Testnet and devnets#

Testnet is a fully functioning Dash blockchain with the one key exception that because the Dash on the network can be created freely, it has no value. This currency, known as tDASH, can be requested from a faucet to help developers test new versions of Dash, as well as test network operations using identical versions of the software before they are carried out on the mainnet. There are a few other key differences:

  • Testnet operates on port 19999 (instead of 9999)

  • Testnet addresses start with «y» instead of «X», ADDRESSVERSION is 140 (instead of 76)

  • Testnet balances are denominated in tDASH (instead of DASH)

  • Protocol message header bytes are 0xcee2caff (instead of 0xbf0c6bbd)

  • Bootstrapping uses different DNS seeds: test.dnsseed.masternode.io, testnet-seed.darkcoin.qa, testnet-seed.dashpay.io

  • Launching Dash Core in testnet mode shows an orange splash screen

To start Dash Core in testnet mode, find your dash.conf file and enter the following line:

testnet = 1

With the release of Dash Core 12.3, Dash added support for a great new feature — named devnets. Devnets are developer networks that combine some aspects of testnet (the global and public testing network) and some aspects of regtest (the local-only regression testing mode that provides controlled block generation). Unlike testnet, multiple independent devnets can be created and coexist without interference. For practical documentation on how to use devnets, see the developer documentation or this blog post.

Masternodes#

Installing a masternode under testnet generally follows the same steps as the mainnet masternode installation guide, but with a few key differences:

  • You will probably be running a development version of Dash instead of the stable release. See here for a list of builds, then choose the latest successful develop build and click Artifacts to view a list of binaries.

  • When opening the firewall, port 19999 must be opened instead of (or in addition to) 9999. Use this command: ufw allow 19999/tcp

  • Your desktop wallet must be running in testnet mode. Add the following line to dash.conf: testnet = 1

  • When sending the collateral, you can get the 1000 tDASH for free from a faucet (see above)

  • Your masternode configuration file must also specify testnet mode. Add the following line when setting up dash.conf on the masternode: testnet = 1

  • As for mainnet masternodes, the RPC username and password must contain alphanumeric characters only

  • The wallet holding the masternode collateral will expect to find the masternode.conf file in ~/.dashcore/testnet3/masternode.conf instead of ~/.dashcore/masternode.conf.

Testnet 0.16.0#

In June 2020, the Dash team announced the start of testing of the upcoming Dash 0.16.0 release. Extensive internal testing has already been done on the 0.16.0 code, but there are numerous bugs that can only be revealed with actual use by real people. The Dash team invites anybody who is interested to download the software and become active on testnet. This release includes:

  • Block reward reallocation

  • Core Wallet UI/UX Improvements

  • Quorum Signing Optimizations

  • Network Threading Improvement

  • Minimum Protocol Check

  • Bitcoin 0.16 and 0.17 Backports

Discussion:

Latest test binaries:

Testnet 0.15.0#

In December 2019, the Dash team announced the start of testing of the upcoming Dash 0.15.0 release. Extensive internal testing has already been done on the 0.15.0 code, but there are numerous bugs that can only be revealed with actual use by real people. The Dash team invites anybody who is interested to download the software and become active on testnet. This release includes:

  • Bitcoin 0.15 backports

  • Removal of legacy code

Discussion:

Latest test binaries:

Testnet 0.14.0#

In March 2019, the Dash team announced the start of testing of the upcoming Dash 0.14.0 release. Extensive internal testing has already been done on the 0.14.0 code, but there are numerous bugs that can only be revealed with actual use by real people. The Dash team invites anybody who is interested to download the software and become active on testnet. This release includes:

  • LLMQ DKGs

  • LLMQ based ChainLocks

  • LLMQ based InstantSend

Discussion:

Latest test binaries:

Testnet 0.13.0#

In November 2018, the Dash team announced the start of testing of the upcoming Dash 0.13.0 release. Extensive internal testing has already been done on the 0.13.0 code, but there are numerous bugs that can only be revealed with actual use by real people. The Dash team invites anybody who is interested to download the software and become active on testnet. This release includes:

  • Automatic InstantSend for Simple Transactions

  • Deterministic Masternode List

  • 3 Masternode Keys: Owner, Operator and Voting

  • Special Transactions

  • PrivateSend Improvements

Discussion:

Latest test binaries:

Testnet 0.12.3#

In June 2018, the Dash team announced the start of testing of the upcoming Dash 0.12.3 release. Extensive internal testing has already been done on the 0.12.2 code, but there are numerous bugs that can only be revealed with actual use by real people. The Dash team invites anybody who is interested to download the software and become active on testnet. This release includes:

  • Named Devnets, to help developers quickly create multiple independent devnets

  • New format of network message signatures

  • Governance system improvements

  • PrivateSend improvements

  • Additional indexes cover P2PK now

  • Support for pruned nodes in Lite Mode

  • New Masternode Information Dialog

Discussion:

Latest test binaries:

Testnet 0.12.2#

In October 2017, the Dash team announced the launch of a testnet for public testing of the upcoming 0.12.2 release of the Dash software. Extensive internal testing has already been done on the 0.12.2 code, but there are numerous bugs that can only be revealed with actual use by real people. The Dash team invites anybody who is interested to download the software and become active on testnet. This release includes:

  • DIP0001 implementation dashpay/dips

  • 10x transaction fee reduction (including InstantSend fee)

  • InstantSend vulnerability fix

  • Lots of other bug fixes and performance improvements

  • Experimental BIP39/BIP44 complaint HD wallet (disabled by default, should be fully functional but there is no GUI yet)

Discussion:

Latest successfully built develop branch binaries: