liana/doc/TRY.md

Quickly try out Liana in a test environment

(Updated on of 2023)

This document is a short set of instructions for trying out Liana on Bitcoin signet, a test network using value-less bitcoins. It does not attempt to give any nuance, details or describe alternative configurations.

This guide will make use Liana as a "hot wallet". You can also connect your Ledger or SpecterDIY hardware signer, (and maybe by the time you read this guide, Bitbox, Coldcard and Jade - integration is coming soon). If you'd like to try out Liana using emulators of hardware signing device you can use the Specter simulator or the Ledger "Speculos" emulator.

Step 0: preparation

System dependencies

If you are using Windows or MacOS, you can skip this step.

Here is a list of the system dependencies: the tools and libraries you need to have installed on your system to follow the guide if you are running Linux.

• Debian/Ubuntu: dependencies are handled by the .deb package, you can skip this step
• Arch Linux/Manjaro/Endeavor: The AUR package handles the dependencies, you can skip this step.
• NixOS: The Liana package handles the dependencies, you can skip this step.
• Other distribution: see the link to projects below to search for the name of your distribution's packages.
  • fontconfig
  • Libudev
• Running binaries requires GLIBC >= 2.33 (Ubuntu >= 22.04 or Debian >= 12)

We'll use basic tools which should already be present on your system, such as:

• shasum
• tar

To download and verify binaries you will also need:

• curl (On Debian/Ubuntu apt install curl)
• gpg (On Debian/Ubuntu apt install gpg)

To run the GUI you will need some additional libraries:

Throwaway folder

You can follow the guide from any folder of your choice. We recommend creating a new dedicated folder you can wipe easily after testing.

If you are using a Linux terminal:

mkdir liana_quicktry
cd liana_quicktry

Step 1: setup bitcoind

Liana needs bitcoind to communicate with the Bitcoin network. Minimum supported version is 24.0.1.

If it is the first time you start a signet Bitcoin on this machine it will take a few minutes to
synchronize (depends on your connection and hardware of course, but it shouldn't take longer than a
handful of minutes). You can track the progress using the `getblockchaininfo` command. On Linux:

./bitcoin-25.0/bin/bitcoin-cli -signet getblockchaininfo

**You do not need to wait for full synchronisation before moving on to the next step.**


## Step 2: start Liana

Head to the [release page](https://github.com/wizardsardine/liana/releases) and download the right
executable for your platform. If you are not sure what is the "right" executable for your platform,
choose `Liana.zip` if you are on MacOS, `liana-1.0.exe` if you are on Windows, and
`liana-1.0-x86_64-linux-gnu.tar.gz` if you are on Linux.

A note for **Linux users only**: released binaries may not be working on your system if it is
running a too old glibc. In this case you may have to build from source. See the [short section
about this in the README](../README.md#a-note-on-linux-binaries-and-glibc-version).

For every file available on the release page, there is an accompanying `.asc` file with the same
name. This is a GPG signature made with Antoine Poinsot's key:
`590B7292695AFFA5B672CBB2E13FC145CD3F4304`. This key is available elsewhere for cross-checking, such
as on [his Twitter profile](https://twitter.com/darosior) or his [personal
website](http://download.darosior.ninja/antoine_poinsot_0xE13FC145CD3F4304.txt). It is recommended
you verify your download against this key.

At startup, you will have the choice between starting Liana using an existing configuration or to
set up a new one. Choose to install Liana on a new Bitcoin network.

The next screen allows you to either configure a new wallet, participate in the configuration of a
new wallet (if you are taking part in a multisig for instance), or to recover a wallet from backup.
Choose to create a new wallet.

Choose Bitcoin Signet as network. Now you will need to configure the primary key(s), the recovery
key(s), and the time delay before the recovery keys become available (in # of blocks). We'll use
only one key for both the primary and recovery paths. We'll derive both keys from a "hot signer", a
HD wallet whose seed is stored on the laptop.

Click on "Set" for the primary key. Click on "This computer" and set an alias for this signer. I'll
name it Alice but choose whatever. Set any timelock you want but preferably something very small if
you want to try the timelocked recovery feature! I'll go for "2" as the timelock. Click on "Set" for
the recovery key, and choose "This computer" again.

Of course, it wouldn't make sense for a real wallet to use the same signing device to derive both
the primary and recovery keys. Or even to use hot keys at all with a non-trivial amount of coins. We
only do this for convenience in testing Liana on Signet. If you'd like to try out signing with a
hardware wallet you can use the "testnet" mode of a Specter, the "Bitcoin testnet" app of a Ledger,
or the simulator of any of them (see the links at the top of this document).

Click on next. If you want to try restoring from wallet backup later on, make sure to backup the
mnemonic as well as the descriptor in the next two screens. Otherwise just make them happy by
ticking the boxes. If you are using a signing device simulator you'll have a step for registering
the descriptor on it.

You can then decide whether you would like to manage `bitcoind` yourself or let Liana configure
and start/stop it while the GUI is being used:
- If you choose to manage `bitcoind` yourself, the next step will be to configure the connection.
The default should work for what we did in this guide.
- If you choose to let Liana manage `bitcoind`, the next step will search for a `bitcoind`
executable on your computer and start it, using `<Liana data directory>/bitcoind_datadir` as the
data directory and creating a `bitcoin.conf` file therein.

Click on continue and finalize the installation.

In the case of a Liana-managed `bitcoind`, it will be automatically started the next time you
start Liana for the given network.

## Step 3: have fun

You can generate a receive address in the "Receive" menu. You can get signet coins from the signet
faucet at https://signet.bc-2.jp/.

If you want to try the timelocked recovery path, receive some coins and wait for some blocks (2 for
my own configuration, but it depends on what you configured previously). Then you can click on
"recover funds" in "Settings" > "Recovery".

Keep in mind that signet coins have no value!


## Cleanup

You need to remove:
- The Bitcoin Core archive, binary and data directory
- The Liana binary and data directory

Assuming you used the throwaway folder as advised in step 0 and did not use custom `bitcoind` or
Liana data directories you can wipe everything using these commands:

cd .. rm -rf liana_quicktry rm -rf ~/.bitcoin/signet rm -rf ~/.liana/signet

## Tips & Tricks 

### Simulating multiple wallets

You can simulate multiple wallets by using different data directories. For instance:

./liana-gui --datadir test_alice ./liana-gui --datadir test_bob ./liana-gui --datadir test_charlie

The directory will be created if it doesn't exist.