Download
The official Zcash client is built for Linux (64 bit). To see a list of third-party wallets that support Zcash and check out alternative download options, visit the Zcash Community site.
Note that you may need at least 2GB of RAM to generate shielded Zcash transactions.
After you've downloaded Zcash using one of the options below, watch our install video for a step-by-step guide to getting started. Be sure to read our recommendations for protecting your privacy before you begin using Zcash.
The latest version of the software is 1.1.1.
Install Video
Debian package install instructions
The Zcash Company maintains a package repository for 64-bit Debian-based distributions, making it possible to install Zcash using "apt-get" from the command line.
First install the following dependency so you can talk to our repository using HTTPS:
sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https
Then add the Zcash master signing key to apt's trusted keyring (Fingerprint: F1E2 1403 7E94 E950 BA85 77B2 63C4 A216 9C1B 2FA2):
wget -qO - https://apt.z.cash/zcash.asc | sudo apt-key add -
Add the repository to your sources:
echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://apt.z.cash/ jessie main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/zcash.list
Update the cache of sources and install Zcash:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install zcash
Now that Zcash is installed, run this command to download the parameters used to create and verify shielded transactions:
zcash-fetch-params
You'll need to create a zcash.conf file before starting zcashd for the first time:
echo "rpcuser=username" >> ~/.zcash/zcash.conf
echo "rpcpassword=`head -c 32 /dev/urandom | base64`" >> ~/.zcash/zcash.conf
To connect to the Zcash mainnet, add "mainnet=1" and "addnode=mainnet.z.cash" to the file. To run Zcash on testnet, use "testnet=1" and "addnode=testnet.z.cash". To mine, add "gen=1".
Once you've configured your zcash.conf file, you can start the zcash daemon.
zcashd
You'll have to wait for the blockchain to sync the first time you start it up. Once you've synced to the current blockheight, you can start using the zcash-cli to send and receive Zcash transactions!
zcash-cli
For troubleshooting tips and instructions on how to download over Tor, visit the Debian package install guide on wiki page below.
Here's an example of how to use the Zcash command line to create a shielded transaction. First, create a shielded address (z-addr):
zcash-cli z_getnewaddress
You can send funds to this z-addr from a transparent address using the "z_sendmany" command, as shown below.
zcash-cli z_sendmany "$TADDR" "[{\"amount\": 0.8, \"address\": \"$ZADDR\"}]"
The "z_sendmany" command is used for any transaction involving a shielded address, including transparent → shielded, shielded → shielded, or shielded → transparent. Use "zcash-cli help" to list all possible commands, and see our 1.0 User Guide for more examples of using the Zcash command line interface.
Download binary tarball
The Zcash company provides a binary tarball for download.
Download
After downloading but before extracting, verify that the checksum of the tarball matches the hash below:
sha256sum zcash-1.1.1-linux64.tar.gz
Result: 88a4f304baf53466da688cbb9c1b010462b9b792d8b5eb97795c40b9ca87cef2
This checksum was generated from our gitian deterministic build process. View all gitian signatures.
Once you've verified that it matches, extract the files and move the binaries into your executables $PATH:
tar -xvf zcash-1.1.1-linux64.tar.gz
mv -t /usr/local/bin/ zcash-1.1.1/bin/*
Now that Zcash is installed, run this command to download the parameters used to create and verify shielded transactions:
zcash-fetch-params
You'll need to create a zcash.conf file before starting zcashd for the first time:
echo "rpcuser=username" >> ~/.zcash/zcash.conf
echo "rpcpassword=`head -c 32 /dev/urandom | base64`" >> ~/.zcash/zcash.conf
To connect to the Zcash mainnet, add "mainnet=1" and "addnode=mainnet.z.cash" to the file. To run Zcash on testnet, use "testnet=1" and "addnode=testnet.z.cash". To mine, add "gen=1".
Once you've configured your zcash.conf file, you can start the zcash daemon.
zcashd
You'll have to wait for the blockchain to sync the first time you start it up. Once you've synced to the current blockheight, you can start using the zcash-cli to send and receive Zcash transactions!
zcash-cli
Here's an example of how to use the Zcash command line to create a shielded transaction. First, create a shielded address (z-addr):
zcash-cli z_getnewaddress
You can send funds to this z-addr from a transparent address using the "sendtoaddress" command. Once you've funded your z-addr, send 0.8 ZEC to a friend's address using the commmand below.
zcash-cli z_sendmany "$ZADDR" "[{\"amount\": 0.8, \"address\": \"$FRIEND\"}]"
Use "zcash-cli help" to list all possible commands, and see our 1.0 User Guide for more examples of using the Zcash command line interface.
Build from source
To build Zcash from source, follow the instructions in our 1.0 User Guide on the Zcash GitHub wiki.