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What is the difference between "Wallet Mode" and "Farming Mode" in the Chia GUI?

  • Updated

When you load Chia's client GUI for the first time, you'll be asked to choose whether to run in Wallet Mode or Farming Mode. Here are the main features of each mode:

Wallet Mode:

  • This mode runs a Chia wallet, but not a full node.
  • The wallet will sync by connecting to external peers.
  • You'll be able to send and receive Chia and/or CATs.
  • Farming will be disabled.

Farming Mode:

  • This mode runs a full node, so farming will be enabled.
  • The wallet will also sync by connecting to external peers, unless specific conditions are met (see below).
  • You'll be able to send and receive Chia and/or CATs, just as while running in Wallet Mode.

To switch between Wallet Mode and Farming Mode, click the gear icon on the upper-right side of your client. The settings menu will appear. Click the desired mode.

Note that in both modes, the light wallet protocol is always used. This protocol will sync your wallet by only downloading information from a subset of the blocks. The more transactions your wallet has had, the longer this process will require.

The following are situations when your wallet will NOT connect to external peers:

  • connect_to_unknown_peers = false is set in config.yaml, under wallet:.
  • Your wallet is connected to a trusted node (typically this is your local host) AND that node is fully synced.

For example, let's say you're running Chia for the first time and you have not modified connect_to_unknown_peers. Here is one potential workflow:

  1. Start the GUI and select Wallet Mode.
  2. Your wallet will sync by downloading relevant information from external peers.
  3. Change to Farmer Mode. Your full node will be started. Your wallet will continue to download relevant information from external peers.
  4. After your full node has synced, your wallet will automatically connect to your full node in order to stay synced. It will terminate its connections with external peers.
  5. Change to Wallet Mode. Your full node will continue to run in the background, and your wallet will remain connected to your full node in order to stay synced.
  6. Stop and restart Chia. You will return to Wallet Mode, and your full node will no longer be running. Your Chia client is now in state 2.

Depending on how you are using your Chia client, we recommend the following:

  • Casual users who are not farming or running a business such as a DEX can use Wallet Mode.
  • Farmers need to run in Farming Mode.
  • Anyone running a business, as well as anyone who frequently trades XCH or CATs, should do one of the following:
    • Run in Farming Mode. Only transact when your node is fully synced.
    • Set connect_to_unknown_peers = false. Run in either Wallet Mode or Farming Mode.

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