The Archain backer alpha test network is live!

Today we are pleased to be launching the Archain Backer Alpha Test Network (the BATN), a full 8 weeks ahead of schedule.

The support of our backers has allowed us to reach this milestone so quickly, and we look forward to continuing our shared journey towards creating a permanent archive parallel to the internet.

Before we get started with the details of how to get involved with the BATN, we want to make very clear that this is truly an ‘alpha’ release: there will be many bugs, issues, and network resets on the road to the release of the main network. The reason we are launching this testnet is to find and solve those bugs, and iterate on the software until we reach a reliable and stable network. We are excited to receive any and all of the bug reports, feedback, and suggestions from the community!

Web extension

You can download the Archain BATN-compatible web extension today for Chrome and the extension for Firefox is coming soon. When you download this BATN-compatible extension you will be able to enter your existing public key and view your AR wallet balance and network information in real time from the testnet.

In order to safeguard your real public and private keys, we have currently disabled transaction generation on the BATN-compatible web extension. We will soon send eligible backers a link to generate a test public & private key purely for use with BATN — keep an eye on your inbox! These measures have been taken to protect your real private & public keys from any bugs discovered with the alpha network.

Mining the BATN

Eligible Archain backers can now take part in mining the blockweave by following these instructions.

We want to make clear that the mining process is not currently very user-friendly, and we will be continuously improving on this user experience between now and the launch of the main network.

1. A working Erlang (R20 or above) environment must be established on a MacOS or Linux platform (support for Windows is on its way).
2. Pull the GitHub repository.
3. Run the following command to start an Archain mining node:

./archain-server peer [ip_from_email] mine

Eligible backers have been provided with details of the initial node IP address via email.

Future updates

We will continue to keep the Archain community up-to-date about developments to the alpha test network and mining process through our blog here on Medium. In the future we will also be opening up the alpha test network to the public, so stay tuned for details!

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As always, the Archain project team is available to answer any and all queries at team@archain.org. Please don’t hesitate to let us know your thoughts, feedback, and ask any questions you may have — we’d love to hear from you!

- archain-team