Testnet

Bootnodes

Bootnodes are well-known peer addresses that your node dials on startup to join the testnet. Without them, your node would only discover peers on the same LAN (via mDNS).

What they are

When you run a node with P2P enabled (--p2p-listen), it needs to find other peers. On a local network, mDNS can discover nearby nodes. To join the public testnet from anywhere, your node must connect to at least one stable peer — a bootnode.

Bootnodes are simply nodes that have a stable, publicly reachable address (IP + port). The team or community runs them and publishes their multiaddrs so new nodes can dial in and then discover more peers via gossip.

Format

A bootnode address is a multiaddr, for example:

/ip4/1.2.3.4/tcp/4001

You pass one or more bootnodes to your node with --bootnodes (comma-separated).

How to use

When the testnet is live, the official bootnode list will be published here and on the Join Testnet page. Example:

./boing-node --p2p-listen /ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/4001 \
  --bootnodes /ip4/testnet.boing.network/tcp/4001 \
  --validator --rpc-port 8545

Until then, you can run a local multi-node setup: start one node with --p2p-listen /ip4/127.0.0.1/tcp/4001, then start a second node with --bootnodes /ip4/127.0.0.1/tcp/4001 so it connects to the first.

Official testnet bootnodes

Use these multiaddrs with --bootnodes (comma-separated). Also in TESTNET (PDF).

/ip4/73.84.106.121/tcp/4001
/ip4/73.84.106.121/tcp/4001