

## Macintosh guide

Download the Mac .dmg from [bitcoin.org](http://bitcoin.org/en/download)

Find the Bitcoin-Qt.app file, and copy it to to your flash drive.

Go to Launchpad, type in 'terminal'. Hit enter.

When the terminal comes up, type:

```
cd /path/to/flash/drive
mkdir data
cd Bitcoin-Qt.app/Content/MacOS
nano start.sh; chmod +x start.sh

```

Type in:

```
#!/bin/bash
dir1=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")"; pwd)
dir=`echo $dir1 | sed 's/"/\\"/g' | tr -d '\n'`
data="$dir/../../data"
"$dir"/bitcoin -datadir="$data"

```

Now hit Ctrl-O, enter, Ctrl-X. You should be back at the terminal.

```
cd ..
nano Info.plist

```

Find the lines that look like this:

```
    <key>CFBundleExecutable</key>
    <string>Bitcoin-Qt</string>

```

Change it to:

```
    <key>CFBundleExecutable</key>
    <string>start.sh</string>

```

Now hit Ctrl-O, enter, Ctrl-X. You should be back at the terminal. Now we just need to give it a better name.

```
cd ../..
mv Bitcoin-Qt.app BitcoinPortable.app

```

Try running your BitcoinPortable.app. If you see files show up in the data directory next to it, then you've done things correctly!

[Thanks to Pygy for the script](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=16258.0)  
*Note: I don't have a Mac, so this is untested.*

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: `cd Bitcoin-Qt.app/Content/Resources cd ../MacOS` why not just `cd Bitcoin-Qt.app/Content/MacOS`?  
> **username_4**: Works for Dogecoin too. Had to point the installer to the external drive and then follow your instructions (on Windows). Thanks!  
> **username_5**: Doesn't work for me. After the 'nano Info.plist' it creates a new file, so it's not possible to change those lines...  

---

### Answer by username_0 on 2013-03-29. Score: 2

This is what worked for me on MAC OS 10.6.8 with Bitcoin-Qt 0.8.1-beta.
I'm combining and editing the [Pygmy script](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/733824/how-to-run-a-sh-script-in-an-unix-console-mac-terminal) and username_2 ODells answer, there were a few typos.

Also note, I opened the application with right-click >> "Show Package Contents" and then edited the files with the finder, and TextWrangler. No Terminal required!

1) Create new directory in `Bitcoin-Qt.app/Contents/Resources` and name it `data`

2) Navigate up a level and then open the MacOS folder

3) In that folder, create a new file called `start.sh`

4) open that new file in a text editor and write:

```
#! /bin/sh
dir1=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")"; pwd)
dir=`echo $dir1 | sed 's/"/\\"/g' | tr -d '\n'`
data="$dir/../Resources/data"
"$dir"/Bitcoin-Qt -datadir="$data"

```

note that the last line contains the name of the only other file in the MacOS folder (Bitcoin-Qt). That's important! Because that is the program that will be executed a the end of the script you just wrote. Also, that fourth line has to link to the 'data' folder we created in step #1

5) Navigate back up a level to `Bitcoin-Qt.app/Contents/` and open the file called `Info.plist`

6) Find the lines that look like this:

```
<key>CFBundleExecutable</key>
<string>Bitcoin-Qt</string>

```

Change it to:

```
<key>CFBundleExecutable</key>
<string>start.sh</string>

```


---

