full node – Error: Prune mode is incompatible with -txindex

I want to add more details on this problem, with the actual hype of Bitcoin there are a lot of people that make bad tutorials with copy and paste on the web, and this causes a lot of confusion.

My additional explanation that I want to add to the answer is the motivation that this error happens.

The pruning mode is the unique mode to store only the partial data of Bitcoin blockchain, you can find the data stored from Bitcoin core on the directory path/bitcoin/blocks by default the path/bitcoin si in the home directory and the name of it is .bitcoin.

When you use the -txindex you are telling the Bitcoin core to be ready to receive any type of query with RPC commands. If you want to use Bitcoin core as a normal wallet you can avoid the option -txindex.

The options -txindex and prune=XXX are mutually exclusive, this means that can not stay together in the same configuration, because you are telling the Bitcoin core to be ready for any type of query but you are also telling that you don’t want that Bitcoin core store a lot of data on you PC. With partial data -txindex can not work.

P.S.: Noted also that if you remove the option prune=XXX, you need to re-scan the entire blockchain, and also the space on the disk required is very large.