user564: The gen option isnt copiously described in the sample bitcoin.conf file  ... does that mean that the daemon started up will attempt to mine for coins?

user208: Yes, with -gen=1 on the command line or in the configuration file, bitcoind will use its built-in miner to search for blocks. It is inefficient, does not support pools, and does not use GPUs. It is only left as a reference and for testing, and will probably be removed completely soon.

user307: That configuration parameter no longer has any effect because the CPU mining engine has been removed from the mainline client.
Earlier versions of the client did have a built in miner and the gen parameter controlled if it ran in the background.  Given the much higher difficulty today the developers felt it no longer served a purpose and would be confusing to new users (who could wait months of even years without generating a single coin).  It was removed from the client.  The wiki should be updated to reflect that.

564: <p>The <code>gen</code> option isnt copiously described in <a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Running_Bitcoin#Bitcoin.conf_Configuration_File" rel="nofollow">the sample bitcoin.conf file</a>  ... does that mean that the daemon started up will attempt to mine for coins?</p>
 208: <p>Yes, with <code>-gen=1</code> on the command line or in the configuration file, <code>bitcoind</code> will use its built-in miner to search for blocks. It is inefficient, does not support pools, and does not use GPUs. It is only left as a reference and for testing, and will probably be removed completely soon.</p>
 307: <p>That configuration parameter no longer has any effect because the CPU mining engine has been removed from the mainline client.</p>

<p>Earlier versions of the client did have a built in miner and the gen parameter controlled if it ran in the background.  Given the much higher difficulty today the developers felt it no longer served a purpose and would be confusing to new users (who could wait months of even years without generating a single coin).  It was removed from the client.  The wiki should be updated to reflect that.</p>
