bitcoinlib-rpc

Typed Python wrapper for Bitcoin Core RPC with analysis tools.

Query your Bitcoin node with typed responses, analyze mempool fee markets, decode transactions, and inspect blocks — all from Python or the command line.

Install

pip install bitcoinlib-rpc

Or from source:

git clone https://github.com/Bortlesboat/bitcoinlib-rpc.git
cd bitcoinlib-rpc
pip install -e .

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• A running Bitcoin Core or Bitcoin Knots node with server=1 in bitcoin.conf
• txindex=1 recommended (required for transaction lookups by txid)

Quick Start

Python API

from bitcoinlib_rpc import BitcoinRPC

rpc = BitcoinRPC()  # auto-detects cookie authentication

# Node status
info = rpc.getblockchaininfo()
print(f"Block height: {info['blocks']:,}")

# Fee estimates
fee = rpc.estimatesmartfee(6)
print(f"6-block fee: {fee['feerate'] * 100_000:.1f} sat/vB")

# Decode a transaction
tx = rpc.getrawtransaction("a1075db5...", verbose=2)

Typed Analysis Objects

from bitcoinlib_rpc import BitcoinRPC
from bitcoinlib_rpc.mempool import analyze_mempool
from bitcoinlib_rpc.transactions import analyze_transaction
from bitcoinlib_rpc.blocks import analyze_block

rpc = BitcoinRPC()

# Mempool snapshot with fee bucketing
mempool = analyze_mempool(rpc)
print(f"Congestion: {mempool.congestion}")
print(f"Next block min fee: {mempool.next_block_min_fee:.1f} sat/vB")

# Transaction analysis with inscription detection
tx = analyze_transaction(rpc, "a1075db5...")
print(f"Fee rate: {tx.fee_rate_sat_vb:.1f} sat/vB")
print(f"SegWit discount: {tx.segwit_discount_pct:.1f}%")

# Block analysis with pool identification
block = analyze_block(rpc, 939290)
print(f"Mined by: {block.pool_name}")
print(f"Taproot adoption: {block.taproot_pct:.1f}%")

Command Line Tools

# Node status
bitcoin-status

# Mempool analysis
bitcoin-mempool

# Decode a transaction
bitcoin-tx a1075db55d416d3ca199f55b6084e2115b9345e16c5cf302fc80e9d5fbf5d48d

# Analyze a block
bitcoin-block 939290

# Fee estimates
bitcoin-fees --once

# Continuous fee tracking with CSV log
bitcoin-fees --csv fees.csv

# Next block prediction
bitcoin-nextblock

Tools

Command	What it does
bitcoin-status	Node chain, sync, disk, peers
bitcoin-mempool	Fee buckets, congestion, next-block estimate
bitcoin-tx <txid>	Full tx decode + inscription detection
bitcoin-block <height>	Pool ID, SegWit/Taproot adoption, fee distribution
bitcoin-fees	Fee targets for 1/3/6/25/144 blocks
bitcoin-nextblock	Block template: weight, revenue, fee distribution

Authentication

The library auto-detects the .cookie file from standard Bitcoin Core locations:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Bitcoin\.cookie or common datadirs (E:, D:)
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/.cookie
• Linux: ~/.bitcoin/.cookie

Or provide credentials explicitly:

rpc = BitcoinRPC(user="rpcuser", password="rpcpassword")
rpc = BitcoinRPC(cookie_path="/path/to/.cookie")
rpc = BitcoinRPC(datadir="/mnt/bitcoin")

Related

• Bitcoin Protocol Guide — the educational guide this library accompanies
• Bitcoin Core RPC Reference

License

MIT