⚠️ RBZL, the author of SiaSetup, has been banned by Sia's unreasonable project management due to our criticism of the Sia/Skynet projects.
We'd suggest that you read our criticism, which includes details on how the ban came about, and avoid the Sia and Skynet projects as a result. ⚠️

About SiaSetup

SiaSetup isn't affiliated with Sia, so who the heck are they?


SiaSetup is a project undertaken by RBZL, a contributor to the Sia project since 2017. And since it's only me, I'll stop talking about myself in the third person. 😄

When I first came across Sia, I found the Sia project interesting - not only for it's use of the blockchain, but for the concept of having a network of average Joe users renting out their hard drive space to create a massive cloud storage platform. The idea made sense to me and the technology was cool, so I've been around on and off when life permits, mostly contributing to documentation and discussion around the project. I also think the project has many challenges ahead of it, and have voiced those concerns as well.

More importantly, I've found that there's a massive deficiency in having one centralized place for people to come and learn about the project from the beginning, and get started step-by-step in actually doing things like creating a wallet or becoming a host. I was mostly frustrated by those who I considered ignorant of the project details, but when examining the issue, I couldn't really blame them because the information on the project is scattered amongst a dozen websites and sources, and is often out of date.

Instead of complaining about it, I decided to use some of my Software Development background to put something together that could be used as a one-stop, up-to-date resource for those interested in Sia. This website is my attempt at that. For that reason, much of the information on SiaSetup is my opinion of the Sia project, or put into my words. I attempt to use official sources whenever possible (documentation, source code, testing it on Sia myself, etc), but as stated, this website is not affiliated with Sia in any official capacity.

I welcome any questions, comments, or whatever else you've got, though if you've still got questions about the Sia project itself after exploring SiaSetup, I'd recommend that you utilize some of the External Links such as Discord or Reddit where there are a number of community members to answer your questions on the project. If you send me a message about how to do something on Sia, I'm probably going to point you to those anyway, unless it's something I can update in the FAQs or Troubleshooting guides for you.

Please consider supporting SiaSetup!

SiaSetup is a project I volunteer my time towards, and keeping on top of regular updates takes more time than you'd probably think. With each new Sia version, each page of SiaSetup needs to be reviewed to make sure all information is still current. More often than not, I have to personally test things to examine reported problems with Sia and document a workaround or solution, which takes time and Siacoins. Things like the renter and host tools on SiaSetup are custom-developed, and running a Sia node and packaging the consensus database nightly requires decent hardware.

If you find SiaSetup useful, please consider supporting SiaSetup with a donation. If you rent storage on Sia, you can also support us by Renting from SiaSetup - we maintain one or more high-priced reliable hosts, so you can support us through renting and get something out of it in return. Thanks!


Other Information

Technical and other information about SiaSetup.

Tips for Using SiaSetup

Here are a few tips to help you use SiaSetup. While I think the site is fairly straightforward to use, this information might be helpful to utilize the site more effectively.

Last Updated Times

Many pages have "Last Updated" times. These times are based on the time that page was last modified (i.e. changed and saved). Not every modification to a page means that the entire page was reviewed, but recent modification times at least mean that the page has been looked at somewhat recently. Times are color coded - green times mean a page has been modified within the last three months. Yellow times mean a page hasn't been updated for more than three months, but within the last six months. Red times mean a page hasn't been updated for over six months, so the content may be out of date.

If you see a red page and you think the content needs to be updated, you can contact us and let us know. If you are generous enough to support SiaSetup with a donation, it also motivates me to update content regularly 😉. Note that some pages, like the Consensus Download page or Renter or Host Tools, may not be updated for months, but automated scripts run to update the content on the page regularly. The "Last Updated" times for these pages do not apply to the dynamic content they display - many times, these pages will have a separate area displaying the date the dynamic content was updated, like in the Consensus Status section.

Linking to Sections

Many section headings, tabbed content, and all expandable cards have a feature which allows you to link directly to that section. This can be useful when you're trying to share a specific section with someone, or a specific FAQ card without needing to tell someone to look for that card on their own. Link icons on expandable cards are always visible on the right side of the card. Section heading links are visible when you hover over a section - try it above with the "Tips for Using SiaSetup" heading, and you'll see a link icon appear to the right. Tabbed content (such as in our Guide to Buying Siacoins) uses the same mechanic as the section headings - the link to each tab will be attached to the first heading under that tab. Note that not every section heading has a link, but many do.


Technical Information

Information on SiaSetup site status and other technical bits and pieces.

SiaSetup Website
SiaSetup Version and Status

SiaSetup Version: 2.1.0

Not related to current Sia version
Changelog
SiaSetup Version 2.1.0:

SiaSetup has been moved to a long-term, low-cost server for indefinite archival. The consensus download has been discontinued as a result. Tools and calculators should continue to function until a supporting service changes and breaks automatic updates. Information about the Foundation fork was also added, and a small update to the Concerns page was made.

Use of Cookies

We use cookies (small bits of information saved in your web browser) for a few things on SiaSetup. Most of the site is built in PHP, which saves a session identifier as a cookie to help us keep track of things you've done while using the site, such as when you complete a ReCAPTCHA so you don't always have to complete them every time you do certain things. We also save cookies when you use our Renter or Host Tools so that your changes are saved for 30 days in case you return and want to pick up where you left off. Your Dark Mode setting is another thing stored as a cookie, so it can be remembered and turned on for you when you come back.

Logged Data

We log a small amount of data when you access our site, which may include your IP address and the pages you visit. These logs are common for any type of web server, and help to identify problems with our site such as missing pages or broken links. We typically don't look at these logs unless we suspect a problem, though we may occasionally check them to ensure that nothing is broken which we haven't otherwise noticed. Logs are also useful in analyzing traffic on SiaSetup and determining which pages are useful, or if our server hardware is sufficient to keep up with demand. We do not have a set time period for how long we store these logs.

License

All general information on this website is subject to the GNU Free Documentation License. Any code snippets are provided subject to the GNU General Public License. In general, you can do what you want with the content on this website, including modify and redistribute it, as long as you attach the same licenses to your work. Crediting SiaSetup and linking to the source content is also appreciated.