b-open-io/calculate-mining-difficulty

Calculate Mining Difficulty

Calculate and analyze BSV mining difficulty from targets, bits, and network data.

When to Use

• Get current network difficulty from WhatsOnChain
• Convert between target and difficulty
• Decode compact bits representation
• Understand expected hash calculations for mining

Usage

# Get current network difficulty
bun run skills/calculate-mining-difficulty/scripts/difficulty.ts --current

# Calculate from compact bits (e.g., genesis block)
bun run skills/calculate-mining-difficulty/scripts/difficulty.ts --bits 0x1d00ffff

# Calculate from target hex (64 characters)
bun run skills/calculate-mining-difficulty/scripts/difficulty.ts --target 00000000ffff0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

# JSON output for scripting
bun run skills/calculate-mining-difficulty/scripts/difficulty.ts --bits 0x1d00ffff --json

# Show help
bun run skills/calculate-mining-difficulty/scripts/difficulty.ts --help

Output

Default output:

Mining Difficulty Analysis
==========================
Difficulty: 1
Target: 0x00000000ffff0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Bits: 0x1d00ffff
Expected hashes: 4.29e+9

JSON output (--json):

{
  "difficulty": 1,
  "target": "00000000ffff0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000",
  "bits": "1d00ffff",
  "expectedHashes": "4.29e+9"
}

Difficulty Math

The script uses the standard Bitcoin difficulty formula:

• Max target: 0x00000000FFFF0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 (difficulty 1)
• Difficulty: max_target / current_target
• Compact bits format: First byte = exponent, next 3 bytes = mantissa
  • target = mantissa * 2^(8*(exponent-3))
• Expected hashes: difficulty * 2^32

API Integration

Uses WhatsOnChain API for current network data:

• Chain info endpoint: GET https://api.whatsonchain.com/v1/bsv/main/chain/info

Status

Complete - All functionality implemented and tested.