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Guides · Nodes

Run your own Bitcoin node with Umbrel

Your own node checks the rules itself. Your wallet stops asking strangers about your addresses. Umbrel makes it a few clicks.

Beginner · 1 hour of work, then days of waiting · 10 steps · Free

Printed from few.guide.

What you need5 items
  • A Raspberry Pi 5, or a small PCUmbrel recommends the Pi 5. Any 64-bit Intel or AMD PC also works: 4 GB memory minimum, 8 GB or more recommended.
  • A 2 TB SSDBitcoin needs over 1 TB and keeps growing. SSD, not a spinning hard drive.
  • For a Pi: the official power supplyUmbrel warns that other power supplies cause crashes.
  • An ethernet cableSetup needs a wired connection to your router.
  • A computer on the same home networkTo set it up in a web browser.
Step 1 of 10
Step 1

What a node is

A node is a computer that keeps its own copy of the bitcoin history and checks every payment against the rules.

With your own node, your wallet asks your node, not someone else’s server. Nobody learns your addresses. Nobody can lie to you about your balance.

Umbrel is free software that turns a small computer into a home server with an app store. Its Bitcoin Node app does the hard part.

A node does not hold your bitcoin. Your keys stay on your signer, like a SeedSigner.

Step 2

Pick your hardware

Raspberry Pi 5Umbrel’s recommended Pi

Plus an SSD over USB, or an NVMe SSD on a compatible add-on board. Use the official power supply. A Pi 4 works but often needs a firmware update first.

A small PCOften the fastest

Any 64-bit Intel or AMD mini PC or old desktop. 4 GB memory minimum, 8 GB or more recommended. Secure Boot must be off.

A ready-made boxLeast effort

Umbrel sells its own box with umbrelOS installed. Skip to step 6.

SSD A fast drive with no moving parts. The first sync reads and writes a lot. Slow drives make it take weeks.

Step 3

Download umbrelOS

  1. Go to umbrel.com/downloads.
  2. Pi 5: download the Raspberry Pi 5 image. Small PC: follow Umbrel’s PC install guide instead, then continue at step 6.
  3. The download page shows a SHA-256 fingerprint for each file. Note it.

On the Pi, Umbrel currently installs version 1.7.4 first. You update to 2.0 from inside Umbrel in step 6. That is normal.

Check the file fingerprint (optional)
# macOS / Linux: compare the output with the one on the download page
shasum -a 256 umbrelos-pi5.img.zip

On Windows: CertUtil -hashfile umbrelos-pi5.img.zip SHA256.

Step 4

Write umbrelOS to the SSD

  1. Connect the SSD to your computer. Use a USB adapter for NVMe drives.
  2. Open Raspberry Pi Imager or balenaEtcher.
  3. Choose the umbrelOS file. Choose the SSD. Write.
  4. Eject the SSD safely when it is done.

Pick the right drive. Writing erases the drive you choose. Check the name and size twice.

Step 5

Connect and start

  1. Attach the SSD to the Pi. Use a blue USB 3 port.
  2. Remove any microSD card from the Pi.
  3. Plug the ethernet cable into the Pi and your router.
  4. Plug in the official power supply. Wait a few minutes.
Step 6

Open Umbrel and create your account

  1. On a computer on the same network, open http://umbrel.local in a browser.
  2. Create your account with a strong password. Keep it in a password manager.
  3. On a Pi, click the update notice, or go to Settings → Software update. Install umbrelOS 2.0. Don’t switch it off while it updates.

This password It only logs you into Umbrel. It is not a bitcoin seed.

umbrel.local won’t open? Find the Pi in your router’s list of devices and open its IP address instead.

Step 7

Install the Bitcoin Node app

  1. Open the App Store. Find Bitcoin Node and click Install.
  2. Open it. It starts downloading and checking every block since 2009.
  3. Leave it running. On a Pi 5 this takes days. A fast PC can be quicker.

Sync Your node reads the full history and checks every rule itself. You only do this once.

Step 8

Add an Electrum server app

Wallets like Sparrow talk to nodes through an Electrum server. It is an index that makes looking up addresses fast.

  1. In the App Store, install Electrs.
  2. It starts indexing after the node has synced. Give it a few more hours.
Step 9

Connect Sparrow to your node

  1. Open the Electrs app on Umbrel. It shows the address and port to use, usually umbrel.local and 50001.
  2. In Sparrow, open Settings: Sparrow → Settings on a Mac, File → Settings on Windows and Linux. Pick the Server tab.
  3. Choose Private Electrum. Enter the address and port.
  4. Click Test Connection. Green means Sparrow now asks only your node.

This works at home. Away from home, use the Tor address shown in the Electrs app. Sparrow supports Tor.

Step 10

Keep it healthy

  1. Leave it on. A node is most useful when it is always running.
  2. Install updates from Settings and the App Store.
  3. Don’t open ports on your router for it. You don’t need to.
  4. If the power flickers often, a small battery backup (UPS) helps.

Never type your seed into Umbrel. Your node needs no seed. Any app asking for your cold-storage words is a red flag.

Next: run a Lightning node on the same Umbrel.

Sources5
  1. Umbrel downloads: images, hardware, checksums
  2. Umbrel: install on Raspberry Pi
  3. Umbrel: install on Intel or AMD PCs
  4. Umbrel App Store: Electrs
  5. Sparrow: connecting to a node

Checked against Umbrel’s install guides (updated October 2026) and Sparrow 2.5.5 docs.

Use ← → to move between steps. Progress is saved in this browser only.