Ethereum: Passing JSON Arguments to Bitcoin on the Windows Command Line
If you are having trouble using “sendmany” when installing Bitcoin-qt locally from the Windows command line, you may be encountering a JSON parsing error. In this article, we will show you how to pass JSON arguments to Bitcoin using the “–json” option.
What is “sendmany” and what does it do?
“sendmany” is an optional command line argument that allows you to send multiple transactions from the same account in a single transaction. By default, “sendmany” sends only one transaction at a time. You can use it as follows:
bitcoin-qt --json -M 1 m
In this example, "-M" is an alias for "--max-mem-size". This option sets the maximum amount of memory allocated by the Bitcoin daemon.
The JSON argument
If you pass a JSON argument, Bitcoin expects it in the following format:
{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "sendmany", "params": {"from": , "recipient": , "count": 10, "value": }}
Here is the JSON structure and its fields:
- jsonrpc: A string that specifies whether to use JSON-RPC.
-method: The method to call. In this case, we'll use "sendmany".
- "Params": An object containing information about the transaction you want to send. Here's a quick overview of each field:
-from: The address from which the transaction is being sent (in our example).
- "to": The address of the recipient of the transaction.
-count: The number of transactions in the JSON array that this method will build.
-value: The amount to use to build the transaction.
Passing a JSON argument using the Windows command line
You can use the following syntax to pass a JSON argument from the command line:
bitcoin-qt --json -M 1 m
This is what it says:
- "--json" tells Bitcoin to accept the JSON argument.
- "-M" is an alias for "--max-mem-size".
-
Example Use Case
Let’s say you have two accounts: one with the address “0.1a…123456789” that you want to use to send money, and the other with the address “0.2a…123456789”. Using this approach, you can send multiple transactions from a single account:
bitcoin-qt --json -M 0.1a...123456789 10m 1m 20000
In this case, Bitcoin creates an array of 20 transactions and passes them to the “sendmany” method.
Conclusion
To use JSON arguments with a local installation of Bitcoin-qt from the Windows command line, follow these steps:
– Specify the account addresses or recipient addresses that you want to send money to.
– Set the “–max-mem-size” option to control the maximum amount of memory allocated by the Bitcoin daemon.
– Pass a JSON argument with the “–json” option, followed by the account address or recipient address and the desired transaction number.