#EDIT 2017-02-10: A word about Nodes
There is a discussion about nodes that came up today, where it seems I'm discouraging people from running the full QT/Core client. Yes and No. What I'm trying to make sure people understand is how things work, and that it is NOT mandatory to run a client in order to use Dogecoins (and yes, I realise that browser-based tools like coinb.in and wallet sweepers are 'clients' by strict definition).
That said, more nodes is absolutely a good thing for the network. Preferrably full nodes. How do you run a full node? Just run Core/QT and open up Port 22556 on your router so it can connect to more than 8 peers. What will it cost you? You need your machine to be on 24/7/365, you need enough storage for the full blockchain (currently about 20Gb. Bitcoin is over 120Gb) and enough bandwidth to keep it in sync and share blocks with peers. A couple of Gb a month, most likely. This is best done with a desktop on a wired broadband link. Or maybe a hosted VM in the cloud. š
#EDIT 2017-01-09: Wallets WITHOUT Clients
Since I started helping people on /r/BitcoinBeginners, I'm getting a lot of questions about how to use wallets without running clients or trusting third parties. So here are a couple of resources that will make that possible, and not just for Dogecoin:
Multi-Coin Wallet Generator{:rel="nofollow"} Now supporting 129 currencies!
Coinb.in Start by setting the currency, found in the gear wheel in the Broadcast tab.
Dogecoin Wallet Sweeper Redeem 'paper' wallets containing up to about 100 UTXOs.
Bitinfo Charts{:rel="nofollow"} My favourite block explorer, handles a bunch of cryptos.
Using these resources, it is possible to hold, receive and spend coins in various currencies, without having to run QT or a 'lite' client. You can also download and run the pages on your own device.
#EDIT 2016-11-23: SEMANTICS about MINING! š
Even though there is already a section on mining below, it has been suggested given the huge number of posts on the subject that this needs to be made clearer. Since people get their panties in a twist over the word 'dead', lets change that...
#MINING IS DEAD!
#MINING DOGECOIN IS UNPROFITABLE!
Put simply, there is no way to mine Dogecoin and make a profit because of the massive hashpower provided by industrial-scale Litecoin miners. Mining Doge directly stopped being viable when our hashrate exploded with the introduction of AuxPoW. Mining with CPU's and GPU's died when ASICs were introduced. And mining with a laptop WILL kill your laptop and cost you a fortune to repair or replace. Mining Litecoin with an exchange that also mines Doge and others will earn less than the electricity consumed, and you won't recover your costs. Probably ever, but certainly not in any reasonable time.
Mining other currencies may be a thing, but that's beyond our scope here. This is /r/Dogecoin, not /r/GetRichMiningCryptos after all. If you want to mine the newest scamcoin for fun and profit, look elsewhere for advice. :/
Oh, and most important:
#READ BEFORE YOU POST!
At any given time, there are half a dozen posts on the frontpage just like the one you're about to write, where the answers have already been given. Read them. Don't make people waste their time repeating themselves because you were too lazy to bother reading stuff. š
So there I was, having a quiet Sundy arvo bludge, as you do, when /u/42points turned up on Facebook and asked me to write a new sticky post for /r/dogecoin. Why would he do this, when he should be having a bludge himself, I hear you ask? Well, seems he was doing exactly that, and wanted to fob off the work heās too slack to do himself. š Ah well, being a sucker for punishment, Iāll grudgingly oblige I guess.
OK, first things first.
#The Clients:
A client is a piece of software you keep on your computer which holds one or more wallets. Here are the current client versions. If you're using an older client please upgrade to the newest version prior to sending/receiving coins. Backup! Backup! Backup your wallet.dat file or private key so you can import them into the latest version of the client.
Be warned that unless youāre running Core (aka QT), you could have issues with wallets containing lots of UTXOs (Unspent Transaction Outputs - Where your coins REALLY live). Go read the ELI5 below, and keep a close eye on your transaction counts. If you DO run Core, realise that all full clients, regardless of the coin, require a copy of the blockchain and must keep it up to date. This will cost you time, storage space and bandwidth. You can save a little by downloading the bootstrap file though. I havenāt checked how recent this one is, so let me know if you find a more current version.
Dogecoin Core 1.10.0 2015-Nov-01
Bootstrap file for Core{:rel="nofollow"} to save some download time.
Dogecoin Core Guide Wiki
MultiDoge v0.1.7 2016-Jan-31
Android Dogecoin Wallet 2.0.8 2016-Jan-18
Android Coinomi Wallet
Java Cate 0.14 alpha 2 Multicoin wallet 2016-Feb-14
Exodus multicoin wallet{:rel="nofollow"}
iOS Doughwallet{:rel="nofollow"}
#Do you REALLY need a client?
- Probably not, if truth be told. Go read these two ELI5ās if you havenāt already. They contain critical information to help you decide. Iāll wait till you get back. š
Wallet ELI5{:rel="nofollow"}
UTXO ELI5{:rel="nofollow"}
- OK, so next, grab this wallet generator. Even if you plan on running a client(s). Because a) it does many, many cryptocurrencies, and b) you WILL need wallets at some stage over and above what you keep in your clients. Just be sure to run it locally (and offline if youāre truly paranoid).
Paper Wallet Generator
- Oh, and hereās a simple way to keep track of all your wallets using HTML. You can grab the source and modify it, then upload it wherever you need to suit your needs. You will also want a separate file with your private keys, but donāt upload that one anywhere, because if you lose your keys or someone else gets access to them, you will lose your coins.
Sample HTML Wallet List
- Next, be aware that there are online wallets available. While any wallet you donāt own the keys to isnāt actually yours, and therefore isnāt safe, the following are safer than most. Dogetipbot of course is used daily by shibes on Reddit. Block.io uses multisig and gives you Doge, BTC and LTC wallets as well as testnets, and Dogechain gives you your private keys (and also offers a wallet sweeping service).
Dogetipbot subreddit and website{:rel="nofollow"}
Dogechain Wallet
Block.io Wallet{:rel="nofollow"}
Exchanges
- Exchanges also offer wallets, of course. Not that you should use them to store your hard-earned coins, because they can and do get hacked with monotonous regularity. But at some stage youāre going to want to trade, or hold a few uncommon coins. You could do worse than these three:
BTC38
Poloniex{:rel="nofollow"}
CoinSpot{:rel="nofollow"}
ShapeShift{:rel="nofollow"} - Not really an exchange, rather a currency trader.
#Mining
- And then thereās the obligatory question of mining. Put simply, mining is for all intents and purposes dead, and has been for a long time now. The costs are greater than any possible returns. But, if you insist on doing it anyway, maybe because you inherited a miner, you can earn about 0.01 LTC/day per MH/s merge-mining at Litecoinpool. Thatās about 4 cents. š
Litecoinpool{:rel="nofollow"}
Prohashing{:rel="nofollow"}
Zpool{:rel="nofollow"}
#Explorers
BitInfoCharts{:rel="nofollow"} - My favourite, has charts!
chain.so
dogechain.info{:rel="nofollow"}
- Shibes sometimes complain that the devs are not as active in /r/dogecoin as they used to be. You can find them on IRC, slack or their very own sub if you need them though. Or poke /u/sporklin, who can often help.
/r/dogecoindev where the devs hang out
#More Info
- You can of course ask any questions here, or post them in the sub. However, do try searching first, because I guarantee every possible question has been asked many times before. And you should also subscribe and hang out in /r/dogeducation occasionally. Thereās much awesomeness there.
Dogeducation{:rel="nofollow"}
Technical Wiki
Preev currency value calculator{:rel="nofollow"}
#EDITS:
From /u/peoplma
I was wondering if you could add just a couple things. A link to the coinomi android wallet, it's probably the best one out there. And a sentence somewhere along the lines of "if you need help with any dogecoin software you are welcome to make a post, but PLEASE include your OS, version number of the client, and any relevant transaction IDs that you are willing to share" if you can fit that in somewhere.
Also, if you want to link to Prohashing{:rel="nofollow"} , I'm pretty sure it's the only Scrypt mining pool that will actually pay out in doge. The others I know of pay out in litecoin or bitcoin. And it's a profit switching multipool, so gives a better return than just mining ltc/doge.
And there's these two wiki articles I thought would be helpful to link /r/dogecoin/wiki/technical for those technically minded newbies or intermediate users who want to dig a little deeper. And maybe a link to /r/dogecoin/wiki/dogecoincoreguide next to the link for dogecoin core.
From /u/pts2002
Finally a proper sticky post! Here's some other stuff you could add:
zpool.ca{:rel="nofollow"} mining pool - You can get paid in pretty much any coin, and you can mine in multiple algos (currently mining lyra2v2 with my GPU). Doing about 500Ć/day
shapeshift.io{:rel="nofollow"} exchange - My favourite exchange, quick and easy. No registration required!
Also, you should add some blockchain explorers!
chain.so - Support for bitcoin, litecoin and doge.
dogechain.info{:rel="nofollow"} - Official blockchain explorer. Includes a wallet (already mentioned). Live update currently not working (?)
EDIT: Here's another thing I found!
preev.com{:rel="nofollow"} currency value calculator - Easy way to check the value of your dogecoins (or bitcoins, or litecoins, or peercoins)!