Skip to main content

Join the public testnet

Install a current modal binary, create a joiner with a new key, and mine (or observe) against the public hybrid testnet.

Bootstrap nodes are Foundation-operated. Anyone may join by mining. This is not mainnet. Testnet block subsidy is a small development mint, not the mainnet 21M schedule.

If modal node ping to a published bootstrapper times out, the testnet is not currently joinable. Check the description on the bundled testnet network (modal net info testnet) before treating it as live. Public names:

  • Status: https://testnet.modality.network
  • Bootstrappers: node1.testnet.modality.network, node2.testnet.modality.network, node3.testnet.modality.network (TCP 4040/ws)

Those names replace the old *.testnet.modal.money hosts. Packages still install from get.modality.org.

Install​

curl -fsSL https://get.modality.org/testnet/latest/install.sh | sh

Use a build that includes node commands (modal node). A language-only modality CLI on PATH is not enough.

Create a joiner​

modal node create --dir ./my-node --testnet

--testnet writes:

  • network_config_path: modality-networks://testnet
  • listeners: /ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/4040/ws
  • hybrid_consensus: true
  • bootstrappers from the bundled testnet list
  • autoupgrade from https://get.modality.org (branch testnet)

Do not use --from-template testnet/node1 (or node2 / node3) as a joiner. Those identities are the Foundation bootstrap nodes.

Open TCP 4040 if you want other peers to dial you.

Run​

modal node run-miner --dir ./my-node --no-tui
# or, miner + sequencer in one process:
modal node run-hybrid --dir ./my-node --no-tui

Ping a bootstrapper from a second node directory (same-dir ping opens the live datastore):

modal node ping --dir ./ping-node --target /dns4/node1.testnet.modality.network/tcp/4040/ws/p2p/<peer-id>

Post a contract​

After sequencers are running (hybrid nominates sequencers from mining epoch N−2, so sequencing starts at epoch 2):

modal contract create --dir ./my-contract
modal checkout --dir ./my-contract
modal commit --path /data/message.text --value hello --dir ./my-contract --message hello
modal contract push --dir ./my-contract --remote /dns4/node1.testnet.modality.network/tcp/4040/ws/p2p/<peer-id>

Paths must be typed (/data/message.text). Push with --remote <multiaddr>.

See Node Commands for create, run-miner, run-hybrid, and ping.