## Downloads — PotCoin Core 2.0.1

All seven builds come from the same `guix-build-2.0.1/` output. Each ships both the Qt GUI (`potcoin-qt`) and the CLI tools (`potcoind`, `potcoin-cli`, `potcoin-tx`).

### Windows

#### 🪟 Installer (recommended)

- **Filename**: `potcoin-2.0.1-win64-setup.exe`
- **Size**: 12 MB · Windows 10/11 x64  
- [Download installer](https://explorer.potcoin.com/downloads/potcoin-2.0.1-win64-setup.exe)
- **SHA-256**: 22f603b861e58bb3bd75b105cbb6ddae05490dd87b09a07c870481a1d0e8fd66

#### 🪟 Portable ZIP

- **Filename**: `potcoin-2.0.1-win64.zip`
- **Size**: 15 MB · Windows 10/11 x64  
- [Download zip](https://explorer.potcoin.com/downloads/potcoin-2.0.1-win64.zip)
- **SHA-256**: b3c4aa83d1b7de9f886b0c8b04da000ba2d199a5cae3e8ff98df674a7487d789

### macOS

#### 🍎 Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3)

- **Filename**: `potcoin-2.0.1-arm64-apple-darwin.tar.gz`
- **Size**: 9.7 MB · macOS 11+  
- [Download tarball](https://explorer.potcoin.com/downloads/potcoin-2.0.1-arm64-apple-darwin.tar.gz)
- **SHA-256**: 58e2a8845e481088deda812b568cc87abb9cccd6edd9b9f15834c6310d55eb79

#### 🍎 Intel x86_64

- **Filename**: `potcoin-2.0.1-x86_64-apple-darwin.tar.gz`
- **Size**: 11 MB · macOS 10.15+  
- [Download tarball](https://explorer.potcoin.com/downloads/potcoin-2.0.1-x86_64-apple-darwin.tar.gz)
- **SHA-256**: a899aa51025e2a321c4638f55d95197aa9dcc89220cf84b0d3258b75998494c0

### Linux

#### 🐧 x86_64 (desktop)

- **Filename**: `potcoin-2.0.1-x86_64-linux-gnu.tar.gz`
- **Size**: 16 MB · glibc 2.28+  
- [Download tarball](https://explorer.potcoin.com/downloads/potcoin-2.0.1-x86_64-linux-gnu.tar.gz)
- **SHA-256**: cd30fa9b28a8bbcd1366b450d1b274230b8ec6be251c02947ef1bd678023b82b

#### 🥧 aarch64 (Pi 4/5, 64-bit)

- **Filename**: `potcoin-2.0.1-aarch64-linux-gnu.tar.gz`
- **Size**: 16 MB · Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit, Ubuntu ARM  
- [Download tarball](https://explorer.potcoin.com/downloads/potcoin-2.0.1-aarch64-linux-gnu.tar.gz)
- **SHA-256**: 89d57bed5d67acc904acc09905efe8d8259ee0d96da2f87395edf7eb1e73a4b7

#### 🥧 armhf (Pi 2/3 32-bit)

- **Filename**: `potcoin-2.0.1-arm-linux-gnueabihf.tar.gz`
- **Size**: 14 MB · 32-bit ARM, hard-float  
- [Download tarball](https://explorer.potcoin.com/downloads/potcoin-2.0.1-arm-linux-gnueabihf.tar.gz)
- **SHA-256**: 2184c52ca1d4571c70bed09415899572c7a96e4b9381de8eb0aad85a29962bcc

All hashes: [SHA256SUMS](https://explorer.potcoin.com/downloads/SHA256SUMS)

**Verify before you run.** Compare the SHA-256 on your machine against the value shown above. A matching hash proves the file was not tampered with in transit.

### Verify the download

```
# macOS / Linux
shasum -a 256 potcoin-2.0.1-*.tar.gz
sha256sum  potcoin-2.0.1-*.tar.gz

# Windows PowerShell
Get-FileHash potcoin-2.0.1-win64-setup.exe -Algorithm SHA256
```

## Install on Windows

1. ### Run the installer  
   Double-click `potcoin-2.0.1-win64-setup.exe`. SmartScreen may warn because the binary is newly signed — click **More info → Run anyway**.

2. ### Choose an install location  
   Default is `C:\Program Files\PotCoin\`. Data goes to `%APPDATA%\PotCoin\`.

3. ### Launch PotCoin Core  
   Start menu → PotCoin. On first run the daemon will scan for a blockchain data directory; if none exists it'll download from peers. Allow a few hours on the first sync.
   
   Prefer the portable ZIP? Unzip anywhere, then run `potcoin-qt.exe` from the `bin\` folder. Data still lands in `%APPDATA%\PotCoin\` unless you pass `-datadir=`.

## Install on macOS

Pick the right arch: **Apple Silicon** (M1/M2/M3/M4) uses `arm64-apple-darwin`; older Intel Macs use `x86_64-apple-darwin`. Running under Rosetta works but is slower — prefer the native arch.

1. ### Extract the tarball  
   ```
   cd ~/Downloads
   tar -xzf potcoin-2.0.1-arm64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
   cd potcoin-2.0.1/bin
   ```

2. ### First launch (Gatekeeper)  
   macOS will quarantine unsigned binaries. Either right-click `potcoin-qt` → Open (then confirm), or strip the quarantine attribute:
   ```
   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine ~/Downloads/potcoin-2.0.1/
   ```

3. ### Launch the GUI  
   ```
   ./potcoin-qt
   ```
   Config + data dir: `~/Library/Application Support/PotCoin/`. Move the app bundle to `/Applications/` if you want a tidy Launchpad entry.

## Install on Linux (x86_64 or ARM)

1. ### Extract  
   ```
   tar -xzf potcoin-2.0.1-x86_64-linux-gnu.tar.gz
   cd potcoin-2.0.1
   ```

2. ### Run the GUI (or install system-wide)  
   ```
   # run directly
   ./bin/potcoin-qt

# or install
   sudo install -m 0755 -o root -g root -t /usr/local/bin bin/*
   potcoin-qt
   ```

3. ### Headless? Use potcoind + potcoin-cli  
   ```
   # start the daemon in background
   potcoind -daemon

# check sync progress
   potcoin-cli getblockchaininfo | jq '.blocks,.headers,.verificationprogress'

# stop cleanly
   potcoin-cli stop
   ```
   
   **Raspberry Pi:** the aarch64 build runs on 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS on Pi 4 or Pi 5. 32-bit installs use the armhf tarball. Either way, give the daemon 2+ GB RAM headroom and prefer an SSD over SD card for the chain data — initial sync on microSD is painful.

## First-run checklist

1. ### Create & encrypt your wallet  
   GUI: _Settings → Encrypt Wallet_. Pick a strong passphrase; write it down on paper and store it somewhere fireproof. Losing it means losing your coins — there is no reset.
   
   CLI:  
   ```
   potcoin-cli encryptwallet "my-strong-passphrase"
   # wallet is now locked until you unlockwallet
   potcoin-cli walletpassphrase "my-strong-passphrase" 600
   ```

2. ### Back up `wallet.dat`  
   Your wallet lives in a single file inside the data directory. Close the wallet before copying — the file should be copied at rest, not during a write.
   
   ```
   # Windows:  %APPDATA%\PotCoin\wallets\wallet.dat
   # macOS:    ~/Library/Application Support/PotCoin/wallets/wallet.dat
   # Linux:    ~/.potcoin/wallets/wallet.dat
   ```
   
   GUI equivalent: _File → Backup Wallet…_

3. ### Wait for first sync  
   The client downloads and validates every block back to genesis. On an SSD this takes under an hour; on a Pi over microSD it can take a day. The sync indicator in the bottom-right shows progress.

4. ### Generate a receiving address  
   GUI: _Receive → Create new receiving address_. CLI: `potcoin-cli getnewaddress`. PotCoin addresses start with a capital **P**.

## Optional — `potcoin.conf`

A small config file in your data directory lets you tune behaviour without command-line flags. The daemon reads it at startup.

```
# ~/.potcoin/potcoin.conf  (or macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/PotCoin/potcoin.conf)

# RPC — only needed if you script potcoin-cli or want external RPC access
server=1
rpcuser=rpcuser
rpcpassword=
rpcallowip=127.0.0.1

# Connect to our public seed + DNS seed (helps first-time peer discovery)
addnode=seeds.potcoin.com
dnsseed=1

# Staking: keep the wallet online + unlocked to stake and earn 1% APR
staking=1
walletnotify=echo "[POT] tx %s" | logger

# Pruning (optional) — cap chain data at ~2 GB. Turn off if you plan to reindex.
# prune=2000
```

## Staking from the desktop wallet

PotCoin is pure Proof-of-Stake after block 500. Any UTXO older than the minimum stake age is eligible. To stake:

1. Keep the wallet **unlocked for staking only**. GUI: _Settings → Unlock Wallet → Unlock for staking only_. CLI: `potcoin-cli walletpassphrase "passphrase" 0 true` (0 = indefinite, `true` = staking-only).
2. Leave the client running. Kernels are tested each second — the more coin-age you have, the more often you win a block.
3. Rewards appear as _generated, immature_ until they mature (~520 confirmations).

See the [staking deep-dive](/content/tutorials/staking.html) for the kernel math + how to optimise UTXO sizes.

## potcoin-cli — useful commands

```
# chain state
potcoin-cli getblockchaininfo
potcoin-cli getblockcount
potcoin-cli getdifficulty

# wallet state
potcoin-cli getbalance
potcoin-cli listunspent
potcoin-cli getstakinginfo          # staking weight, expected time to next stake

# addresses + transactions
potcoin-cli getnewaddress "label"
potcoin-cli sendtoaddress P... 10
potcoin-cli gettransaction <txid>

# network + peers
potcoin-cli getpeerinfo
potcoin-cli getnetworkinfo

# bridge to Solana (moves mainchain POT to SPL POT via the bridge escrow)
potcoin-cli bridgetosol <solana_addr> <amount>

# shut down cleanly (always do this before backing up wallet.dat)
potcoin-cli stop
```

## Safety rules

- **Write the passphrase on paper.** Digital copies get lost, phished, or encrypted by ransomware. Paper survives.
- **Back up `wallet.dat` every time you generate a new address.** Each address uses keys from the same internal pool; backups lag behind by default if you keep creating new addresses without refreshing them.
- **Never share `wallet.dat` or `debug.log`.** The debug log can leak addresses; the wallet file, obviously, is the coins themselves.
- **Verify SHA-256 before installing.** See the hashes above. If the download is tampered with, the hash won't match.
- **Consider a paper wallet for long-term storage.** See the [paper wallet guide](/content/tutorials/paper-wallet.html) — key generation offline, spending keys never touch a networked machine.

## Next steps

- [Staking deep-dive](/content/tutorials/staking.html) — 1% APR PoS mechanics
- [Bridge POT ↔ Solana](/content/tutorials/bridge.html) — use `bridgetosol` to move coins to SPL
- [Paper wallet](/content/tutorials/paper-wallet.html) — cold storage generator
- [Tor config](/content/tutorials/tor.html) — run the daemon over an onion service.