The kernel of the research chain / version 0.4.0

Maxwell Core

A node for the Maxwell chain, in the shape of Bitcoin Core. It keeps its own verified copy of the chain, answers questions over a local RPC, and can report to rabbitsoftware.io so the network shows up on the live view. One program, no dependencies, Node.js 22 or newer.

Download Maxwell Core ZIP · ZIP SHA-256 checksum

One ZIP for every platform. Unzip it and open the folder for your machine under platforms/. Read-only: it never mines and holds no secret that can change the chain.

On your desktop

Every install starts the node by itself (at boot or sign-in) and adds a Maxwell Core icon: Windows (desktop and Start menu), Linux and Raspberry Pi (applications menu and desktop), macOS (~/Applications). It opens a dashboard at http://127.0.0.1:8646/ on your own computer showing your verified chain, whether it matches the Google Cloud network, which nodes are online, the research and agents, and a button into the RabbitOS cloud shell with commands to paste there. It shows public data only and cannot change the chain.

Raspberry Pi

Pi 3, 4, 5 or Zero 2 W with a 64-bit OS (Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit or Ubuntu). A 32-bit system is detected and explained, not half-installed.

cd platforms/raspberry-pi
sudo ./setup-pi.sh --dry-run
sudo ./setup-pi.sh --install-node --name pi-kitchen

--install-node downloads the official Node.js 22 build and checks its checksum. --name makes a signing key so this Pi can appear on the live view. Tested on 64-bit ARM Debian under emulation; not yet on physical Pi hardware.

Linux

cd platforms/linux
sudo ./install.sh --dry-run
sudo ./install.sh
maxwell-cli getblockchaininfo

Debian, Ubuntu and anything with systemd: an unprivileged maxwell user, a hardened service, the maxwell-cli command. --uninstall removes it and keeps your data.

Windows

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File platforms\windows\install.ps1 -WhatIf
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File platforms\windows\install.ps1

Windows 10 or 11, for the current user, no administrator rights. Needs Node.js 22 (winget install OpenJS.NodeJS). Starts at sign-in through a per-user scheduled task.

macOS

cd platforms/macos
./install.sh --dry-run
./install.sh

Per user, started by launchd. Not yet tested on a Mac: it follows the Linux installer, which is tested.

Docker

cd platforms/docker
docker compose up -d
docker compose exec maxwell-core node maxwell-core.mjs cli getblockchaininfo

amd64 and arm64. Read-only filesystem, no capabilities, a memory limit. Add --profile gateway for a read-only public gateway.

Google Cloud

The project's own public gateway runs on Cloud Run from the same program. Anyone can read it: chain info. To run your own, see platforms/google-cloud/README.md.

How it talks to rabbitsoftware.io, RabbitOS and rabbitweb

rabbitsoftware.io: your node reads the public chain, witness list and node list over HTTPS. If you name your node, it writes a signed heartbeat (name, version, platform, chain size and head, time). Nothing is sent unless you publish that file and its public key is added to the node list. Then your node appears on the live view.
RabbitOS: maxwell-core open cloudshell opens the RabbitOS cloud shell; maxwell-core status compares your node with the cloud gateway (same, behind, ahead or conflict).
rabbitweb: the research agents add blocks; nodes are the independent checkers. They never share keys.

No telemetry, no analytics, no inbound connections. The private RPC listens on 127.0.0.1 only. Full details are in COMMS.md inside the ZIP.

Check the download

Get-FileHash .\maxwell-core-0.4.0.zip -Algorithm SHA256        # Windows
sha256sum maxwell-core-0.4.0.zip                               # Linux, Raspberry Pi
shasum -a 256 maxwell-core-0.4.0.zip                           # macOS

The ZIP is rebuilt byte for byte from the source (scripts/build-maxwell-core-zip.mjs) and contains a SHA256SUMS list of every file. Checksums detect changed bytes; they are not independent signatures. Read the installer before running it, and never pipe a download straight into your shell.

Terms

By Chase Allen Ringquist. Licensed under UPL-1.0 with third-party exclusions. Read the privacy policy. See also the proof page and the network map.