Finding Bitcoin Balance via Command Line: A Step-by-Step Guide
When it comes to managing your cryptocurrency assets, including Bitcoin, finding the balance of your wallet on a command line can be a daunting task. In this article, we’ll walk you through the process of finding your Bitcoin balance using the bitcoin-cli command and other relevant tools.
Why Use bitcoin-cli?
Before diving into the steps below, let’s quickly cover why bitcoin-cli is useful for managing Bitcoin:
- Wallet Management:
bitcoin-cliallows you to create, manage, and interact with your Bitcoin wallet.
- Transaction Tracking: You can use
bitcoin-clito track transactions involving your Bitcoin account.
Step 1: Install bitcoin-cli
Before you can start using bitcoin-cli, you need to install it on your Linux system. If you’re new to Linux, installing bitcoin-cli is easy:
- On Ubuntu-based systems (e.g., Debian):
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install bitcoin-cli
- On Red Hat-based systems (e.g., RHEL, CentOS):
sudo yum install bitcoin-cli
Step 2: Find Your Bitcoin Balance with bitcoin-cli
To find your Bitcoin balance using the command line, follow these steps:
- Open a terminal on your Linux system.
- Run the following command to list all Bitcoin addresses associated with your account:
bitcoin-cli getaddresslist --addresses
- This will display a list of Bitcoin addresses linked to your wallet.
Step 3: Get Your Balance
To find your current balance, use the getbalance command:
- Run the following command to get your balance:
bitcoin-cli getbalance --from=latest --address=
Replace
Step 4: Check Your Balance in a Specific Address
If you want to check your balance in a specific address, replace latest with current and
bitcoin-cli getbalance --from=current --address=
That’s it! You can now find your Bitcoin balance using the command line with these simple steps.
Alternative Methods
If you prefer not to use bitcoin-cli, there are other tools available that offer similar functionality. Some popular alternatives include:
- Bitcoin Core: A standalone Bitcoin client that allows you to manage your wallet and track transactions.
- Electrum: A popular, user-friendly Bitcoin wallet that also offers transaction tracking capabilities.
- BTCPay
: A cryptocurrency payment processing platform that includes features for managing Bitcoin balances.
While these alternatives may offer more features or a steeper learning curve, they can provide additional functionality and convenience when managing your Bitcoin assets.