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I run bitcoin-qt all the time, so I set the browser to handle bitcoin: URI with bitcoin-qt. Unfortunately that causes a new instance to be started, which fails coz it fails to get a lock on the database.

What's the best way to do this?

I have 'server=1' to enable json-rpc access to bitcoin-qt.

Do I need to set the browser to handle these links with (say) bitcoin-cli? Or do I need to reconfigure the whole thing and run bitcoind as well?

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  • I've duplicated the question on askubuntu as well: askubuntu.com/questions/1383898/bitcoin-uri-handling
    – harrym
    Dec 26, 2021 at 22:32
  • My question isn't about general URI handling tho. It's only bitcoin that I have the problem with. Even a mp4 link works when (say) vlc is already running. There's no issue with locking of course, but vlc has an option to run a new instance or start the video in the existing instance. That's why I'm here. It's very bitcoin specific, but I feel sure there's a 'best' way to handle it.
    – harrym
    Dec 27, 2021 at 1:50
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    Sorry I am unable to reproduce this. For me it does not try to run another bitcoin-qt instead its added as second address in send form: i.imgur.com/Isfcm89.png
    – user103136
    Dec 27, 2021 at 13:06
  • Ouch! That's what I want. What is that '-W1' in the title? Is that relevant? Mine is v22.0.0
    – harrym
    Dec 27, 2021 at 15:10
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    W1 is name of wallet. Even I tried it using Bitcoin Core 22.0 and Browser chromium in Ubuntu. Yes bitcoin-qt was already running when I clicked the bitcoin:address URI link.
    – user103136
    Dec 27, 2021 at 15:30

1 Answer 1

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The simple answer is that when the parameter '%U' is missing from the 'Exec' line in a gnome/Ubuntu desktop file, the OS creates a new instance whenever the application is called (in this case by the browser on clicking a bitcoin: link on a web page). That fails when the application can only have one instance running (bitcoin-qt by itself handles the bitcoin database; no other app/instance can be simultaneously doing this).

The 'magic' is that when the '%U' parameter is present, the OS sends the request to the running app and, in this case, that appears as a bitcoin transaction in bitcoin-qt as expected.

Over the years of playing with bitcoin.desktop, i had managed to lose that parameter somehow. Very confusing.

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