This guide walks you through two approaches to setting up a local Bitcoin Core v28.0 node using Docker, targeting both regtest (a fully local, isolated chain you control) and testnet (a public test network with real peer connections). By the end you will have a running node, understand what every line of configuration does, and be ready to interact with it over RPC.
Prerequisites
Docker Desktop (or Docker Engine + Compose plugin) installed and running
git installed
Basic comfort with the terminal
