Most cumulative proven work wins, Bitcoin-style. Two blocks at the same height carry equal work, so that tie goes to the lower VDF output, not to whichever arrived first. A height stays open to a better sibling for a few seconds (LAPSECOIN_DRAW_WINDOW_SECONDS) so the comparison can happen; work on the next height never stops meanwhile.

Block timing is enforced by a VDF anchored to real elapsed time, believed to have a much smaller hardware-advantage gap than proof-of-work. Transactions are ordinary and plaintext, with sender-bid fees, much like Bitcoin's own. Signatures are FALCON-512 (quantum-resistant). Full spec in docs/whitepaper.md.

Requires Python 3.11+.

Linux/macOS:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Lapsecoin/core/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Lapsecoin/core/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

Then: lapsecoin. Installs build tools if missing, then the app; falls back to skipping libtorrent (with a starter peers list) only if that's what fails.

pip install pyinstaller cairosvg Pillow miniupnpc
make linux    # on Linux
make windows  # on Windows

Produces a self-contained binary in dist/. Requires cmake, ninja, and a C compiler (on Windows, also liboqs and MSVC redistributables).

A node too old to speak the current wire format is refused at the handshake, so it sits alone mining a chain nobody sees. Old formats aren't carried forever, so some updates are mandatory. The version number says which:

Alone with no peers after everyone else updated? Check your version first.

port+3 is reserved for the DHT subsystem (libtorrent). Port 18334 is fixed and reserved across every node for same-network peer discovery (broadcast-based, finds other LapseCoin nodes on your LAN automatically regardless of their own port). Don't bind other services to either.

The passphrase is required to start the node. By default you're prompted via getpass (nothing touches shell history or ps). For Docker/systemd/CI, set it non-interactively instead:

export LAPSECOIN_PASSPHRASE="your passphrase"
python main.py

There is no --passphrase flag, since it was removed because it leaked into ps aux and shell history.

The peer port can be set the same way, which is often easier than a flag in a container or unit file:

export LAPSECOIN_PORT=8444
python main.py

--port still wins if you pass it, so the variable sets the default rather than overriding what you typed. The private port follows from it as usual unless you set --private-port.

The log level can be set the same way:

export LAPSECOIN_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG
python main.py

--log-level still wins if you pass it.

Node-local settings live on the private wallet UI under Settings, and each can also be set by environment variable. The environment wins, so a container or unit file can force a value for one launch without overwriting what's saved; a value set that way shows on the page as forced rather than editable.

Upgrading from 0.6.2 or earlier with the privacy setting on? That version created a second key file, lapsecoin_key.json.privacy, and advertised its address for peers to pay. Nodes no longer advertise an address at all, so nothing creates or uses that file any more, but yours still exists and may hold what peers already sent it. Keep it, and back it up. It is an ordinary key file with its own salt, so the same passphrase opens it on its own whenever you want those funds.