<blockquote>
<p><strong>What possible explanation could there be that Bitcoin Core on Linux Mint claims to but does not save the wallet backups?</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Possible explanations include:</p>
<ul>
<li>The path to the saved file is not what you think it is
<ul>
<li>using a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Path_(computing)#Absolute_and_relative_paths" rel="nofollow noreferrer">relative path rather than an absolute path</a></li>
<li>using a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chroot" rel="nofollow noreferrer">chrooted</a> program</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Some higher level of security is preventing you seeing the files
<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security-Enhanced_Linux" rel="nofollow noreferrer">SELinux</a>?</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>There is a bug in Bitcoin core. This seems unlikely but if you can reproduce the behaviour on another machine you could document the exact circumstances in a bug report.</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p>footnote 1</p>
<p>All <em>normal</em> Linux systems have a large number of default users and not just the one you use to log in normally. If you <code>cat /etc/passwd</code> you'll see a list. It will include a <code>root</code> user (and around a dozen others) unless the system has been substantially modified from the typical arrangement.</p>
<hr />
<p>footnote 2</p>
<p>You can make your own backups of the wallet.dat but, for extra reassurance, you could practice <a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/92634/13866">extracting the private key using the debug-console</a> then importing the data into a new wallet (of any type) on another computer and verifying that you can create spending transactions there.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T13:28:24.033Z
Well, it is definitely not a relative path. It has "/home" in the leftmost part, and the file is nowhere on my file system according to the find commands. As for chroot, I buy that it's a possible explanation, but I don't know how I would find out or what that means exactly. SELinux has not been installed by me, and AFAIK, Linux Mint doesn't do that on its own. But if so, why does that hide my files? The only other computer I have is this Windows one. Saving backup wallet.dats works perfectly well here with the same version as on the Linux Mint machine.
Willas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T13:28:51.657Z
And I don't know what to tell you in regards to the root user. I did not do anything weird and just followed the installer's questions and input fields.
Willas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T13:42:02.120Z
Let's say that this Bitcoin Core on Linux Mint is in some kind of "pretend-filesystem" inside of the real one. Okay. How do I get files out from there? How do I access it?
Willas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T13:42:42.720Z
And why would they just randomly add such a thing with not ONE WORD letting me know about it? I've already spent forever on syncing the blockchain... Now I don't even know how I'm going to get my wallet out from this damn machine.
Willas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T14:49:59.417Z
Notwithstanding your problem, you should be able to get the wallet by accessing the file `/home/a/.var/app/org.bitcoincore.bitcoin-qt/data/blablabla/wallet.dat` as mentioned in your question. You should be able to save this file manually as a backup.
csknk
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T14:52:24.460Z
@csknk That may be true, but the fact that it "pretend-saves" backup wallet files makes me question whether it really works at all... It's not a nice feeling to have when you are trusting it to secure your life savings in Bitcoin.
Willas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T17:12:07.303Z
The problem with "testing it on a different computer" is that the whole reason I do this on a dedicated computer is to make sure it doesn't get compromised. I don't plan to ever decrypt/unlock it on any other machine.
Willas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T12:52:21.787Z
2021-01-20T16:35:54.273Z
2021-01-20T16:35:54.273Z
RedGrittyBrick
<p>Linux Mint. Bitcoin Core 0.21.0.</p>
<p>I go to &quot;File&quot; and &quot;Backup wallet&quot;, then select any location. I've tried with <code>/home/a</code> and <code>/tmp</code> and others.</p>
<p>Every time, Bitcoin Core says that the file has been successfully saved to the location I picked.</p>
<p>Then I look at that location in the GUI file manager, as well as in the terminal. <strong>THE WALLET .DAT BACKUP FILES ARE JUST NOT THERE!</strong></p>
<p>I swear I'm not making this up and that I've enabled &quot;Show hidden files&quot; and tried everything to make sure that I'm not doing something wrong.</p>
<p>The files just are not saved, even though Bitcoin Core claims that they are. Why?</p>
<p>They are just not there on my file system. The only wallet.dat that exists is the actual one that Bitcoin Core itself saved, and it has put that in: <code>/home/a/.var/app/org.bitcoincore.bitcoin-qt/data/blablabla/wallet.dat</code></p>
<p>At this point, having tried and asked and searched so much, I'm starting to truly question my sanity as well as the QA of Linux/Bitcoin Core.</p>
<p>This is even worse than various file nonsense in Windows. Is there some secret, very well hidden setting that I need to enable to &quot;actually show the files&quot; or something? Beyond &quot;Show hidden files&quot;?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T11:08:38.303Z
Are you sure it is asking for a folder name and not a file name? (e.g. try entering "/tmp/backup-wallet.dat")
RedGrittyBrick
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T11:17:41.097Z
@RedGrittyBrick Yeah, but even so, I tried again after you asked. Same thing. Bitcoin Core says it was saved to `/home/a/test.dat`, and then I go to that location, and there is just no test.dat. And what's worse, if I then do "File", "Back up wallet" again, Bitcoin Core's file GUI box *does* show my test.dat in that dir...
Willas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T12:18:14.793Z
I think I would check that SELinux is not installed and `su` to root in a terminal to `ls -la /home/a` and maybe also check the directory size. Sounds pretty weird.
RedGrittyBrick
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T12:30:51.970Z
@RedGrittyBrick Unless "SELinux" is installed by default, it is not installed. And "su" just says "Authentication failed" every time it asks for the password. AFAIK, there was only one account set up in the installer, and that was the "a" user. No special "root" setup. I assumed that "a" *is* root.
Willas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T12:32:23.303Z
In the "users" section, there is only an "a" account and it's of type "Administrator".
Willas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T12:33:02.133Z
`sudo ls -la /home/a` asks for the password for "a", and I enter it, and then it runs that command, listing all the files. But no wallet.dat or test.dat or anything.dat.
Willas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T12:43:42.990Z
The only other thing I can think of at the moment is that Bitcoin Core is [chrooted](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chroot). I would try `sudo find / -name test.dat`
RedGrittyBrick
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T12:47:50.987Z
@RedGrittyBrick I did now, and it doesn't output any path with such a file. Only two "Permission denied" and two "Invalid argument" rows for weird `/run` and `/proc` paths. That's all it outputted. If it's in a "chroot", how do I get it out from that jail?
Willas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T17:16:05.260Z
Or, consider if Bitcoin Core is running in Docker or other container session, or is Flatpak. The install instructions on Linux are very simple, https://bitcoin.org/en/full-node#linux-instructions  --  What if you exit Bitcoin Core and launch with `bitcoin-qt &` and then attempt backup?
Willtech
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T18:04:22.453Z
@Willtech No "bitcoin-qt" and no "/usr/local/bin/bitcoin-qt".
Willas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-20T22:42:48.653Z
With Bitcoin Core running this command may reveal the path, `ps -e a | grep bitcoin`
Willtech
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-02-15T09:03:11.643Z
Do you have Linux Mint installed or are you using it within the install-disc test environment? In the second case, files saved to disc are generally not stored across reboots.
David
<bitcoin-core><wallet.dat><linux><debugging>
What possible explanation could there be that Bitcoin Core on Linux Mint claims to but does not save the wallet backups?
Willas
# What possible explanation could there be that Bitcoin Core on Linux Mint claims to but does not save the wallet backups?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-01-20)

Linux Mint. Bitcoin Core 0.21.0.

I go to "File" and "Backup wallet", then select any location. I've tried with `/home/a` and `/tmp` and others.

Every time, Bitcoin Core says that the file has been successfully saved to the location I picked.

Then I look at that location in the GUI file manager, as well as in the terminal. **THE WALLET .DAT BACKUP FILES ARE JUST NOT THERE!**

I swear I'm not making this up and that I've enabled "Show hidden files" and tried everything to make sure that I'm not doing something wrong.

The files just are not saved, even though Bitcoin Core claims that they are. Why?

They are just not there on my file system. The only wallet.dat that exists is the actual one that Bitcoin Core itself saved, and it has put that in: `/home/a/.var/app/org.bitcoincore.bitcoin-qt/data/blablabla/wallet.dat`

At this point, having tried and asked and searched so much, I'm starting to truly question my sanity as well as the QA of Linux/Bitcoin Core.

This is even worse than various file nonsense in Windows. Is there some secret, very well hidden setting that I need to enable to "actually show the files" or something? Beyond "Show hidden files"?

**Tags:** bitcoin-core, wallet.dat, linux, debugging

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Are you sure it is asking for a folder name and not a file name? (e.g. try entering "/tmp/backup-wallet.dat")  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Yeah, but even so, I tried again after you asked. Same thing. Bitcoin Core says it was saved to `/home/a/test.dat`, and then I go to that location, and there is just no test.dat. And what's worse, if I then do "File", "Back up wallet" again, Bitcoin Core's file GUI box *does* show my test.dat in that dir...  
> **username_1**: I think I would check that SELinux is not installed and `su` to root in a terminal to `ls -la /home/a` and maybe also check the directory size. Sounds pretty weird.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Unless "SELinux" is installed by default, it is not installed. And "su" just says "Authentication failed" every time it asks for the password. AFAIK, there was only one account set up in the installer, and that was the "a" user. No special "root" setup. I assumed that "a" *is* root.  
> **username_0**: In the "users" section, there is only an "a" account and it's of type "Administrator".  
> **username_0**: `sudo ls -la /home/a` asks for the password for "a", and I enter it, and then it runs that command, listing all the files. But no wallet.dat or test.dat or anything.dat.  
> **username_1**: The only other thing I can think of at the moment is that Bitcoin Core is [chrooted](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chroot). I would try `sudo find / -name test.dat`  
> **username_0**: @username_1 I did now, and it doesn't output any path with such a file. Only two "Permission denied" and two "Invalid argument" rows for weird `/run` and `/proc` paths. That's all it outputted. If it's in a "chroot", how do I get it out from that jail?  
> **username_2**: Or, consider if Bitcoin Core is running in Docker or other container session, or is Flatpak. The install instructions on Linux are very simple, https://bitcoin.org/en/full-node#linux-instructions  --  What if you exit Bitcoin Core and launch with `bitcoin-qt &` and then attempt backup?  
> **username_0**: @username_2 No "bitcoin-qt" and no "/usr/local/bin/bitcoin-qt".  
> **username_2**: With Bitcoin Core running this command may reveal the path, `ps -e a | grep bitcoin`  
> **username_3**: Do you have Linux Mint installed or are you using it within the install-disc test environment? In the second case, files saved to disc are generally not stored across reboots.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-01-20. Score: 0

> **What possible explanation could there be that Bitcoin Core on Linux Mint claims to but does not save the wallet backups?**

Possible explanations include:

* The path to the saved file is not what you think it is
  + using a [relative path rather than an absolute path](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Path_(computing)#Absolute_and_relative_paths)
  + using a [chrooted](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chroot) program
* Some higher level of security is preventing you seeing the files
  + [SELinux](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security-Enhanced_Linux)?
* There is a bug in Bitcoin core. This seems unlikely but if you can reproduce the behaviour on another machine you could document the exact circumstances in a bug report.

---

footnote 1

All *normal* Linux systems have a large number of default users and not just the one you use to log in normally. If you `cat /etc/passwd` you'll see a list. It will include a `root` user (and around a dozen others) unless the system has been substantially modified from the typical arrangement.

---

footnote 2

You can make your own backups of the wallet.dat but, for extra reassurance, you could practice [extracting the private key using the debug-console](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/92634/13866) then importing the data into a new wallet (of any type) on another computer and verifying that you can create spending transactions there.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Well, it is definitely not a relative path. It has "/home" in the leftmost part, and the file is nowhere on my file system according to the find commands. As for chroot, I buy that it's a possible explanation, but I don't know how I would find out or what that means exactly. SELinux has not been installed by me, and AFAIK, Linux Mint doesn't do that on its own. But if so, why does that hide my files? The only other computer I have is this Windows one. Saving backup wallet.dats works perfectly well here with the same version as on the Linux Mint machine.  
> **username_0**: And I don't know what to tell you in regards to the root user. I did not do anything weird and just followed the installer's questions and input fields.  
> **username_0**: Let's say that this Bitcoin Core on Linux Mint is in some kind of "pretend-filesystem" inside of the real one. Okay. How do I get files out from there? How do I access it?  
> **username_0**: And why would they just randomly add such a thing with not ONE WORD letting me know about it? I've already spent forever on syncing the blockchain... Now I don't even know how I'm going to get my wallet out from this damn machine.  
> **username_4**: Notwithstanding your problem, you should be able to get the wallet by accessing the file `/home/a/.var/app/org.bitcoincore.bitcoin-qt/data/blablabla/wallet.dat` as mentioned in your question. You should be able to save this file manually as a backup.  
> **username_0**: @username_4 That may be true, but the fact that it "pretend-saves" backup wallet files makes me question whether it really works at all... It's not a nice feeling to have when you are trusting it to secure your life savings in Bitcoin.  
> **username_0**: The problem with "testing it on a different computer" is that the whole reason I do this on a dedicated computer is to make sure it doesn't get compromised. I don't plan to ever decrypt/unlock it on any other machine.  

---

