# New Grin File Layout (Important for all current Grin users)

**URL:** <https://forum.grin.mw/t/new-grin-file-layout-important-for-all-current-grin-users/728>\
**Category:** Tech Support\
**Created:** [August 30, 2018, 9:09am UTC](https://forum.grin.mw/t/new-grin-file-layout-important-for-all-current-grin-users/728 "2018-08-30T09:09:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Yeastplume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/71c47a/32.png) [@Yeastplume](https://forum.grin.mw/u/Yeastplume)\
**Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 9:09am UTC](https://forum.grin.mw/t/new-grin-file-layout-important-for-all-current-grin-users/728/1 "2018-08-30T09:09:57Z")

</div>

[https://github.com/mimblewimble/grin/pull/1433](https://github.com/mimblewimble/grin/pull/1433), brings quite a few changes to the paths and file structure used by Grin, and there are few things that everyone currently running a Grin node or wallet needs to be aware of. I’ll give a quick outline of the changes here, and then give a few instructions for how to move existing wallets and chain data to the new format.

Generally:

- The stratum server and wallet listener are disabled by default. This means if you want to mine, you’ll need to modify grin’s configuration to run the stratum server and run the wallet listener separately.
- `grin.toml` no longer exists in the project files, and configuration files are now generated by the executable.
- Configuration is now split into two files, `grin-server.toml` and`grin-wallet.toml` (instructions below on how to generate them)
- Running `grin server` or `grin_wallet` commands from anywhere creates or uses files in the default `~/.grin` directory (this means they’re under the hidden `.grin` directory wherever your user home directory is.
- It is also possible to run a server or wallet in the directory of your choosing. If a `grin-server.toml` (for server commands) or a `grin-wallet.toml` file exists in directory from where you’re running grin, the options in those files are used instead. You can generate configuration files that are automatically configured to use the current directory.

In more detail, the process of using grin is now as follows:

### Normal Use:

- Running `grin` from anywhere on a fresh system will create a `~/.grin` directory (hidden under your user home directory). This directory will contain a `chain_data` directory which contains the chain, a new default `grin-server.toml` file with paths filled out to point at the default directory location, and the `grin-server.log` file

- To run a wallet, you need to run `grin wallet -p [password] init` from anywhere. This will also create the `~/.grin` directory if it doesn’t exist, generate a `grin-wallet.toml` file in there, and create a `wallet_data` directory which contains `wallet.seed` and lmdb files. All further calls to `grin wallet` will use those data files

- You don’t have to have both a server and a wallet, but if you do the structure will look something like:

```auto
~/.grin
   -chain_data/
      -lmdb/
      -txhashset/
   -wallet_data/
      -db/
         -/lmdb
      wallet.seed   
   grin-server.toml
   grin-wallet.toml
   grin-server.log
   grin-wallet.log

```

To modify the configuration parameters for the server or wallet, modify the values in either `grin-server.toml` or `grin-wallet.toml` (both fully documented) as before.

### Advanced Use

To run the server in a particular directory, the process is as follows:

Assuming you’re in the target directory.

- Run `grin server config`, which will create a `grin-server.toml` file in the current directory, with the paths configured within to point at the current directory and create the same structure for server files as above.

- `grin server [args] run` will use the `grin-server.toml` file in the current directory if one exists. The first time a `grin server` command is performed in this directory, grin will create the required database and log files.

Similarly, to run the wallet in a particular directory:

- `grin wallet -p [password] init -h` will create a `grin-wallet.toml` file with paths configured to use the current directory, and will generate the seed and database in the current directory (with the same structure as the above example).

- Subsequent calls to `grin wallet` will use settings the `grin-wallet.toml` file if one exists in the current directory, or the default in '~/.grin` otherwise

### Migrating wallets or chains

In the case of the chain, I’d recommend just fast-syncing again from scratch so that the directories are created where they should be. If this is very annoying for you and you would rather migrate your existing data, you can either:

- run `grin` once to create the default directory structure, then copy and rename your old `.grin` directory from wherever it’s located to `~/.grin/chain_data` (the structure should look like the file layout given above)

- In the directory where your current grin data is located, run `grin server config` to generate a `grin-server.toml` server configuration file, then modify the db\_root within as follows:

```auto
db_root = "."

```

Similary, for the wallet:

- run `grin wallet init` or `grin wallet init -h` (depending on where you want the wallet files), then from your old wallet, copy/rename:

```auto
old wallet.seed -> [new wallet dir]\wallet_data\wallet.seed
old wallet_data -> [new wallet dir]\wallet_data\db

```

The structure should look like:

```auto
~/[wallet_directory]
   -wallet_data/
      -db/ <- copy/rename OLD 'wallet_data' directory
         -/lmdb
      wallet.seed <- copy OLD 'wallet.seed' file
   grin-wallet.toml
   grin-wallet.log

```

Alternatively, as with the server data, you can generate and modify a configuration file in your old directory as follow.

- run `grin wallet init -h` in any directory (outside you current wallet directory).
- copy the resulting `grin-wallet.toml` file to your old wallet directory
- modify the data file path within as follows:

```auto
data_file_dir = "."

```

The wallet should operate as before.

These are large changes and might cause a few annoyances for the time being, but they should hopefully bring us much closer to what the file structure should look like for the actual launch. I’d also expect a few issues and teething problems to pop up, so please let me know or open an issue if you come across anything that used to work but isn’t suddenly… most likely it’s just a file path problem somewhere instead of anything being completely broken!

Around on Gitter as always for any problems.