Ethereum RPC Error: Incorrect RPC User or Password

As a user of Ethereum, you may have encountered an error message when trying to use the bitcoin-cli command. The error message «incorrect rpcuser or rpcpassword (authorization failed)» indicates that your username or password for the Ethereum network is incorrect.

This issue can be frustrating, especially if you’re new to using Bitcoin or Ethereum. In this article, we’ll explore what causes this error and provide guidance on how to resolve it.

Understanding RPC Authentication

Ethereum uses a protocol called Remote Procedure Call (RPC) to communicate with nodes on the network. When you use bitcoin-cli commands, your username and password are sent as an XML-formatted string over the RPC connection. The server then verifies this information against its stored user credentials.

If your username or password is incorrect, the server will reject the authentication request, leading to the error message «incorrect rpcuser or rpcpassword (authorization failed)».

Troubleshooting Steps

To resolve the issue, follow these steps:

1. Check Your Configuration File

Make sure you’ve created a bitcoin.conf file in the specified directory (/mnt/btc) with the following contents:

[ RPC ]

rpcuser = [username]

rpcpassword = [password]







Alternatively, use the "default" key for RPC user and password

 rpcuser = default

 rpcpassword = 1234567890abcdef

Replace [username] and [password] with your actual Ethereum username and password.

2. Verify Your Username and Password

Double-check that you’ve entered your username and password correctly in the bitcoin.conf file or when launching bitcoin-cli. Make sure the user name and password are spelled exactly as they appear in the bitcoin.conf file or when typing them into bitcoin-cli.

3. Run bitcoind -datadir Again

Try running bitcoind -datadir=/mnt/btc again to ensure that your configuration is loaded correctly.

4. Check Your Network Connection

Make sure you’re connected to the Ethereum network using a stable internet connection and a VPN (if necessary). If you’re behind a proxy or firewall, ensure it’s not blocking the bitcoin-cli communication.

5. Update Bitcoin-Qt

If you’re using Bitcoin-Qt version older than 1.29.0-rc.1, update to the latest version:

git clone 

git checkout 1.29.0-rc.1

Then, restart bitcoind:

./bitcoin --datadir=/mnt/btc --force-reload

6. Re-Start Your Bitcoind Node

Try restarting your Bitcoin node manually:

bitcoind -force-restart

This will reload the configuration files and restart the node.

Conclusion

If you’ve followed these steps and still encounter issues, it’s possible that there are other factors at play. You can try:

• Checking for updates to bitcoin-cli or bitcoind.

• Verifying your network connection.

• Restarting your Bitcoin node manually.

By following these troubleshooting steps, you should be able to resolve the «incorrect rpcuser or rpcpassword (authorization failed)» error when using bitcoin-cli.

Importance Securing Tokens