doc: Add documentation explaining release artifacts

PauloAAlmeida commented at 8:27 pm on February 9, 2026: none

Add a document (doc/release-artifacts.md) describing the different file types distributed on the Bitcoin Core download page and in release torrents.

Covers: release binaries, debug symbols, unsigned builds, codesigning archives, source tarball, verification files (SHA256SUMS, .asc, .ots), and supported platforms.

The focus is on the practical utility of each artifact type — when and why a user or developer would use each one.

Closes #33316

doc: Add documentation explaining release artifacts

Add a new document describing the different file types available    on the Bitcoin Core download page, including release binaries,    debug symbols, unsigned/codesigning artifacts, and verification    files (SHA256SUMS, PGP signatures, OpenTimestamps).

ef2084d339

DrahtBot added the label Docs on Feb 9, 2026

DrahtBot commented at 8:27 pm on February 9, 2026: contributor

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DrahtBot closed this on Feb 9, 2026

DrahtBot commented at 8:27 pm on February 9, 2026: contributor

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PauloAAlmeida commented at 8:29 pm on February 9, 2026: none

This was manually written to address #33316, following feedback from the closed #33355 which was NACKed for lacking ppractical utility. This document focuses on concrete use cases for each artifact type (example: unsigned builds for Guix reproducibility verification, debug builds for gdb/lldb backtraces). Please reopen…

maflcko reopened this on Feb 10, 2026

in doc/release-artifacts.md:34 in ef2084d339

29+| `arm-linux-gnueabihf` | 32-bit ARM Linux (hard float) |
30+| `riscv64-linux-gnu` | 64-bit RISC-V Linux |
31+| `powerpc64-linux-gnu` | 64-bit POWER Linux |
32+| `x86_64-apple-darwin` | macOS (Intel) |
33+| `arm64-apple-darwin` | macOS (Apple Silicon) |
34+| `win64` | 64-bit Windows |

maflcko commented at 8:43 am on February 10, 2026:

i don’t think this adds any value

in doc/release-artifacts.md:8 in ef2084d339

0@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
1+# Release Artifacts
2+
3+Bitcoin Core releases are distributed via https://bitcoincore.org/bin/ and torrent. This guide clarifies the naming conventions and purposes of the various build artifacts.
4+
5+## Build Suffixes
6+
7+- **Standard Binaries** (`.tar.gz`, `.zip`, `-setup.exe`): Production-ready, signed binaries for general use.
8+- **Debug Builds** (`-debug`): Contains full symbols for troubleshooting and backtrace generation. See [debugging_bitcoin](https://github.com/fjahr/debugging_bitcoin) for usage.

maflcko commented at 8:45 am on February 10, 2026:

not sure we want to link to a third party repo, which is also completely unrelated to release -debug artifacts

janb84 commented at 9:22 am on February 10, 2026: contributor

~0 In it’s current implementation (if i’m not mistaken) this readme will not be copied to the downloads directory (where one would expect it to be).

So if someone opens the download folder on the website, does not know what it all means, will that person go to the source code to read a readme in the doc folder?

Why not try to add a page on the bitcoin-core website itself ?

in doc/release-artifacts.md:18 in ef2084d339

13+## Verification Files
14+
15+| File | Description |
16+|------|-------------|
17+| `SHA256SUMS` | Manifest of file hashes. |
18+| `SHA256SUMS.asc` | Detached GPG signatures from maintainers. |

fanquake commented at 10:36 am on February 10, 2026:

These aren’t only from maintainers

PauloAAlmeida commented at 11:51 am on February 10, 2026: none

Thanks for the reviews. Addressing the feedback:

Removing the Platform Identifiers table — agreed it’s self-explanatory from the filenames.
Removing the debugging_bitcoin link
Fixing “from maintainers” to “from trusted signers”.

Regarding the location (doc/ vs bitcoincore.org): I agree the website would be the ideal place for end users. Happy to follow up with a PR to bitcoin-core/bitcoincore.org as well. That said, having this in doc/ still could serve developers and verifiers who work directly with the repo too.

Will push the fixes shortly.

PauloAAlmeida commented at 12:08 pm on February 10, 2026: none

Closing this in favor of a PR to bitcoin-core/bitcoincore.org, per feedback from fanquake and janb84.

PauloAAlmeida closed this on Feb 10, 2026

doc: Add documentation explaining release artifacts #34541

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