User Guides
Guides for running BasicSwap: installing, updating and backing it up, choosing coins and networks, Tor, making and taking offers, Smart Buy and market making.
- InstallInstall BasicSwap with the basicswap-bash scripts, with Docker, or from source on Linux, macOS and Windows (WSL), then choose your coins and open the web UI.
- Prepare optionsThe basicswap-prepare options for an install: which coins to run, fast sync, Electrum light wallets, remote Monero nodes, Tor, passwords and network access.
- UpdateUpdate BasicSwap to the latest release with Docker, basicswap-bash or from source, then upgrade its coin cores with --upgradecores when a release needs it.
- Back up and restoreKeep the recovery phrase BasicSwap shows at setup, check your backup words, and restore each enabled coin's wallet, with restore heights for Monero and Wownero.
- Enable or Disable CoinsAdd a coin to BasicSwap or switch one off with basicswap-prepare's --addcoin and --disablecoin, using Docker, the basicswap-bash scripts or a source install.
- Manage Enabled CoinsCheck each coin's sync progress on the Wallets page, deposit and withdraw funds, and finish setting up PIVX, Dash and Firo wallets with a one-time reseed.
- Lightweight ModesRun Bitcoin and Litecoin through Electrum servers and Monero or Wownero through a remote node, so BasicSwap can trade without downloading those blockchains.
- TorRoute BasicSwap and its coins through Tor, on a new or existing install, with basicswap-prepare or basicswap-bash, and what changes for remote Monero nodes.
- Message networksChoose which networks carry BasicSwap's offers and swap messages, from SMSG to SimpleX and Nostr, run several at once and set relays and groups in Settings.
- Web UI AuthenticationRequire a password for BasicSwap's web UI and JSON API, reach it safely over a network with allowed_hosts, and change or remove it with basicswap-prepare.
- Price dataWhere BasicSwap gets market prices and why charts stay empty without a CoinGecko key, with steps to add a Demo or Pro key under Settings, Charts Configuration.
- Make an OfferPost an offer on BasicSwap's order book: choose the coins, amount and rate, pick a one-time, fixed-total or standing offer, and set how bids are accepted.
- Take an OfferBrowse BasicSwap's order book, send a bid on an offer that suits you and follow the swap until both chains confirm and the coins arrive in your wallet.
- Smart BuySmart Buy splits a purchase across BasicSwap's open offers: enter an amount, cap the price and the number of bids, then review the plan before placing it.
- Market Making (AMM)Use BasicSwap's built-in AMM to keep offers posted, follow market prices with a set premium, resize offers after partial fills and place automated bids.
- TroubleshootingFixes for common BasicSwap problems: reindexing a coin, running on older Python versions, installing natively on Windows and reaching a node over an SSH tunnel.
- Integrate a CoinWhat a blockchain needs before BasicSwap can support it, such as script support, timelocks and watch-only wallets, and how earlier coin integrations were built.