Create a local testnet

Required Desmos executables

You need to install desmos before going further.

There are two types of local testnets:

• Single node testnet, which allows you to have a faster testnet with only one validator running on your machine.

• Multi-node testnet, which requires you to have Docker installed to run 4 validator nodes locally on your machine.

Creating a single node testnet

To create a single node local testnet, run the following commands:

1. Create a local key. Replace <your-key-name> with whatever name you prefer.

   desmos keys add <your-key-name>

   You will be required to input a password. Please make sure you use one that you will remember later. You should now see an output like

   $ desmos keys add jack --dry-run
   
   - name: jack
     type: local
     address: desmos1qdv08q76fmfwwzrxcqs78z6pzfxe88cgc5a3tk
     pubkey: desmospub1addwnpepq2j9a35spphh6q529y2thg8tjw9l2c32hck98fnmu99sxpw9a9aegugm6xs
     mnemonic: ""
     threshold: 0
     pubkeys: []
   
   
   **Important** write this mnemonic phrase in a safe place.
   It is the only way to recover your account if you ever forget your password.
   
   glory discover erosion mention grow prosper supreme term nephew venue pear eternal budget rely outdoor lobster strong sign space make soccer medal tuition patrol

   Make sure you save the shown mnemonic phrase in some safe place as it might return useful in the future.

2. Initialize the testnet

   desmos init testnet --chain-id testnet
   desmos genesis add-genesis-account <your-key-name> 100000000000stake
   desmos genesis gentx <your-key-name> 1000000000stake --chain-id testnet
   desmos genesis collect-gentxs

   During the procedure you will be asked to input the same key password you have set inside point 1.

3. Start the testnet.
   Once you have completed all the steps, you are ready to start your local testnet by running:

   desmos start

Creating a multi node testnet

To create a local multi node testnet, you can simply run the following command:

make localnet-start

This command creates a 4-node network using the desmoslabs/desmosnode image. The ports for each node are found in this table:

Node ID	P2P Port	RPC Port
desmosnode0	26656	26657
desmosnode1	26659	26660
desmosnode2	26661	26662
desmosnode3	26663	26664

To update the binary, just rebuild it and restart the nodes:

make build-linux localnet-start

Configuration

The make localnet-start creates files for a 4-node testnet in ./build by calling the desmos testnet command. This outputs a handful of files in the ./build directory:

$ tree -L 2 build/
build/
├── desmos
├── gentxs
│   ├── node0.json
│   ├── node1.json
│   ├── node2.json
│   └── node3.json
├── node0
│   ├── desmos
│   │   ├── key_seed.json
│   │   └── keys
│   └── desmos
│       ├── ${LOG:-desmos.log}
│       ├── config
│       └── data
├── node1
│   ├── desmos
│   │   └── key_seed.json
│   └── desmos
│       ├── ${LOG:-desmos.log}
│       ├── config
│       └── data
├── node2
│   ├── desmos
│   │   └── key_seed.json
│   └── desmos
│       ├── ${LOG:-desmos.log}
│       ├── config
│       └── data
└── node3
    ├── desmos
    │   └── key_seed.json
    └── desmos
        ├── ${LOG:-desmos.log}
        ├── config
        └── data

Each ./build/nodeN directory is mounted to the /desmos directory in each container.

Logging

Logs are saved under each ./build/nodeN/desmos/desmos.log. You can also watch logs directly via Docker, for example:

docker logs -f desmosnode0

Keys & Accounts

To interact with desmos and start querying state or creating txs, you use the desmos directory of any given node as your home, for example:

desmos keys list --home ./build/node0/desmos

Now that accounts exists, you may create new accounts and send those accounts funds!

Note: Each node's seed is located at ./build/nodeN/desmos/key_seed.json and can be restored to the CLI using the desmos keys add --restore command