<p>Various tools, utilities and libraries are distributed along with Bitcoin Core. These instructions are for the regular Bitcoin Core user who is just concerned about running a node. Users of the utilities / libraries are more experienced and can figure out for themselves how to upgrade.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-12T10:33:59.143Z
2024-02-12T10:33:59.143Z
Antoine Poinsot
<p>On the BitcoinCore web page, instructions are clear for the <a href="https://bitcoincore.org/en/releases/26.0/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">upgrade procedure</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“If you are running an older version, shut it down. Wait until it has
completely shut down …  just copy over bitcoind  /  bitcoin-qt  (on
Linux).”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Only 2 files are required to be copied into the Bitcoin installed folder.</p>
<p>Yet, when looking into the whole downloaded installation compressed file, once uncompressed, appears four folders, bin, include, lib, share. All four folders contain files of different size than the ones present in the previous equivalent folders already in the running Bitcoin version.
In all there are 12 different files for Bitcoin-Core 26 .vs. Bitcoin-Core 25.</p>
<p>The Question: Why instructions provided demand to simply copy 2 files where both versions contain 12 different files ?  Why not renew with all 12 newer files ?</p>

<bitcoin-core>
Why instructions to upgrade Bitcoin Core do not require all new files?
Fred Cailloux
# Why instructions to upgrade Bitcoin Core do not require all new files?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-02-10)

On the BitcoinCore web page, instructions are clear for the [upgrade procedure](https://bitcoincore.org/en/releases/26.0/):

> “If you are running an older version, shut it down. Wait until it has
> completely shut down … just copy over bitcoind / bitcoin-qt (on
> Linux).”

Only 2 files are required to be copied into the Bitcoin installed folder.

Yet, when looking into the whole downloaded installation compressed file, once uncompressed, appears four folders, bin, include, lib, share. All four folders contain files of different size than the ones present in the previous equivalent folders already in the running Bitcoin version.
In all there are 12 different files for Bitcoin-Core 26 .vs. Bitcoin-Core 25.

The Question: Why instructions provided demand to simply copy 2 files where both versions contain 12 different files ? Why not renew with all 12 newer files ?

**Tags:** bitcoin-core


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-02-12. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Various tools, utilities and libraries are distributed along with Bitcoin Core. These instructions are for the regular Bitcoin Core user who is just concerned about running a node. Users of the utilities / libraries are more experienced and can figure out for themselves how to upgrade.


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