Banano Miner

Banano Miner Infographic

Banano Miner is a faucet for Banano where instead of running arbitrary calculations to "mine" a cryptocurrency, your computer runs protein folding simulations through Folding@home to help scientists around the world fight diseases such as Alzheimer's, Cancer or Parkinson's. As a result of your contribution, you get rewarded in Banano.

## Instructions

1. Head to Bananominer.com.
2. Grab your Banano address from Banano Vault, the Kalium mobile wallet or whichever address you want to receive your Banano on.
3. Enter your Banano address into the text box and click “Start Now!”.
4. Write down the User ID provided and the Team number “**234980**”.
5. Visit apps.foldingathome.org/getpasskey, enter your email address and the user ID from Bananominer.com and press "Get Passkey". You will be emailed a passkey that will increase the amount of points you get from folding. Keep this passkey handy.

### Installation

* Windows
* Ubuntu/Debian
* Arch
* Raspberry Pi OS

#### Windows

1. Download and run the F@H installer from foldingathome.org/start-folding.
2. Select “Next” until it asks you if you want an Express install or Custom install. Select Custom install.
3. Install the client and data to a directory of your choice.
4. Select for Folding@home to “Start manually” to avoid running it without you knowing.
5. Install, untick “Start Folding@home” and Finish.
6. Open your start menu and launch"Folding@home" and “FAHControl”.
7. Open the “Configure” menu.
8. Select the “Identity” tab.
9. As your name enter the User ID you got from Bananominer.com.
10. As your team number enter “**234980**”.
11. In the passkey field enter the code emailed to you from earlier.
12. Press “Save”.
13. Adjust your Folding Power to where you want it (Higher power means faster folding). **NOTE: Light disables GPU folding. Medium/High both use 100% GPU.**
14. Press “Fold” and you’re good to go! You'll be paid to your Banano wallet after you complete two work units (progress bar reaching 100%) across two different 12 hour periods and every 12 hours after that as long as you keep completing work.

**IMPORTANT**: Using a passkey is highly recommended since it will boost your banano earnings once your bonus for using it is active. The passkey bonus becomes active when you complete 10 work units, which on the Pi can sometimes take more than two weeks! So best get the passkey set up right away, or use a beefier machine to complete those work units using the same User ID and passkey as your Pi, to reach that 10 work unit threshold and let the bonus take effect sooner. If you want a more detailed explanation of how to do this, let us know on Discord.

#### Ubuntu/Debian

##### GUI Installation

1. To install FAHControl, first manually install its unsupported dependencies by the following commands:
```
sudo apt install python python-is-python3

```

Install folding client:

```
wget https://download.foldingathome.org/releases/public/release/fahclient/debian-testing-64bit/v7.4/fahclient_7.4.4_amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i --force-depends fahclient_7.4.4_amd64.deb

```

Install advanced control (GUI):

```
wget https://download.foldingathome.org/releases/public/release/fahcontrol/debian-testing-64bit/v7.4/fahcontrol_7.4.4-1_all.deb

sudo dpkg -i --force-depends fahcontrol_7.4.4-1_all.deb

```

Install folding viewer - a visualisation allowing you to watch the animation of the current project

```
wget https://download.foldingathome.org/releases/public/release/fahviewer/debian-testing-64bit/v7.4/fahviewer_7.4.4_amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i --force-depends fahviewer_7.4.4_amd64.de

```
If it at any point prompts you to use fix broken installs, do that with the command
```
sudo apt install --fix-broken

```

1. Download FAHClient and FAHControl packages from https://foldingathome.org/start-folding/ and install them.
2. Launch “FAHControl” which must now be installed in your app drawer.
3. Open the “Configure” menu.
4. Select the “Identity” tab.
5. As your name enter the User ID you got from Bananominer.com.
6. As your team number enter “234980”.
7. In the passkey field enter the code emailed to you from earlier.
8. Press “Save”.
9. Adjust your Folding Power to where you want it (Higher power means more Banano). **NOTE: Light disables GPU folding. Medium/High both use 100% GPU.**
10. Press “Fold” and you’re good to go! You'll be paid to your Banano wallet after you complete two work units (progress bar reaching 100%) across two different 12 hour periods and every 12 hours after that as long as you keep completing work.

##### CLI Installation

1. In the terminal, run these two commands:
```
wget -O fahclient.deb https://download.foldingathome.org/releases/public/release/fahclient/debian-stable-64bit/v7.6/latest.deb
sudo dpkg -i --force-depends fahclient.deb

```
2. Navigate to "/etc/fahclient/" by running
```
cd /etc/fahclient/

```
3. Then run
```
sudo FAHClient --configure

```
You will be then prompted to input your username, team number and passkey. For each one, paste it in by pressing Ctrl+Shift+V , then press Enter to go to the next one. The next three inputs can remain the same; just press Enter to move on. When you're prompted to "Overwrite 'config.xml'", say yes by typing "y" and then pressing Enter. You can confirm the overwrite worked by running
```
cat config.xml

```
and checking if your details are in there.
4. Restart the client to apply the changes by running
```
sudo systemctl restart FAHClient

```
You can skip this step if you plan to fold with a GPU.

* OPTIONAL: if you don't want F@H to automatically run when you start your system, you can run
```
sudo systemctl disable FAHClient

```

##### Nvidia GPU

1. In a terminal, run
```
sudo apt install ocl-icd-opencl-dev

```
2. Reboot the system.

#### Arch

1. Run
```
sudo pacman -Sy --needed base-devel

```
2. Install foldingathome from the AUR.

##### Without an AUR helper

Clone the repository

```
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/foldingathome.git

```

Open the repository directory

```
cd foldingathome

```

Build and install FAH

```
makepkg -si

```

##### With an AUR helper

The AUR helper helps you install AUR packages effortlessly. Refer to the documentations of your AUR helper.

You can also optionally install fahcontrol and fahviewer this way.

1. Open a terminal window.
2. In the terminal, navigate to "/etc/foldingathome/" by running
```
cd /etc/foldingathome/

```
3. Then run
```
sudo FAHClient --configure

```
You will be then prompted to input your username, team number and passkey. For each one, paste it in by pressing Ctrl+Shift+V , then press Enter to go to the next one. The next three inputs can remain the same; just press Enter to move on. When you're prompted to "Overwrite 'config.xml'", say yes by typing "y" and then pressing Enter. You can confirm the overwrite worked by running
```
cat config.xml

```
and checking if your details are in there.
4. Start the client by running
```
sudo systemctl start foldingathome

```
5. The foldingathome client is disabled by default. To run it on startup, run
```
sudo systemctl enable foldingathome

```

##### Nvidia GPU

1. In a terminal, run
```
sudo pacman -S clinfo cuda ocl-icd opencl-nvidia

```
2. Enable "foldingathome-nvidia" to run on boot by running
```
sudo systemctl enable foldingathome-nvidia

```
Both this and foldingathome need to be enabled.
3. IMPORTANT: if you don't want to have the client run at startup, you need to remember to activate both services. This can be done in one go with
```
sudo systemctl start foldingathome-nvidia foldingathome

```
4. Reboot the system.

##### Intel Integrated GPU

1. In a terminal, run
```
sudo pacman -S ocl-icd intel-compute-runtime

```
2. Then run this command to edit the F@H config file:
```
sudo nano /etc/foldingathome/config.xml

```
3. Copy and paste " `<gpu-beta v='true'/>`" (INCLUDING THE TWO SPACES AT THE BEGINNING!) onto an empty line anywhere between the two `<config>` blocks. Here's a very basic example on what it should look like:
```
<config>
 <power v='full'/>

 <gpu-beta v='true'/>

 <cause v='CANCER'/>
</config>

```
4. Save and exit, then reboot.

#### Raspberry Pi 2B V1, Pi 3 and Pi 4

##### Setting up the Pi for folding

The first step is to write a 64bit ARM operating system to an SD card to run on your Pi. I used the official Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit version. Download link can be found here.
You can use a program such as BalenaEtcher or the official Raspberry Pi Imager to write the image to your SD card, but I will assume for this guide that you know how to write images to SD cards already.
If you do not want to do a fresh install and want to continue using your 32 bit OS, do the following command on your 32 bit Raspberry Pi OS
```
sudo apt-get install -y raspbian-nspawn-64

```
This will install a 64 bit shell in a virtual environment, in which the next few steps are similar. To read more, click on this github link about raspbian-nspawn-64
To get into the 64 bit shell, do
```
ds64-shell

```
Once you have booted your pi for the first time, you can check that you are definitely running the 64bit Pi OS by running
`uname -m`, If you get the response `aarch64` then you are good to go! Most times Folding@home fails to install is because someone is trying to install it on a 32bit operating system.
##### Downloading and installing Folding@home client

First step is to install the Folding@home client (FAHClient) for arm64 operating systems. Open a terminal window, navigate to a folder you would like to install it to and run the command
```
wget -O fahclient.deb https://download.foldingathome.org/releases/public/release/fahclient/debian-stable-arm64/v7.6/latest.deb

```

Once you have it downloaded, it’s time to install it with
```
sudo dpkg -i --force-depends fahclient.deb

```

A popup will appear on your terminal window, and you will need to type or paste your Folding@home:
* Name (This is the User ID shown when you head to Bananominer and paste in your banano wallet address).
* Team number (for mining Banano this is currently 234980, but this should be shown on the website next to your User ID).
* Passkey.

**IMPORTANT**: Using a passkey is highly recommended since it will boost your banano earnings once your bonus for using it is active. The passkey bonus becomes active when you complete 10 work units, which on the Pi can sometimes take more than two weeks! So best get the passkey set up right away, or use a beefier machine to complete those work units using the same User ID and passkey as your Pi, to reach that 10 work unit threshold and let the bonus take effect sooner. If you want a more detailed explanation of how to do this, let us know on Discord.

You can request a passkey from Folding@home here.
Finally you will be asked for the preferred folding intensity of your Pi (choose full for best performance) and if you would like to run it at start-up (selecting ‘Yes’ here is generally a good idea if you want to devote your Pi to folding because in the case of a power outage your Pi can start folding again right away).
Once you return to the terminal your Pi is set up and ready to go! **FAHClient is started by default (if you opted into the `run at startup`) and you can leave your Pi alone to do its thing**.

## Terms and abbreviations

### Point

The measure of contributions for completed work units.
### WU

**Work unit** is a small time-slice of protein processing fetched from a Folding@home server. The result will be uploaded to a server when your computer finished folding.
### PRCG

**Project Run Clone Gen** is an identifier for work units.
### PPD

**Points Per Day** - an estimation of the amount of points that can be produced in one day.
### TPF

**Time Per Frame**: Time needed to process 1% (one frame) of the work unit.
### Pending points

Accumulated points before Bananominer successfully distributes Banano to a user. Normally, this get resetted every payout cycle.
### Timeout

Exceeding this allotted time results in loss of bonus points and the work unit will be re-assigned to another folder.
### Deadline

The final time limit. After this, the work unit will be dumped.

## Additional notes

### View folding progress without GUI on UNIX systems

To track your folding progress without using a GUI on a UNIX or UNIX-like operating system, view the file `/var/lib/fahclient/log.txt`:
```
tail /var/lib/fahclient/log.txt

```

You can selectively view the last x lines of the log file, for example:
```
tail -19 /var/lib/fahclient/log.txt

```

### Folding and mining

Folding is different from mining cryptocurencies utilising PoW. There are many mining things aren't applicable for folding.
Each CPU or GPU is a folding slot, and each of them can simultaneously work on a single work unit only. A work unit is strictly assigned to a slot and cannot be interfered by another slot. Therefore, you can't use different GPUs or CPUs to fold a work unit.
### Overclocking

If the GPU is unstable while performing the simulation, that work will be lost and a new Work Unit requested. Repeated failures can cause your GPU to be disabled by your client and impact the research project. Only overclock if you know what you are doing.
If you were to overclock your GPU, focus on clockcore as this will give a significant performance boost.

### Passkey bonus

The bonus is activated when you complete 10 work units (failed WUs count) after adding the passkey. You get bonus points from the 11th work unit if it is finished before timeout. One passkey can work for multiple users. Folding with a new passkey resets your bonus. If your completion rate is smaller than 80%, the bonus is deactivated. Check passkey bonus here: apps.foldingathome.org/bonus.

#### Miscellaneous

##### Maximising folding PPD

Complete the work as fast as possible by reducing the times you pause, and folding continously.

###### Checkpointing frequency

Checkpointing results in a spike in CPU utilisation. The more frequent the checkpointing is, the less folding progress you may lose, but it decreases overall performance.

##### Remove a folding slot

1. Open Advanced control.
2. Click on the "Configure" button in the top left of the F@HControl client software.
3. Go on the "Slots" tab and add/remove whichever folding slot you want to.
4. Click "Save".

##### Prevent Folding@home client from folding on start

Add the option `pause-on-start` and set the `true` value for this.

##### Prevent Folding@home client from running on start

* Windows
* UNIX/UNIX-like
* macOS

###### Windows

Disable `HideConsole.exe` from Start up on Task manager.

###### UNIX/UNIX-like

```
sudo systemctl disable foldingathome

```

###### macOS

```
sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.foldingathome.fahclient.plist

```

To re-enable:

```
sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.foldingathome.fahclient.plist

```

##### Make Folding@home client run on start

* Windows
* UNIX/UNIX-like
* macOS

###### Windows

Uninstall the folding client and reinstall with the run on start option enabled.

### Big work units

Console v6 clients have: small <5 MB, normal 5-10 MB, and big >10 MB. Big is not recommended for clients with very small RAM or extremely slow internet (dial-up) as work units can become corrupted when transmitted.
### Preferred cause

Each project works on a specific cause. When you select a cause to fold on, you will only get assigned projects in the field you chose. However, when no work units in the range are available, the system may give you a task from other causes.

High priority is an option first introduced in 2020. Certain projects fall into this category as demand for a cure for a disease raises.

## Hardware optimisastion

Overclocking is not recommended for folding as hardware modification without precision may result in unstable hardware, making the computer unable to complete work. Folding performance can be improved by increasing core clock. On the other hand, memory clock doesn't have significant impacts on folding.

## FAQ

**Q:** Where do I start folding?

**A:** Download the F@H client from: https://foldingathome.org/start-folding/

**Q:** When will I be paid?

**A:** First payment is normally within 24-36 hours of completing first Work Unit (green bar goes to 100%) as long as you complete at least 2 work units across two 12 hour periods. You can validate your configuration and check your stats at F@H Stats - Monkey 2 Monkey or Nanners.cc.

**Q:** Can I use anything as my name?

**A:** No. Enter your Banano address into Bananominer.com and it will provide you with a name and a team number. Enter these into the Folding@Home config panel. If you don't have these set correctly, you will not be paid. Copy and paste to ensure it's correct.

**Q:** How much will I get paid for < 1,000 points?

**A:** As of 26 January 2024, the threshold for payouts is about 3310 points. You will get nothing until you accumulate at least 3310 points. For points to reward estimation, use F@H Points-to-Banano Calculator.

**Q:** Why do I get no bonus points?

**A:** It is likely you don't have a passkey set if you are earning that few points. Get a passkey from apps.foldingathome.org/getpasskey using any email and username you like. After 10 completed work units you will receive a much larger reward from folding.

**Q:** How much Banano can I earn from folding?

**A:** The exact point to Banano ratio is continuously being adjusted to find a good balance of distribution, decided by the Banano team. This is a faucet and not like traditional mining.

**Q:** Why have my payouts been reduced?

**A:** This is likely due to rebalancing of payouts.

**Q:** I took a break from folding but now I'm not being paid. Can you fix it?

**A:** You can fix it yourself by entering your Banano address into the Bananominer website again. You should receive a payment on the next pay cycle if you have pending points.

**Q:** The distribution wallet is empty. Will I still be paid?

**A:** If faucet wallet

 is empty, it is safe to continue folding. You will be paid all missing payments once it has been topped up again.

**Q:** Why am I only getting the Base Credit for my completed work units?

**A:** Your Quick Return Bonus (Passkey Bonus) is not active. A quick return bonus requires 80% successful completion rate of work units, and 10 work units completed after entering the passkey into the client.

**Q**: I have received payments before, and have pending Work Units after a pay window?

**A**: If Folding@Home does not report a work unit 12 hours before a payout, the Banano Miner script will not send a payment. Complete another work unit to be included in the next window.

**Q**: My GPU is only reporting 10-30% utlization in Task Manager?

**A**: Task manager misreports GPU utilisation for Folding@Home. Change to CUDA or Compute depending on Nvidia or AMD GPU or use HWinfo/alternative monitoring software.

**Q**: Where does folding client keep its files by default?

**A**: On Windows: `C:\ProgramData\FAHClient`

UNIX: `/var/lib/fahclient`. config.xml file is located in `/etc/fahclient`

MacOS: `/Library/Applicaton Support/FAHClient`

## Caution

**Using trials of cloud server providers or using multiple folding accounts to boost rewards is against the Bananominer TOS and if you are found to be using these methods you will be penalised.**

## Trivia

* Folding@Home client on macOS doesn't support GPU folding.

* A payout only occurs when the user has at least 3310 pending points.

## Useful folding tools

Banano reward estimator

nanners.cc - Bananominer x Folding@Home stats

CPU Folding@Home PPD Overall Ranks Database

GPU Folding@Home PPD Overall Ranks Database

## Additional links / files

Banano Miner Watch Chrome extension

Banano@Home - Modified Folding at home in the dark Chrome extension - OrionAlgo

Reward Estimator by TurtleByte

This tool is no longer being updated
Fork of TurtleByte's reward estimator, by Malkaroy

TurtleByte passed the project on to Malkaroy
Report card website

BananoMiner stats site by Vevox (Offline)

nanners.cc - Bananominer x Folding@Home stats

CPU Folding@Home PPD Overall Ranks Database

GPU Folding@Home PPD Overall Ranks Database

Supported GPU list

Folding@home Server Stats

Folding@home Active Projects

HWiNFO - Free System Information, Monitoring and Diagnostics

FAHBench (Folding@home benchmark)

## References

1. ↑ Folding@home WU Status (english).
2. ↑ Banano Miner.
3. ↑ Vault.
4. ↑ Kalium.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Folding power slider (English). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved on September 9, 2021.
6. ↑ What about visualization? - Folding@home. Archived from the original on October 15, 2022. Retrieved on October 15, 2022.
7. ↑ Terminal installation for Debian / Mint / Ubuntu (English). Archived from the original on October 15, 2022. Retrieved on September 9, 2021.
8. ↑ Guide for installing FAH v7.6.21 on Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS v2 (english). Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved on September 28, 2022.
9. ↑ Howto Linux Folding Rig (English). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved on September 9, 2021.
10. ↑ Arch User Repository (English).
11. ↑ AUR helpers (English).
12. ↑ Folding@Home AUR Page (English).
13. ↑ Introduction To Common F@H Jargon (English). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved on September 9, 2021.
14. ↑ How to check progress from CLI? (english). Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved on November 12, 2022.
15. ↑ Folding@home - ArchWiki (english). Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved on November 12, 2022.
16. ↑ Passkey and points (English). Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved on April 18, 2022.
17. ↑ Pavel Vladov (2017/02/01). How to Maximize Folding@Home Points Per Day (PPD) (English). Archived from the original on June 1, 2022.
18. ↑ How do I stop f@h from automatically running every time I booted up my MacBook? (English). Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved on September 2, 2021.
19. ↑ Folding@home WU Status (english).
20. ↑ Greg Bowman (2020-04-17). NEW FOLDING@HOME SOFTWARE WITH THE OPTION TO PRIORITIZE COVID-19 PROJECTS. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved on September 28, 2022.
21. ↑ Template:Cite journal
22. ↑ Overclocking GPU memory? (english). Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. Retrieved on March 7, 2022.
23. ↑ GPU overclocking for folding pointless? (english). Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. Retrieved on March 7, 2022.
24. ↑ Test WU (english). Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. Retrieved on March 7, 2022.
25. ↑ Bryan (2017-07-21). GPUs in the task manager (English). DirectX Developer Blog. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved on September 23, 2021.
26. ↑ Michael Ceber (2019-02-21). GPU Monitoring on Windows 10 for Machine Learning & CUDA (English). Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved on September 21, 2021.
27. ↑ PantherX (2020-04-19). 6 - How To Post A Log File (Windows) (English). Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved on March 19, 2023.
28. ↑ Error on call to template:cite web: Parameters **archiveurl** and **archivedate** must be both specified or both omittedFile Locations (English). Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved on March 19, 2023.
29. ↑ PantherX (2020-04-19). 7 - How To Post A Log File (Linux) (English). Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved on March 19, 2023.
30. ↑ Joe\_H (2020-12-01). install on MACOS Big Sur (English). Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved on March 19, 2023.
31. ↑ PantherX (2020-04-19). 8 - How To Post A Log File (macOS) (English). Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved on March 19, 2023.