XMR-Stak: Cryptonight All-in-One Mining Software (AMD & NVIDIA)

XMR-Stak is a universal open source stratum pool miner. This miner supports x86-64 CPUs, AMD and NVIDIA GPUs and can be used various crypto currencies: Ryo, Monero, Turtlecoin, Graft, Bittube, Loki, Aeon and many more Cryptonight coins.

Features XMR-Stak:

• Supports all common backends (CPU/x86, AMD/NVIDIA GPU).
• Supports all common OS (Linux, Windows and macOS).
• Supports 15 cryptonight-variant mining algorithms + Cryptonight-GPU.
• Easy to use and flexible in setup:
  • guided start with easy/advanced setup option (no need to edit a config file for the first start)
  • auto-configuration and config file creation for each backend.
• Open source software (GPLv3)
• TLS support.
• HTML statistics
• JSON API for monitoring

XMR-Stak Review and Quick Start Guide

What is XMR-Stak?

XMR-Stak is a universal open-source miner for Stratum pools , designed for mining cryptocurrencies using CryptoNight and similar algorithms. It supports CPUs (x86-64), AMD and NVIDIA GPUs , and runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS .

The miner was used to mine coins such as:

• Monero
• Aeon
• That
• TurtleCoin
• Graft
• BitTube
• Haven
  and other coins based on CryptoNight algorithms.

Key Features

• Support for CPU, AMD and NVIDIA in one miner.
• Works on Windows, Linux, macOS .
• Automatic initial setup on first launch.
• Support for TLS connections with pools.
• Built-in HTML statistics and API.
• Open source (GPLv3).
• The developer commission is around 2% by default .

⚠️ Important: The classic version of XMR-Stak is no longer suitable for mining Monero , as the network has switched to the RandomX algorithm. For Monero, forks such as XMR-Stak-RX or other miners are used.

How XMR-Stak Works

A miner connects to a pool using the Stratum protocol and performs calculations to find blocks. The reward is sent to the specified wallet.

To start mining you need:

1. Wallet of the selected coin.
2. Mining pool.
3. Configured miner.

Quick Installation Guide (Windows/Linux)

1) Download the miner

• Download the XMR-Stak archive from the official GitHub.
• Unzip it to any folder.

2) First launch and auto-configuration

When you first launch the miner, it will ask you several questions:

• Algorithm or coin.
• Pool address ( pool:port).
• Wallet address.
• Worker name (optional).
• TLS connection (yes/no).

After this, the miner will create configuration files:

• config.txt
• pools.txt
• cpu.txt
• nvidia.txtoramd.txt

3) Example of pool configuration

File pools.txt:

"pool_list" :
[
  {
    "pool_address" : "pool.example.com:3333",
    "wallet_address" : "ВАШ_КОШЕЛЁК.WORKER",
    "rig_id" : "WORKER",
    "pool_password" : "x",
    "use_tls" : false
  }
],
"currency" : "cryptonight_r",

After saving, run xmr-stak.exe.

Quick start via bat file (example)

Create a file start.bat:

xmr-stak.exe
pause

When you first launch it, a setup wizard will run, after which mining will start automatically.

Helpful tips

• Update your GPU drivers before starting.
• Monitor temperature and load.
• Your antivirus may be blocking the miner—add the folder to the exceptions.
• For stability, you can disable unnecessary devices (such as CPU or GPU) through the launch options.

Result

XMR-Stak is a universal miner for CPU and GPU mining, which was previously one of the most popular solutions for CryptoNight coins. It’s easy to set up, cross-platform, and open-source. However, for actual Monero mining, more modern miners and versions with RandomX support are now more commonly used.

HTML reports

Video guides