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Merge #133: Improve modularity, remove dependency on nixops, add modules test
187ff884db add modules test (Erik Arvstedt)
826245484e make secrets dir location configurable (Erik Arvstedt)
b1e13e9415 simplify secrets file format (Erik Arvstedt)
314272a228 lnd, nanopos: move user and group definitions to the bottom (Erik Arvstedt)
766fa4f300 travis: cache all build outputs with cachix (Erik Arvstedt)
b0e759160d travis: set NIX_PATH as early as possible (Erik Arvstedt)
c51bbcf104 travis: move comment (Erik Arvstedt)
7092dce0c7 travis: remove use of deprecated statements (Erik Arvstedt)
190a92507c travis: split up scripts into statements (Erik Arvstedt)
10d6b04ac8 support enabling clightning and lnd simultaneously (Erik Arvstedt)
ad7a519284 bitcoind: wait until RPC port is open (Erik Arvstedt)
5536b64fb3 lnd: wait until wallet is created (Erik Arvstedt)
6f2a55d63c lnd: wait until RPC port is open (Erik Arvstedt)
1868bef462 lnd: add option 'rpcPort' (Erik Arvstedt)
120e3e8cfe lnd postStart: suppress curl response output (Erik Arvstedt)
3e86637327 lnd postStart: poll for REST service availability (Erik Arvstedt)
795c51dc01 lnd postStart: make more idiomatic (Erik Arvstedt)
6e58beae8a lnd: use postStart option for script (Erik Arvstedt)
86167c6e6d clightning: wait until the RPC socket appears (Erik Arvstedt)
60c732a6a1 onion-chef: set RemainAfterExit, fix tor dependency (Erik Arvstedt)
2b9b3ba1c5 systemPackages: improve readability with shorter service references (Erik Arvstedt)
14ecb5511a liquid: add cli option (Erik Arvstedt)
cd5ed39b9c lnd: add cli option (Erik Arvstedt)
1833b15888 clightning: add cli option (Erik Arvstedt)
b90bf6691b add generate-secrets.service (Erik Arvstedt)
6447694214 add generate-secrets pkg (Erik Arvstedt)
e34093a8ac generate_secrets.sh: add opensslConf option (Erik Arvstedt)
9d14d5ba64 generate_secrets.sh: write secrets to working directory (Erik Arvstedt)
51fb054001 generate_secrets.sh: extract makepw command (Erik Arvstedt)
e3b47ce18a add setup-secrets.service (Erik Arvstedt)
437b268433 extract make-secrets.nix (Erik Arvstedt)
f9c29b9318 simplify secret definitions (Erik Arvstedt)
cd0fd6926b don't copy secret files to store during nixops deployment (Erik Arvstedt)
f0a36fe0c7 add 'nix-bitcoin-services' option (Erik Arvstedt)
7aaf30501c nix-bitcoin-services: simplify formatting (Erik Arvstedt)
760da232e0 add nix-bitcoin pkgs namespace (Erik Arvstedt)
6def181dbc add modules.nix (Erik Arvstedt)
3b842e5fe7 add nix-bitcoin-secrets.target (Erik Arvstedt)
bbf2bbc04a network.nix: simplify import of main config (Erik Arvstedt)
7e021a2629 simplify overlay.nix (Erik Arvstedt)
07dc3e04ac move bitcoinrpc group definition to bitcoind (Erik Arvstedt)
d61b185c3a simplify user and group definitions (Erik Arvstedt)

Pull request description:

  The nix-bitcoin modules consist of three fundamental components:
  1. a set of bitcoin-related modules for general use.
  2. an opinionated configuration of these modules (`nix-bitcoin.nix`), to be deployed on a
     dedicated machine.
  3. machinery for nixops deployment.

  This PR removes dependencies that reach from top to bottom in the list.
  This means that 1. is now usable on its own and that 2. can be used without 3.

  Besides improving nix-bitcoin's general usefulness, this
  - simplifies testing. This PR includes a Travis-enabled modules test using the NixOS testing framework.
  - paves the way for krops deployment.
  - unlocks direct deployment in NixOS containers which allows for super fast experimentation.

  ### Details
  Here are the unnecessary inter-component dependencies and how they're resolved by the commits. I'm using the numbering from the list above.

  - `1. -> 3.` The modules (1.) use the nixops-specific (3.) `keys` group.
    Resolved by `add nix-bitcoin-secrets.target`.

  - `1. -> 3.` 1. requires nixops-specific key services.
    Resolved by `add nix-bitcoin-secrets.target`.

  - `1. -> 2.` bitcoind needs the bitcoinrpc group which is defined in `nix-bitcoin.nix` (2.).
    Resolved by `move bitcoinrpc group definition to bitcoind`.

  Further obstacles for standalone usage of 1.:

  - We can't easily import 1. as a standalone module set.
    Resolved by `add modules.nix`.

  - Users of 1. shouldn't be forced to import nix-bitcoin's packages as top-level items in the pkgs namespace.
    Resolved by `add nix-bitcoin pkgs namespace`.

  ### Non-nixops deployments
  Commit `add setup-secrets.service` simplifies non-nixops deployment methods like containers, NixOS VMs or krops.

  Secrets can now deployed as follows:
  1. create local secrets.
  2. transfer secrets to machine.
  3. on the machine, `setup-secrets.service` creates extra secrets from `secrets.nix` and sets owner and
     permissions for all secrets.

  As krops integrates step 2. we now have all ingredients for automatic krops deployment.

  The service is complicated by the creation of secrets like `bitcoin-rpcpassword` that are composed of attrs from `secrets.nix` instead of being simply backed by a file like `lnd_key`. We could simplify this by creating all secret files locally.

  Running nix-bitcoin in NixOS containers gives you faster rebuild cycles when developing. [Here's](https://gist.github.com/5db4fa7dd3f1137920b58e39647116f6) an example.

  ### Test
  The last commits starting with `clightning: add cli option` are testing-related and mostly fix non-critical bugs that were exposed by the test.

  All `STABLE=1` builds from the Travis build matrix are implicit in the modules test.
  Should we remove these individual builds?

  Regarding commit `travis: cache all build outputs with cachix`:
  To replace my cache with a cache that's owned by you (maybe named `nix-bitcoin-ci`), run
  ```
  nix-shell -p travis --run 'travis encrypt CACHIX_SIGNING_KEY=... -r fort-nix/nix-bitcoin'
  ```
  where `...` is the value of `secretKey` in `~/.config/cachix/cachix.dhall`. Let me know the travis secret and I'll fixup the commit.

  ### Docs
  If you like the proposed changes, I'll add another PR with updates to the docs regarding the project layout, non-nixops deployment, and how to use nix-bitcoin within a larger NixOS config.

ACKs for top commit:
  jonasnick:
    ACK 187ff884db

Tree-SHA512: f4be65215c592a4f41bb7fa991a6d8d7c463cf631b88bf53051ca57ba280e7a60b8b09d0d1521345d5b656f844daa2166fff5d00a3105077c9e263465eacfb0a
2020-01-13 08:22:17 +00:00
docs Rename contrib/ to helper/ 2019-11-11 18:45:17 +01:00
helper travis: cache all build outputs with cachix 2020-01-13 00:25:11 +01:00
modules Merge #133: Improve modularity, remove dependency on nixops, add modules test 2020-01-13 08:22:17 +00:00
network make secrets dir location configurable 2020-01-13 00:25:12 +01:00
pkgs simplify secrets file format 2020-01-13 00:25:11 +01:00
test add modules test 2020-01-13 00:25:12 +01:00
.gitignore add setup-secrets.service 2020-01-12 20:02:01 +01:00
.travis.yml add modules test 2020-01-13 00:25:12 +01:00
LICENSE Add license 2019-01-02 14:03:52 +00:00
README.md Mention problems with hardened kernel and NUCs in README 2019-08-19 20:51:46 +00:00
configuration.nix Instruct user to backup channel.backup 2019-08-25 01:27:02 +02:00
default.nix simplify overlay.nix 2020-01-09 10:43:29 +01:00
overlay.nix simplify overlay.nix 2020-01-09 10:43:29 +01:00
shell.nix simplify secrets file format 2020-01-13 00:25:11 +01:00

README.md

nix-bitcoin

Nix packages and nixos modules for easily installing Bitcoin nodes and higher layer protocols with an emphasis on security. This is a work in progress - don't expect it to be bug free or secure.

The default configuration sets up a Bitcoin Core node and c-lightning. The user can enable spark-wallet in configuration.nix to make c-lightning accessible with a smartphone using spark-wallet. A simple webpage shows the lightning nodeid and links to nanopos letting the user receive donations. It also includes elements-daemon. Outbound peer-to-peer traffic is forced through Tor, and listening services are bound to onion addresses.

A demo installation is running at http://6tr4dg3f2oa7slotdjp4syvnzzcry2lqqlcvqkfxdavxo6jsuxwqpxad.onion. The following screen cast shows a fresh deployment of a nix-bitcoin node.

The goal is to make it easy to deploy a reasonably secure Bitcoin node with a usable wallet. It should allow managing bitcoin (the currency) effectively and providing public infrastructure. It should be a reproducible and extensible platform for applications building on Bitcoin.

Available modules

By default the configuration.nix provides:

  • bitcoind with outbound connections through Tor and inbound connections through a hidden service. By default loaded with banlist of spy nodes.
  • clightning with outbound connections through Tor, not listening
  • includes "nodeinfo" script which prints basic info about the node
  • adds non-root user "operator" which has access to bitcoin-cli and lightning-cli

In configuration.nix the user can enable:

  • a clightning hidden service
  • liquid
  • lightning charge
  • nanopos
  • an index page using nginx to display node information and link to nanopos
  • spark-wallet
  • electrs
  • recurring-donations, a module to repeatedly send lightning payments to recipients specified in the configuration.
  • bitcoin-core-hwi.
    • You no longer need extra software to connect your hardware wallet to Bitcoin Core. Use Bitcoin Core's own Hardware Wallet Interface with one configuration.nix setting.

The data directories of the services can be found in /var/lib on the deployed machines.

Installation

The easiest way is to run nix-shell (on a Linux machine) in the nix-bitcoin directory and then create a NixOps deployment with the provided network.nix in the network directory. Fix the FIXMEs in configuration.nix and deploy with nixops in nix-shell. See install.md for a detailed tutorial.

Security

  • Simplicity: Only services you select in configuration.nix and their dependencies are installed, packages and dependencies are pinned, most packages are built from the nixos stable channel, with a few exceptions that are built from the nixpkgs unstable channel, builds happen in a sandboxed environment, code is continiously reviewed and refined.
  • Integrity: Nix package manager, NixOS and packages can be built from source to reduce reliance on binary caches, nix-bitcoin merge commits are signed, all commits are approved by multiple nix-bitcoin developers, upstream packages are cryptographically verified where possible, we use this software ourselves.
  • Principle of Least Privilege: Services operate with least privileges; they each have their own user and are restricted further with systemd options, there's a non-root user operator to interact with the various services.
  • Defense-in-depth: nix-bitcoin is built with a hardened kernel by default, services are confined through discretionary access control, Linux namespaces, and seccomp-bpf with continuous improvements.

Note that nix-bitcoin is still experimental. Also, by design if the machine you're deploying from is insecure, there is nothing nix-bitcoin can do to protect itself.

Hardware requirements

  • Disk space: 300 GB (235GB for Bitcoin blockchain + some room)
    • Bitcoin Core pruning is not supported at the moment because it's not supported by c-lightning. It's possible to use pruning but you need to know what you're doing.
  • RAM: 2GB of memory. ECC memory is better. Additionally, it's recommended to use DDR4 memory with targeted row refresh (TRR) enabled (https://rambleed.com/).

Tested hardware includes pcengine's apu2c4, GB-BACE-3150, GB-BACE-3160. Some hardware (including Intel NUCs) may not be compatible with the hardened kernel turned on by default (see https://github.com/fort-nix/nix-bitcoin/issues/39#issuecomment-517366093 for a workaround).

Usage

For usage instructions, such as how to connect to spark-wallet, electrs and the ssh Tor Hidden Service, see usage.md.

Troubleshooting

If you are having problems with nix-bitcoin check the FAQ or submit an issue. There's also a #nix-bitcoin IRC channel on freenode. We are always happy to help.

Docs