Command line options

Specifying command line options can enable additional non-default settings when running Bisq from the command line.

See a full list of available options in the code. This article covers more notable ones for typical use cases.

Specify a different data directory

The default data directory Bisq uses is called "Bisq". All Bisq data is fully contained in it. The default path of this data directory varies based on your operating system. To change the default path too, see below.

You can specify a different data directory with --appData=BisqTest (change "BisqTest" to whatever you want; "Bisq" is the default) and Bisq will create a brand new data directory in the default path with a new wallet, keys, onion address, etc (or use the existing data directory with that name if it's already there).

You can use this option to run more than one instance of Bisq at once, which can be helpful to send funds from one Bisq instance to another when switching to a new data directory.

See below for a suggestion on including this option automatically without having to specify it every time.

Specify a different data directory path

If you'd like to change the default path for the data directory altogether (e.g. to store the data directory on another drive), run Bisq with --appDataDir=/external/hard/drive/path.

See below for a suggestion on including this option automatically without having to specify it every time.

Dump delayed payout transactions

Add the --dumpDelayedPayoutTxs=true option to dump delayed payout transactions in the following files in your data directory, inside the db folder:

1. delayed_payout_txs_closed.json
2. delayed_payout_txs_pending.json
3. delayed_payout_txs_failed.json

Specify a Bitcoin node

Sometimes Bisq cannot connect to the node specified in the interface at Settings > Network Info, so starting Bisq with --btcNodes=<node address> can help.

See below for a suggestion on including this option automatically without having to specify it every time.

See all Bisq trades

See all Bisq trades by running the --dumpStatistics=true option. Then check out btc_mainnet/db/trade_statistics.json.

See below for a suggestion on including this option automatically without having to specify it every time.

Include command-line options by default

If there are certain options you'd like to include every time you start Bisq, you can make a script that specifies them for you.

For example, this script specifies an alternative data directory path on macOS:

#!/bin/bash

/Applications/Bisq.app/Contents/MacOS/Bisq --appDataDir=/external/hard/drive/path

Replace the Bisq executable path above with the one for your operating system and specify the options you want to include. Then put the script somewhere in your system path so you can easily call it.

Optionally, consider making a dummy directory in the default location to prevent Bisq from accidentally launching in its default mode. To do this, create a directory named "Bisq" in the default data directory path for your operating system without any permissions.

For example, on macOS:

$ cd ~/Library/Application\ Support/
$ mkdir Bisq
$ chmod 000 Bisq

In this way, since the system won't have write access in the default location, launching Bisq normally will fail, reminding you to launch Bisq with your script.