NiceHash QuickMiner

NiceHash QuickMiner is NiceHash’s own lightweight Windows miner for people who want to point a gaming PC or a small GPU rig at NiceHash and get paid in Bitcoin without juggling third-party miners. If you are looking for a NiceHash QuickMiner download, this page explains what the program actually runs, how it differs from the bigger NiceHash Miner, and what to check before you install it.

QuickMiner is a wrapper around Excavator, the GPU miner that NiceHash develops in-house, plus a watchdog, the OCTune overclocking tool and an optional CPU miner. It mines only to NiceHash, so you need a NiceHash account and your NiceHash Mining Address; your rig then shows up in the NiceHash Rig Manager like any other worker.

NiceHash QuickMiner at a glance

What it does

• Runs Excavator for GPU mining and a NiceHash-compiled XMRig build for optional CPU mining, both started and supervised by the QuickMiner watchdog, which restarts mining if something crashes.
• Starts mining without a long benchmarking session: you enter your Mining Address and the rig is working.
• Applies one-click optimisation profiles from the Rig Manager (Lite, Medium, High and, on some cards, Efficient) that set clocks, fan targets and, for Efficient, undervolting and memory timings.
• Includes OCTune, a browser-based tool for manual core, memory, power-limit and fan tuning, with an auth token required for write access.
• Offers profit switching between the algorithms you tick in the tray menu (off by default; available since 0.6.1.0).
• Has Game Mode, which stops mining on the GPU that drives your monitor and can apply a separate gaming overclock profile.
• Handles Windows autostart, automatic updates and signed binaries, with SHA checksums published for each release.

How miners use it

Turn a gaming PC into a part-time miner

1. Install QuickMiner and launch it; accept the UAC prompt, because it needs administrator rights to control the GPU.
2. Paste your NiceHash Mining Address from the Mining page of your NiceHash account and give the rig a name.
3. Open the tray menu and enable Game Mode before you start a game; deactivate it when you are done and mining resumes on the primary card.

Apply an optimisation profile safely

1. Wait for the rig to appear in Rig Manager, then choose OPTIMIZE and start with Lite.
2. Run it for a day. If the system is stable, step up to Medium or High.
3. Only enable “Start with Windows” after you are sure the profile is stable; NiceHash warns that an aggressive overclock applied at boot can trap a PC in a crash loop.
4. Do not run MSI Afterburner or another overclocking tool at the same time; if you tune manually in OCTune, set OPTIMIZE to Manual.

Enable profit switching

1. Right-click the QuickMiner tray icon and hover over Profit Switching.
2. Tick the algorithms you want to switch between and click DONE, otherwise the setting is not saved.
3. QuickMiner benchmarks each card while it mines, stores the speeds per optimisation profile and switches per GPU when another algorithm pays more.

Remove an old version cleanly

NiceHashQuickMiner.exe --uninstall

This removes the autostart tasks and files, which matters if you move from the ZIP package to the installer or the other way round.

Install and first run

QuickMiner is a Windows program; the official releases contain a Windows installer and a ZIP package, nothing for Linux or macOS. Install a current NVIDIA driver first (0.6.13.0 requires 527.41 or newer) or a current AMD Adrenalin driver. The installer fetches the current files and checks their integrity; the UAC prompt should show a signature from H-BIT d.o.o. If you use the ZIP package, compare its SHA checksum with the one NiceHash publishes before extracting it.

Windows Defender and other antivirus products often block or quarantine parts of QuickMiner. Miners are flagged as potentially unwanted applications because the same kind of software is abused for hidden mining on other people’s computers. NiceHash’s release notes link to its own instructions for this case; follow those rather than switching protection off, and always verify the checksum first. Mine only on hardware you own or are allowed to use.

Overclocking and undervolting through OPTIMIZE or OCTune runs the card outside the manufacturer’s settings. Test stability gradually, watch memory temperatures, and keep in mind that a laptop GPU is not a supported mining target.

Limitations

• Mines to NiceHash only. You cannot point Excavator at another pool, and payouts arrive as BTC on your NiceHash account.
• Closed source. You are trusting NiceHash as a known company rather than reading the code.
• Windows only, and CPU mining works only alongside GPU mining, not on its own.
• Release pace is slow: the last stable build is from September 2025, and NiceHash has removed algorithms over time (Alephium, kHeavyHash, KarlsenHash and PyrinHash were dropped in recent versions).
• The stable build supports preset optimisation profiles only; manual remote optimisation from Rig Manager is limited to RC builds.
• Earnings depend on NiceHash’s hashpower market, your electricity price and the BTC price, so there are no fixed returns.

NiceHash QuickMiner vs alternatives

The closest comparison is NiceHash Miner, NiceHash’s other client. NiceHash Miner downloads third-party miner plugins, benchmarks every algorithm and switches between them; QuickMiner runs only NiceHash’s own Excavator and XMRig, starts mining immediately and leans on its built-in tuning. NiceHash recommends QuickMiner for PCs that also hold personal data and NiceHash Miner for dedicated rigs where you want more algorithms. If you want to mine directly to a coin pool instead of selling hashpower, Rigel or GMiner give you full control at the cost of a developer fee. For a similar “install and get paid” experience outside NiceHash, compare Kryptex.

FAQ

What is NiceHash QuickMiner?

It is NiceHash’s own Windows mining client built on its Excavator GPU miner. It sells your hashpower on NiceHash and pays you in Bitcoin.

Is NiceHash QuickMiner safe?

It is made and signed by NiceHash, a known company, and contains no third-party closed-source miners. Download it only from the official release page and check the published checksum.

Why is the NiceHash QuickMiner download blocked?

Browsers and antivirus products treat miners as potentially unwanted software. Verify the file’s checksum and follow NiceHash’s documented steps for Windows Defender instead of disabling your antivirus.

NiceHash QuickMiner vs NiceHash Miner: which should I use?

QuickMiner is simpler and uses only NiceHash’s own miners. NiceHash Miner supports more algorithms through third-party plugins and does fuller benchmarking, which suits dedicated rigs.

Does NiceHash QuickMiner work on Linux?

No. The official releases are Windows packages only.

Does QuickMiner support AMD GPUs?

Yes. Current versions support AMD Radeon RX 400 series and newer, including RX 7000, for the algorithms that Excavator implements on AMD.

Is NiceHash QuickMiner profitable?

That depends on your GPU, electricity price, NiceHash market rates and the Bitcoin price. Work out your own power cost before leaving it running around the clock.

Last checked against official sources: 1 October 2026 (developer website: nicehash.com). Versions and licence terms change — confirm on the developer's site before deploying in production.