Private Monero mining · self-hosted
We built this to mine Monero on a stack you own outright — no operator taking a cut, no custodian, and Tor-first networking by default. Choose Pithead OS for a dedicated machine with browser setup, or Docker Compose on your own Linux host.
Pithead OS
A complete operating system for a machine dedicated to your mine. No Linux setup needed.
x86-64 · UEFI · wired ethernet. Installing erases the selected disk.
Docker Compose
Keep the host you manage. One guided setup brings up the same stack and dashboard.
$ curl -fsSL https://github.com/p2pool-starter-stack/pithead/releases/latest/download/pithead.tar.gz | tar xz
$ cd pithead
$ ./pithead setup
█Ubuntu Server 24.04 · have your Monero payout address ready.
// why we built this
It started with wanting a Monero mine I owned outright: private, and free of middlemen. None of this is a slogan — each belief is a decision you can see in the defaults, the containers, and the docs.
Your node, your P2Pool, your dashboard — the entire operation runs on hardware you control, from config you can read. Nothing rented and nothing hosted for you.
Monero, Tari, and P2Pool run as Tor hidden services by default — no port forwarding, no home IP advertised to inbound peers. Runtime egress rides Tor by default, and a host firewall drops direct clearnet dials; the privacy guide lists the opt-in exceptions and the one-time install downloads. P2Pool payout addresses are public, so mine to a dedicated wallet.
P2Pool pays block rewards straight to your wallet — no pool operator, no cut, no account. XMRig has a separate 1% developer donation by default.
A browser wizard on Pithead OS, or a guided command on your Linux host, sets up the node, Tor, payouts, RandomX tuning, and dashboard. Start with Monero; Tari and the XvB raffle are optional and off for new installs. Preview disruptive changes and use Service Diagnostics when something looks off. The first Monero sync can take hours to days; you keep the control.
// how we build
Inbound rides Tor hidden services — no port forwarding, your home IP not advertised to inbound peers — RPC stays localhost-bound, and all runtime egress routes over Tor by default. The opt-in clearnet exceptions are documented in the privacy guide.
Capability-scoped containers, a read-only Docker-socket proxy kept separate from a start/stop-only one, owner-only secrets.
Third-party binaries are SHA256-checked and version-pinned. No curl | bash trust.
Non-obvious decisions are documented inline with their reasoning and the issue that drove them.
Config changes are previewed and warn before anything disruptive; failures degrade gracefully.
Sensible auto-tuning, guided setup in a browser or terminal, and docs treated as a first-class deliverable.
// how it fits together
Pithead coordinates the nodes, privacy, payouts, and dashboard. Mine on the same machine, connect separate RigForge or XMRig workers, or do both. Add optional Tari merge mining and the XvB raffle when you want them.
// the projects
Both projects are MIT-licensed and built in the open; the upstream software they run, such as P2Pool and XMRig, keeps its own licenses.
Private Monero mining. The whole stack, on your hardware.
Your Monero node, zero-fee P2Pool, one endpoint for every miner, and a live dashboard, with Tor-first networking and optional Tari merge mining. Install Pithead OS on a dedicated machine, or use Docker Compose on a Linux host you manage — the same stack, dashboard, and configuration either way.
Provision a hardware-tuned XMRig miner in one command.
Turn an Ubuntu/Debian machine into a tuned mining worker (macOS support is deprecated and untested). RigForge compiles stock, commit-pinned XMRig from source, applies CPU- and kernel-level tuning aimed at RandomX hashrate, and runs it as a managed service — then points it at your stack, or any RandomX pool.
// the roadmap
From private networking and fleet management to installing, updating, and recovering your machine — these capabilities have shipped. Follow the repositories for current work, release notes, and known issues.
the foundation · shipped
All runtime egress moved behind Tor with a fail-closed host firewall, every container dropped to non-root, and a Stack Topology panel maps every hop — Tor or clearnet — at a glance.
An opt-in Telegram bot pings the moment a node or worker drops — and when it recovers — plus a Healthchecks dead-man's switch for the one failure a monitor on the box can never report: the box itself going dark.
Persistent telemetry, pool cadence and luck, and earnings estimates after power costs. Optional view-only payout confirmation is beta; Tari confirmation has a known reporting limitation documented in the release notes.
Configuration previews and confirmations, signed upgrades, per-rig inspection, stratum TLS with per-rig pinning, and warm failover to a backup stack. Remote rig control is an optional beta feature.
Co-host behind an existing reverse proxy, let one stack's synced nodes serve others, and point the stack at a remote Monero or Tari node instead of running your own.
Pinned components, signed releases, and a public changelog. Updates are checked against the release key before installation, and each release documents its components and known issues.
the appliance experience · shipped
Write Pithead OS to USB, boot a dedicated machine, and finish setup in a browser. Pick a coordinator, add mining on its own CPU, or make it a rig for an existing coordinator. Installing to an internal disk erases that disk; the wizard asks you to confirm.
Update from the dashboard or CLI. The signed image is installed on the spare system copy and checked at boot. Chain services start after that copy commits, so a one-way database migration cannot begin on a system still awaiting its boot decision. Rollback covers the system, not data migrations or a failing disk.
Export an encrypted backup and restore it from the setup wizard. Config reset keeps synced chains, wallets, and Tor keys while you re-enter settings; factory reset erases the data area. A damaged data partition is repaired before reinitialization is considered.
Put a setup token or configuration file on the USB stick to prepare a machine without a monitor. A configuration stick can also recover settings when you cannot sign in. Internal-disk installation still requires you to choose and confirm the disk to erase.
Pithead OS sizes HugePages to installed RAM, selects the performance CPU governor, and uses a hardware watchdog where available. The Tor-only egress firewall fails closed for IPv6 too. Prefer managing the host yourself? Docker Compose remains a supported install path.
// fuel the roadmap
Every wave above shipped by hand, issue by issue, out in the open. If this stack saved you time, fuel the next wave.
Monero, naturally — straight to the people who build it.
// questions, answered
Everything people ask before they start — and what to tell anyone who asks you.
Install Pithead OS on a dedicated machine, or use the Docker Compose setup on your Linux host. Both run your Monero node, P2Pool, and a single mining endpoint with Tor-first networking. Your home IP is not advertised to inbound peers and you don't forward a port. After Monero syncs, use the appliance's built-in miner or connect XMRig or RigForge workers. Payouts go straight to your wallet, with no account or custodian. Use a dedicated mining wallet: P2Pool payout addresses are public.
Start with PitheadNo. Pithead runs Monero, Tari, and P2Pool as Tor hidden services, so inbound peers reach you over an onion address and your router stays shut. RPC is bound to localhost, and all runtime egress routes over Tor by default behind a fail-closed firewall. The privacy guide maps the exceptions: opt-ins like a faster clearnet initial sync, a remote node you choose (dialled directly), and the one-time install downloads, which reveal your IP to the download host.
P2Pool is a decentralized, peer-to-peer Monero mining pool. There's no operator, no account, and no pool fee — the network pays block rewards straight to your own wallet. The P2Pool Starter Stack runs your own P2Pool node, so you get decentralized, zero-fee payouts without the fiddly setup.
Solo mining only pays when you personally find a block, which can take a very long time on home hardware. P2Pool pays you whenever the pool finds a block while you hold shares in its PPLNS window, with no operator and no fee. Payouts still swing with mining luck, so quiet stretches are normal; the default mini sidechain lets a typical home rig find shares far more often than main, and nano suits a single low-power rig. Pithead runs P2Pool for you and can also enter the XMRvsBeast raffle, which picks winners at random.
For a coordinator with both chains local, allow 16 GB+ RAM and a 600 GB+ SSD, with more room for growth. Pithead OS needs a dedicated x86-64 UEFI machine, wired ethernet, and a 16 GB+ USB stick; installation erases the selected disk. DIY targets Ubuntu Server 24.04. Remote nodes or Monero-only operation reduce storage needs. A worker-only rig holds no chains: size it for CPU mining, not the coordinator's storage budget.
Compare hardware requirementsChoose Pithead OS for a machine dedicated to mining: boot from USB, install, and use the browser wizard without setting up Linux yourself. It can coordinate your mine, also mine on its own CPU, or act as a worker for another Pithead. Choose Docker Compose if you already manage a Linux host and want to keep that OS. Both coordinator installs share the same stack, dashboard, and configuration; Compose users maintain their own host OS.
Read the appliance setup guideTari merge mining is beta and off for new installs. Enable it to let one unit of proof-of-work secure two chains at once. Through P2Pool, your P2Pool hashrate also merge-mines Tari on the same work, at no cost to the Monero side. It does need a Tari base node — run on this host, with its own RAM and disk, or one you run on another machine — and a Tari payout address. Tari is merge-mined solo, so its reward lands all at once when your hashrate finds a Tari block, and that can be months apart.
Yes — Pithead and RigForge are free and MIT-licensed (the upstream software they run, such as P2Pool and XMRig, keeps its own licenses), and P2Pool charges no pool fee. RigForge keeps XMRig's standard 1% dev fee — that funds the upstream XMRig project, not us — and makes it one line to turn off before setup (an already-built worker needs a rebuild to lower it). Electricity and hardware are your own running costs; the dashboard can estimate profit after power. The only optional extra is a Monero donation address if a stack saves you time.
Yes. Any XMRig or RandomX rig connects to the stack's single endpoint at host:3333 — no wallet in the miner, no per-rig pool config. Plain XMRig rigs mine and show up on the dashboard; retuning a rig from the dashboard is beta and needs RigForge control, a token, and adoption. For more hashrate, RigForge provisions a kernel-tuned XMRig worker in one command; its published benchmark of a single Ryzen 7800X3D, mining live, measured +3.5% hashrate and +7.6% efficiency versus stock. Results vary by hardware.
Provision with RigForgeThe XvB raffle is beta and off for new installs. XMRvsBeast runs bonus rounds for miners who lend a little hashrate. Pithead's algorithmic optimizer watches XvB and shifts just enough hashrate to hold your tier — donating the minimum — and routes the rest to your own P2Pool payouts. The raffle picks winners at random, so donating above a tier's threshold earns nothing extra.
Pithead OS installs signed updates onto a spare system copy and falls back if the new system fails its boot checks. This protects the system image, not one-way database migrations. Save encrypted backups and their passphrases off the machine, then restore from the setup wizard if hardware needs replacing. Config reset keeps synced chains and identity data; factory reset erases the data area. Check release notes for known issues before updating.
Release notes and known issuesUpgrades from 1.x are best-effort and may need a fresh setup. Back up with chains first and read the migration guide: Tari's database migration is one-way, needs extra disk space, and must finish without a restart. Upgrades retain your choices but migrate legacy settings and remove retired SSH and Telegram control options. The Monero-only and raffle-off defaults apply to new installs.
Read the 1.x upgrade instructions// start here
Pick a dedicated appliance or your own Linux host. Start with Monero, connect your miners, and add optional features when you need them. Allow hours to days for the first sync, depending on your hardware, disk, and network.