How to mine Zecnero.

01What you need

• A 64-bit Intel or AMD processor. No GPU: RandomX is built so an ordinary processor is the efficient hardware for it.
• 8 GB of memory. The miner uses about 2.5 GB in fast mode; solo, the node takes about 1 GB more.
• Linux x86-64 with glibc 2.34 or later (Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12 or newer), or Windows 10 (version 2004 or later) or 11 with WSL 2.
• No open port on your router. The pool is reached on TCP port 3334 (or 3333); a solo node reaches other nodes on 18733.

02Install and mine on the pool

On Linux, or in the Ubuntu window of WSL on Windows:

curl -fsSL https://downloads.zecnero.org/install-miner.sh | bash

On Windows, in Windows PowerShell (not as administrator). It sets up WSL first if it is missing:

irm https://downloads.zecnero.org/install.ps1 | iex

The installer downloads the release and checks its signature against the Zecnero release key, then makes your mining key and waits until you type SAVED. It asks how you want to mine: press Enter for the pool. The pool logs in with a shielded Sapling address, so the installer makes a wallet for your payouts and shows its 24-word seed once; save it as you saved the key. About a minute later the miner is running on stratum.zecnero.org:3334 over TLS. Check it with:

zecnero-miner status

You want Pool: connected and a growing accepted count. To read the installer before running it, see download, verify, then run.

03The pool login and block 16,529

The pool pays the address you log in with. The installer logs in with the Sapling address (ntestsapling1…) of the wallet it made; zecnero-miner pool-login prints it, and zecnero-miner pool-login new makes a new wallet and logs in with it.

The testnet upgrades at block 16,529, expected around October 8, 2026 at 22:00 UTC. From that block the pool refuses transparent nm… logins, because it can only pay shielded. If you installed with an older release, update first, then switch to the pool:

zecnero-miner update
zecnero-miner mode pool

mode pool asks for a Sapling address and offers to make a wallet for it. The network upgrade post has the details, including what happens to nm… balances.

The pool splits each block by the shares sent before it (PPLNS), with a 0% fee on the testnet, and pays balances of 0.5 ZMR or more once the block has 100 confirmations, about two hours.

04Already running xmrig-zecnero

Point it at the pool with your Sapling address. It needs no settings file:

xmrig-zecnero -o stratum.zecnero.org:3334 --tls -u YOUR_ADDRESS -a rx/zecnero

Add a worker name after a dot to tell your computers apart. Port 3333 takes the same connection without TLS, but some routers, antivirus programs and providers cut plain mining traffic, so use 3334 where you can. The algorithm is rx/zecnero; Monero’s rx/0 computes a different hash.

05Solo mining with your own node

Solo runs three programs on your computer: zecnerod, the node; zecnero-bridge, which turns the node’s block templates into miner jobs; and xmrig-zecnero. Choose 2) Solo in the installer, or skip the question:

curl -fsSL https://downloads.zecnero.org/install-miner.sh | ZECNERO_MODE=solo bash

Already on the pool? zecnero-miner mode solo switches. A block your computer finds pays its whole reward to your mining key’s address, less the 3% founder stream, and nothing comes until then. Run one node per internet connection: the seeds accept one new connection from the same address every two minutes. Keep the node’s RPC port and the bridge on 127.0.0.1.

06Everyday commands

07Hashrate, and why WSL2 numbers are low

RandomX runs noticeably faster with huge pages and the MSR tweak. Inside WSL2 the MSR tweak is not available, and the miner prints FAILED TO APPLY MSR MOD; WSL2 hashes slower than native Linux on the same machine. That is fine for the testnet, but a WSL2 hashrate is not a reference number for the processor. To measure one, use native Linux, or the native Windows miner.

The native Windows miner is an opt-in beta, for pool mining only, installed with irm https://downloads.zecnero.org/install-native.ps1 | iex. WSL stays the default; see Native Windows (beta) and huge pages on Windows. Laptops work, but heat up and throttle: use fewer threads and mains power.

08Where the reward goes

A block is due every 75 seconds on average, and which miner finds it is chance. The founder stream is paid by every block from 1 to 1,679,999, whoever mines it; there is no premine and no founder-only mining period. A mined coin can be spent 100 blocks after the block that created it, and, under the Mainnet rule the wallet follows, only once it has been shielded. Testnet coins have no value, and nothing here says mining is profitable.

Questions

Can I mine Zecnero on Windows?

Yes. The default runs the Linux programs inside WSL 2, set up by irm https://downloads.zecnero.org/install.ps1 | iex in Windows PowerShell. For pool mining there is also a native Windows miner, an opt-in beta.

Can I mine Zecnero with a GPU?

A GPU adds little. Zecnero uses RandomX, which is built so an ordinary processor is the efficient hardware for it.

What address does the pool pay?

The Sapling address you log in with, ntestsapling1… on the testnet. From block 16,529 the pool refuses transparent nm… logins.

Is mining Zecnero profitable?

Nothing here says it is. Testnet coins have no value, and Mainnet has not launched. A miner’s expected share of new coins equals its share of the network hashrate.