Guides

Practical, beginner-first tutorials for the Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Monero testnets. Start at the top and work your way down, since each guide links to the next.

The learning path

New here? Follow these in order. Each one builds on the last, and the whole path takes about an hour.

What is a testnet?

The big idea: practice networks with worthless coins and real protocols. About 2 minutes.

Your first testnet transaction

Make a wallet, get coins, send, and watch it confirm. Hands-on, about 15 minutes.

Keys, seeds, and backups

What a key and a seed really are, and how to back one up. About 5 minutes.

How confirmations work

Why "wait for confirmations" is the golden rule of getting paid. About 4 minutes.

How fees work

Fee rates, the mempool, and why some transactions wait. About 4 minutes.

Understanding UTXOs

The coins-and-change model behind Bitcoin and Litecoin. About 5 minutes.

Scams and staying safe

Spot the common scams and build habits that protect real money. About 5 minutes.

Start here

Start

What is a testnet?

Practice networks with worthless coins and real protocols (the big idea).

 Start

Your first transaction

Make a wallet, get coins, send, and watch it confirm in about 15 minutes.

 Start

Bitcoin testnet guide

testnet3, testnet4, and signet: which to use and how to get tBTC.

 Start

Litecoin testnet guide (MWEB)

Faster blocks plus confidential MWEB peg-ins and peg-outs.

 Start

Monero testnet & stagenet

The difference that matters, and how privacy changes what you can see.

Quick reference

Reference

FAQ

Short answers to the questions beginners ask first.

 Reference

Glossary

Plain-English definitions of every term used in the guides.

Using the tools

Tool

Use TestnetWallet

Create a wallet, receive, and send, all inside your browser.

 Tool

Get coins from CypherFaucet

Claim free test coins for all three chains, step by step.

 Tool

Mine with TestnetPool

Learn proof of work and pools by mining test coins.

 Tool

Read TestnetScan

Look up blocks, transactions, addresses, and MWEB activity.

 Tool

Swap with TestnetSwap

Trade coins across chains with non-custodial atomic swaps.

Core concepts

Concept

Keys, seeds, and backups

What a key and a seed really are, and how to back one up safely.

 Concept

How confirmations work

What a confirmation is, and how many to wait for.

 Concept

How fees work

Fee rates, the mempool, and why some transactions wait.

 Concept

Understanding UTXOs

The coins-and-change model behind Bitcoin and Litecoin.

Go deeper (developers)

Dev

Broadcast a raw transaction

What raw hex is and three ways to push it to the network.

 Dev

Run a Litecoin testnet node

Sync your own node and drive it over RPC.

 Dev

Use node RPC safely

Cookie auth, localhost binding, and never exposing your node.

 Dev

Debug a stuck transaction

Why it stalls, and how to fix it with RBF or CPFP.

 Dev

Build a testnet app

Reach a chain, broadcast a transaction, and watch it confirm.

 Dev

Bitcoin regtest

Your own private chain with instant, on-demand confirmations.

 Dev

Code examples

Runnable Python and JavaScript snippets, the companion repo.

Stay safe

Safety

Why testnet coins have no value

Why they're free, why they must stay worthless, and why "sales" are scams.

 Safety

Scams and staying safe

Spot fake coin sales, seed phishing, and address poisoning.

Testnet coins are fake money

  • They have no market value, so never buy or sell them.
  • Never use a real seed phrase or import a real wallet on testnet.
  • Never send mainnet BTC, LTC, or XMR to a testnet address.