When this guide makes sense
Use this guide if you want to use StartOS instead, or if you are already running StartOS 0.4.0, which is the setup advised in the source notes.
Use a stable hostname for rented hashpower. MiningRigRentals does not refund rentals pointed at IP-based pools, and a changing home IP can strand paid rental time on a dead endpoint. Use DDNS, HashGG, Start Tunnel with a hostname, or PickHash’s DuckDNS option before spending sats.
There are two broad ways to expose the service:
- Forward a port from your router and give the endpoint a DDNS hostname
- Use Start Tunnel and let it front the service for you
The second option is probably the correct way to do this generally.
Why Start Tunnel is the cleaner route
Start Tunnel acts like a router in the sky.
It forwards traffic to your home over VPN, lets some VPS provider know you’re a miner, gives you a static IP, and makes life much easier if your home connection does not have a static IP, which almost no one does.
It also means you do not have to rely on a home IP that might change and break the bid later.
1. Install BIP-110 on StartOS
Grab the latest release here:
https://github.com/dathonohm/knots-startos/releases
Install that package on your StartOS box.
StartOS already exposes the Knots settings relevant to DATUM, including blocknotify, blockmaxsize, blockmaxweight, maxmempool, and blockreconstructionextratxn.
DATUM on StartOS also auto-configures blocknotify, so this is not the same gap as Umbrel.
The StartOS Knots defaults already line up with DATUM’s recommended block space reservation values for blockmaxsize and blockmaxweight.
If you want the higher DATUM-style tuning values beyond that, still review the Knots advanced settings before you move on, especially maxmempool and blockreconstructionextratxn.
2. Install the DATUM gateway
Install the DATUM gateway from the Start9 marketplace.
Once it is installed, make sure it is the service you are actually exposing to rented hashpower, not some other node endpoint by accident.
3. Set up Start Tunnel
Get a VPS and install Start Tunnel using the official docs:
https://docs.start9.com/start-tunnel/1.0.x/
Then follow the instructions to make your DATUM gateway use Start Tunnel.
4. Record the tunnel endpoint
When Start Tunnel is in front of the gateway, your hashpower provider should use:
stratum+tcp://your-vps-ip:23334Replace your-vps-ip with the public IP of the VPS running Start Tunnel. PickHash can give this raw IP a stable DuckDNS name during its setup wizard.
5. If you skip Start Tunnel
If you choose to forward a port directly from your router to the StartOS machine instead, the forwarded traffic still lands on the box on your local network.
The rental provider still needs a stable public endpoint, not the private LAN address.
For a home connection, that usually means a DDNS hostname:
stratum+tcp://hostname.domain.com:23334Replace hostname.domain.com with the actual DDNS hostname your router keeps updated.
If you are not using DDNS, only use the raw public IP when your ISP actually gives you a stable static public IP.
Do not point paid rentals at a rotating home IP.
What you bring into PickHash
Once this guide is done, bring these values into the PickHash guide:
- If you used Start Tunnel:
stratum+tcp://your-start-tunnel-vps-ip:23334 - If you used direct port forwarding with DDNS:
stratum+tcp://hostname.domain.com:23334 - If you used direct port forwarding with a stable static IP:
stratum+tcp://your-public-ip:23334 - Worker username:
bc1qyourrealbitcoinaddress.someworkername
If your endpoint is a raw IP, enable PickHash’s DuckDNS option so MiningRigRentals treats it as a hostname.
Then continue to the PickHash guide.
The Braiins guide remains available as an alternative.
Why use this guide
- You already have a StartOS box you trust, so you can reuse it instead of rebuilding the whole stack on a fresh VPS
- Start Tunnel gives a hashpower provider a stable public endpoint without handing over your literal home IP
- Your node and DATUM stay on hardware you already control, which is the whole point of this route
- If you support BIP-110, this route lets you keep that node on StartOS and point rented hash at that setup