<p>I think it is also important to note that the upcoming Bitcoin 0.10 release includes headers first download, and parallel full block download. That significantly decreases the sync time if you have a reasonable fast internet connection. It is currently at rc1 status, but seems reasonably stable, so if sync time is a serious concern you may want to check it out.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-17T08:10:39.507Z
0.10 is now stable and already on 0.10.2 (https://bitcoin.org/bin/bitcoin-core-0.10.2/).
Jonas Schnelli
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-31T17:11:03.220Z
2014-12-31T17:11:03.220Z
Matt
<p>To <strong>download the blockchain with maximal speed</strong> you want to be connected to <strong>nodes with high bandwidth</strong>. </p>

<p>On default bitcoin will search and connect to random nodes. One can add nodes to bitcoin conf to tell bitcoin to connect to specific nodes.</p>

<p>To add a node to the bitcoin client to connect to, add the following to the bitcoin.conf file in:
Windows:<code>/appdata/roaming/bitcoin/bitcoin.conf</code></p>

<p>Linux: <code>$USER/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf</code></p>

<p>ADD THIS TO BITCOIN.CONF</p>

<pre><code>addnode=127.0.0.1
</code></pre>

<p>To find high bandwidth nodes go to: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>blockchain.info/hub-nodes</p>
</blockquote>

<p>for example and browse the hub nodes section.
It is not required to add the node port, bitcoind will find the correct port.</p>

<p>....
Enjoy downloading at full speed.</p>

<p>EDIT: since the question / answer gained such an attention i decided to make this a community wiki :)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-01T18:30:47.707Z
I was confused that bitcoin.conf wasn't there, wondering if something had changed. But it turns out you can just create it (coming from: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Running_Bitcoin#Bitcoin.conf_Configuration_File).
Adam Millerchip
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-12T13:06:45.520Z
When I go to [`http://blockchain.info/hub-nodes`](http://blockchain.info/hub-nodes) there are no nodes listed.  The page has headers for information such as IP, Relay Count, etc but no actual data.  In the sites footer there is a link to [`https://blockchain.info/connected-nodes`](https://blockchain.info/connected-nodes) is this the same thing?
User
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-12T13:13:55.267Z
Does this answer apply anymore to bitcoin core version 0.11.2?  Under Windows 10 there is no Bitcoin folder anywhere under AppData.
User
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-13T00:01:35.467Z
For fun & learning only ... another little hack - https://github.com/alphaaurigae/log-est-connections  - with the script you can log ips on a specific port to a file. Theoretically one could use it to compile a list of add nodes / seed nodes . However, i feel this might be against some crypto basics not centralizing the connections. Use with care. Additionally, heres a sed script sample to modify the crypto source for more connections - however . your node will be marked "dirty" of course but makes thousands of connections.
Aurigae
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-05T20:21:41.350Z
2016-04-05T01:39:26.180Z
2016-04-05T01:39:26.180Z
Aurigae
<p>How to download the blockchain with full bandwidth?</p>

<p><strong>How to download the blockchain fast?</strong></p>

<blockchain><blockchain.info><synchronization>
What is the fastest possible way to download the blockchain?
Aurigae
# What is the fastest possible way to download the blockchain?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-07-05)

How to download the blockchain with full bandwidth?

**How to download the blockchain fast?**

**Tags:** blockchain, blockchain.info, synchronization


---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2013-07-05. Score: 11 | Accepted answer

To **download the blockchain with maximal speed** you want to be connected to **nodes with high bandwidth**.

On default bitcoin will search and connect to random nodes. One can add nodes to bitcoin conf to tell bitcoin to connect to specific nodes.

To add a node to the bitcoin client to connect to, add the following to the bitcoin.conf file in:
Windows:`/appdata/roaming/bitcoin/bitcoin.conf`

Linux: `$USER/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf`

ADD THIS TO BITCOIN.CONF

```
addnode=127.0.0.1

```

To find high bandwidth nodes go to:

> blockchain.info/hub-nodes

for example and browse the hub nodes section.
It is not required to add the node port, bitcoind will find the correct port.

....
Enjoy downloading at full speed.

EDIT: since the question / answer gained such an attention i decided to make this a community wiki :)

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: I was confused that bitcoin.conf wasn't there, wondering if something had changed. But it turns out you can just create it (coming from: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Running_Bitcoin#Bitcoin.conf_Configuration_File).  
> **username_4**: When I go to [`http://blockchain.info/hub-nodes`](http://blockchain.info/hub-nodes) there are no nodes listed.  The page has headers for information such as IP, Relay Count, etc but no actual data.  In the sites footer there is a link to [`https://blockchain.info/connected-nodes`](https://blockchain.info/connected-nodes) is this the same thing?  
> **username_4**: Does this answer apply anymore to bitcoin core version 0.11.2?  Under Windows 10 there is no Bitcoin folder anywhere under AppData.  
> **username_0**: For fun & learning only ... another little hack - https://github.com/alphaaurigae/log-est-connections  - with the script you can log ips on a specific port to a file. Theoretically one could use it to compile a list of add nodes / seed nodes . However, i feel this might be against some crypto basics not centralizing the connections. Use with care. Additionally, heres a sed script sample to modify the crypto source for more connections - however . your node will be marked "dirty" of course but makes thousands of connections.  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-12-31. Score: 3

I think it is also important to note that the upcoming Bitcoin 0.10 release includes headers first download, and parallel full block download. That significantly decreases the sync time if you have a reasonable fast internet connection. It is currently at rc1 status, but seems reasonably stable, so if sync time is a serious concern you may want to check it out.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: 0.10 is now stable and already on 0.10.2 (https://bitcoin.org/bin/bitcoin-core-0.10.2/).  

---

