Open-source tools for running your own Monero mining setup on hardware you control.

Website: p2pool-starter-stack.github.io

• No pool operator. P2Pool has no pool operator and charges no pool fee. Rewards are paid directly to your own wallet.
• Your own node. Pithead runs its own Monero node, or uses one you run on another machine.
• Tor-first networking. The stack's outbound runtime traffic goes over Tor by default, and inbound peers reach P2Pool and the local nodes through onion addresses, so you do not forward ports.
• One endpoint for your rigs. Point existing XMRig rigs at the stack on port 3333, with no wallet address in the miner config, and follow hashrate and per-worker stats in the dashboard.
• Appliance or DIY. Pithead OS installs from USB and is configured in a browser; the Compose path runs the same stack and dashboard on an Ubuntu host you manage.
• Recovery built in. The appliance installs signed updates to a spare system slot and returns to the previous slot if the new one does not boot cleanly. Encrypted backup and restore, service diagnostics, and setup and recovery options for machines without a monitor are included. System rollback does not undo a one-way database migration; keep backups off the machine.

• Tor-first does not make mining anonymous. Workers reach the stack over plain stratum on your LAN. A node you run on another machine is dialled directly. Install and update downloads reveal your IP address to the download host. The optional clearnet initial sync, P2Pool clearnet peering and XvB without Tor expose your IP while they are on. P2Pool payout addresses are public, so use a dedicated mining wallet. The privacy guide lists every connection.
• Payouts vary. P2Pool pays when the pool finds blocks, so payouts swing with mining luck. The dashboard's earnings figures are estimates, not guarantees.
• No pool fee is not the same as no costs. RigForge's XMRig donation defaults to 1%, XMRig's own upstream default, and goes to the XMRig project; set "DONATION": 0 before setup to turn it off (on an already-built worker, lowering it needs a rebuild). With XvB enabled, Pithead donates part of your hashrate to the XMRvsBeast pool to hold a raffle tier. Electricity and hardware are your own costs; once you set an electricity price, the dashboard can show power cost and net figures from each rig's measured or manually estimated power draw.
• Tari and XvB are optional beta features. New installs leave both off. Pithead can merge-mine Tari on the same work and switch hashrate for the XMRvsBeast raffle when you enable them. Each has its own configuration, a local Tari node needs its own disk and memory, and Tari blocks are found less often than P2Pool's. See configuration and hardware requirements.
• Choose the machine's role. Pithead OS can be a coordinator, a coordinator that also mines on its own CPU, or a mining rig. The appliance uses a browser setup wizard; DIY uses ./pithead setup. Mining starts after the required nodes finish their initial blockchain sync. RigForge needs root to install packages and tune the system, and on Linux a reboot to apply HugePages.
• Wallets in workers. A worker pointed at Pithead needs no wallet address. For a public pool, you set your Monero wallet as the pool user in RigForge's config.
• Browser control is opt-in. Editing configuration, retuning rigs and one-click upgrades from the dashboard stay off until you set dashboard.control.enabled, and every change sits behind the dashboard login. Remote rig control is beta and needs a RigForge control token; an appliance rig mines before adoption, but the dashboard cannot change it until you adopt it.
• Platforms and hardware. Pithead OS needs an x86-64 UEFI machine with wired Ethernet and a 16 GB+ USB stick. A coordinator needs 16 GB+ RAM and an internal SSD; installation erases the selected disk. A worker-only rig can run from USB and has no chain-storage requirement. The DIY path needs Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS. Disk needs depend on where the Monero and Tari nodes run; check the hardware guide. RigForge targets Ubuntu and Debian; its macOS support is deprecated as of 2026-09-14 and untested.
• Performance figures. RigForge's benchmarks compare its tuning with stock XMRig on two named CPUs. They measure CPU-package power, not wall power, and the comparison with a hand-tuned worker used a different XMRig version. Results vary with CPU, RAM and kernel.

• Install the appliance: Pithead OS guide.
• Run the Compose stack: Pithead getting started.
• Already have XMRig rigs: connect them.
• Provision a tuned worker: RigForge.
• Check current limitations: Pithead release notes and known issues.

Both Pithead install paths run the same stack, dashboard, and configuration. The badges above show the latest published releases. Issues and pull requests are welcome.

Pithead's and RigForge's own code is MIT-licensed. Third-party components keep their own licenses: Pithead ships P2Pool and xmrig-proxy (GPLv3) unmodified as separate containers, and RigForge compiles upstream XMRig (GPLv3) on your machine. See the license sections of Pithead and RigForge.

If these projects saved you time and you'd like to support the work, donations to this XMR wallet are appreciated:

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