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Install BTCLI

This page contains installation details for btcli, the Bittensor CLI.

Install from Verified Sources

Always double-check the package name and origin before installation. Use links and commands directly from our docs or official release announcements to avoid malicious lookalikes.

Prerequisite​

To install btcli, you must have Python version 3.9-3.12. See config file on GitHub.

Developer reference​

For a full developer reference, see the Bittensor CLI reference document.

Install on macOS and Linux​

You can install the Bittensor CLI on macOS and Linux using any of the following methods:

Check for the latest release at the Python Package Index: https://pypi.org/project/bittensor-cli/.

Use pip to install the desired version:

pip install bittensor-cli # Use latest or desired version

Verify your installation and its version by running:

btcli --version

Example output:

BTCLI version: 9.2.0
Update frequently!

Check frequently to make sure you are using the latest version of btcli.

Install on Windows​

To install and run Bittensor SDK on Windows you must install WSL 2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux) on Windows and select Ubuntu Linux distribution.

After you installed the above, follow the same installation steps described above in Install on macOS and Linux.

Limited support on Windows

While wallet transactions like delegating, transfer, registering, staking can be performed on a Windows machine using WSL 2, the mining and validating operations are not recommended and are not supported on Windows machines.

Verify the installation​

btcli --version

which will give you the below output:

BTCLI version: <version number>

You will see the version number you installed in place of <version number>.

Configuration​

You can set the commonly used values, such as your hotkey and coldkey names, the default chain URL or the network name you use, and more, in config.yml. You can override these values by explicitly passing them in the command line for any btcli command.

Example config file​

The default location of the config file is: ~/.bittensor/config.yml. An example of a config.yml is shown below:

chain: ws://127.0.0.1:9945
network: local
no_cache: False
wallet_hotkey: hotkey-user1
wallet_name: coldkey-user1
wallet_path: ~/.bittensor/wallets
metagraph_cols:
  ACTIVE: true
  AXON: true
  COLDKEY: true
  CONSENSUS: true
  DIVIDENDS: true
  EMISSION: true
  GLOBAL_STAKE: true
  HOTKEY: true
  INCENTIVE: true
  LOCAL_STAKE: true
  RANK: true
  STAKE_WEIGHT: true
  TRUST: true
  UID: true
  UPDATED: true
  VAL: true
  VTRUST: true
alert

If both chain and network config values are present in the config.yml, then chain has the higher precedence. The the btcli command uses the chain value.

For more help:

btcli config --help

Environment variables​

The Bittensor CLI also accepts environment variables that can change how it works:

  • USE_TORCH (default 0): If set to 1, will use torch instead of numpy
  • DISK_CACHE (default 0, also settable in config): If set to 1 (or set in config), will use disk caching for various safe-cachable substrate calls (such as block number to block hash mapping), which can speed up subsequent calls.
  • BTCLI_CONFIG_PATH (default ~/.bittensor/config.yml): This will set the config file location, creating if it does not exist.
  • BTCLI_DEBUG_FILE (default ~/.bittensor/debug.txt): The file stores the most recent's command's debug log.

Debugging​

BTCLI stores a debug log for every command you run. Debug logging is enabled by default if use_cache is on. All logs are written to ~/.bittensor/debug.txt and overwritten after each BTCLI command.

You can change the location with the BTCLI_DEBUG_FILE environment variable.

info

The debug log does not contain sensitive data (such as private keys). It is intended to be shared with developers for troubleshooting. The file includes details about the executed command, configuration, and request/response interactions with the chain.

If you encounter an issue and want to preserve the log before it is overwritten, run btcli --debug and specify a new location to save the file. We recommend doing this first before starting your debugging with us on Discord or opening an issue on GitHub, where you can also upload your debug file.