Quick start

This release joins Bittensor testnet, subnet 611. Testnet only: never use a mainnet wallet. The full guide ships with each release, as testers.md.

1. Wallet and UID

Use a new wallet, never your mainnet coldkey. Get test TAO from the Bittensor community Discord. We don't hand it out.

btcli wallet create --wallet-name pipe-test --hotkey default
btcli subnets register --network test --netuid 611 --wallet-name pipe-test --hotkey default
btcli wallet overview --wallet-name pipe-test --netuid 611 --network test
btcli wallet transfer --wallet-name pipe-test --network test --dest <hotkey SS58> --amount 0.1

The last command sends a little test TAO to the hotkey for fees.

2. Check the download

Download from the Releases page. Compare sha256sum SHA256SUMS with the hash in our announcement. Then run sha256sum -c --ignore-missing SHA256SUMS. You need validator-set.json and network.json for every path.

If validator-set.json is more than a day old, make a current one:

./bwos validator-set build --network test --netuid 611 \
  --fetch "$(jq -r '.validator_urls | join(",")' network.json)" --out validator-set.json

3. Pick a path

	Machine	Open inbound	Run
A	Ubuntu 24.04, root, public IPv4	UDP per peer, TCP 8621	`install.sh` with `"probe"` in `node.json` and `--bwos-probe`
B	Any Linux, no root; process or Docker; NAT is fine	Public: UDP 51820, TCP 8621. NAT: none	`bwos-node run --mode userspace ... --probe-peer ... --consents`, and `bwos-probe cap-sink` if public
C	Linksys WRT1900AC v1	None	Flash the image. Not measured or paid in this release
D	Linux, public IPv4	TCP 8090	`bwos-solver daemon ... --axon <your public address>:8090 --solver-cmd <your solver>`

4. Keys and consent, on each node

Path B shown. Path A uses /etc/bwos and root.

./bwos-node keygen -key keys/node.key
./bwos-node wg-bind -key keys/node.key -wg-key keys/wg.key -out keys/wg-binding.json -not-before 1 -not-after 100000000 >/dev/null
./bwos-node link-url -key keys/node.key -base http://localhost:8000/ -hotkey <hotkey SS58> -netuid 611 -not-after 100000000 -out keys/consent.json

5. Link to your hotkey

You can link up to 7 nodes, on any OS. Unpack the link page, serve it on your own machine, and open it:

tar -xzf pipe-link-page-<v>.tar.gz && cd pipe-link-page
python3 -m http.server 8000 --bind localhost

Open http://localhost:8000/. Paste the nodes' link URLs and choose test. Connect the wallet that holds your hotkey. Keep "inline" ticked, then sign and commit. Each node then hands its consent to every validator over its probe sessions. You send us nothing. On Linux you can use bwos bind instead.

6. Get a peer

A node is paid for capacity only with a BGP session to a node of another UID. Make your peer card (the release guide, section 5). Post it in a Peering request Issue. Take transit_peers[0] from network.json as your peer. Our node adds yours by itself once validators list your node. It takes one node per UID, first come. Or swap cards with another tester. At least one side must be public.

7. Run, then check

In NodeStats: probe_peers[].session: true and forwarded_sent above 0.
In the log: SessionUp with your peer, and TableApplied.
On chain: bwos-validator chain-status --network test --netuid 611 shows your inline_nodes and the validators' weights for your UID.
btcli subnets metagraph --netuid 611 --network test shows incentive.

First weights come one to two windows after you are up, peered and linked. A window is about 72 minutes. Expect about 220 Mb/s per flow on cloud VMs.

Problems

Open an Issue. Give the version (bwos-node --version), your path, and logs with keys removed. For security findings, or ways to earn more than you carry, use Report a vulnerability. Never send a private key, seed phrase or wallet file.