Network Configurations

Avail supports multiple network configurations for different use cases. Choose the network that best fits your needs: production Mainnet, testing on Turing, or local development.

Available Networks

Mainnet

Production network for live operations

Turing Testnet

Public testnet for testing and experimentation

Development

Local single-node chain for development

DevNet0

Development network for testing

Mainnet

The Avail Mainnet is the production blockchain network.

Connection

Manual
Docker

cargo run --locked --release -- --chain mainnet -d ./output

Or with binary:

./avail-node --chain mainnet -d ./output

docker run --rm \
  -p 30333:30333 \
  -p 9944:9944 \
  -v ./output:/output \
  availnode --chain mainnet -d /output

Network Details

Parameter	Value
Chain Spec	`mainnet`
Chain ID	`avail_mainnet`
Protocol ID	`Avail`
Token Symbol	`AVAIL`
Token Decimals	18
SS58 Format	42

Chain Specification

The Mainnet chain specification is embedded in the binary at:

misc/genesis/mainnet.chain.spec.raw.json

Use Cases

Production Applications: Deploy live dApps and services
Validators: Run validator nodes for network security
Data Availability: Store and retrieve production data
Token Operations: Real AVAIL token transactions

Mainnet operations use real tokens with real value. Ensure proper security measures and test on Turing first.

Turing Testnet

The Turing testnet is a public test network that mirrors Mainnet functionality.

Connection

Manual
Docker

cargo run --locked --release -- --chain turing -d ./output

Or with binary:

./avail-node --chain turing -d ./output

docker run --rm \
  -p 30333:30333 \
  -p 9944:9944 \
  -v ./output:/output \
  availnode --chain turing -d /output

Network Details

Parameter	Value
Chain Spec	`turing`
Chain ID	`avail_turing_testnet`
Protocol ID	`Avail`
Token Symbol	`AVAIL`
Token Decimals	18
SS58 Format	42

Chain Specification

The Turing chain specification is embedded in the binary at:

misc/genesis/testnet.turing.chain.spec.raw.json

Use Cases

Testing: Test applications before Mainnet deployment
Development: Develop and debug integrations
Validation Testing: Test validator setups
Educational: Learn blockchain operations risk-free

Getting Testnet Tokens

Testnet tokens have no real value. Request test AVAIL from the faucet or community channels.

Development Chain

A local single-node blockchain for development and testing.

Connection

Manual
Docker

cargo run --locked --release -- --dev

Or with binary:

./avail-node --dev

docker run --rm \
  -p 30333:30333 \
  -p 9944:9944 \
  -v ./output:/output \
  availnode --dev

Development Features

Instant Finality

Single authority produces and finalizes blocks immediately

Kate RPC Enabled

--dev automatically enables --enable-kate-rpc

Temporary Storage

Uses --tmp unless you specify -d directory

Pre-funded Accounts

Alice, Bob, Charlie, etc. have initial balances

Network Details

Parameter	Value
Chain Spec	`dev`
Chain Name	`Avail Development Network`
Chain ID	`avail_development_network`
Chain Type	`Development`
Authority	Alice (single validator)

Custom Development Chain Name

Customize the development chain name and ID:

./avail-node --dev --network-name "My Custom Dev Chain"

This creates a chain with ID: my_custom_dev_chain

Development with RPC Access

Enable external RPC access for development:

./avail-node --dev \
  --rpc-methods=unsafe \
  --unsafe-rpc-external \
  --rpc-cors=all

Never use --unsafe-rpc-external or --rpc-methods=unsafe on public networks or production nodes. These flags expose dangerous RPC methods.

Pre-funded Development Accounts

The development chain includes these pre-funded accounts:

Alice
Bob
Charlie
Dave
Eve
Ferdie
Alice//stash
Bob//stash
Charlie//stash
Dave//stash
Eve//stash
Ferdie//stash

Each account starts with 100 × MIN_VALIDATOR_BOND tokens.

Multi-Node Development

Three-Node Development Chain

Run a development chain with three validators:

./avail-node --chain dev.tri

This launches a development network with:

Alice (validator)
Bob (validator)
Charlie (validator)

Custom Network Name

./avail-node --chain dev.tri --network-name "My Tri Network"

DevNet0

A pre-configured development network.

Connection

./avail-node --chain devnet0 -d ./output

Chain Specification

Loads from embedded specification:

misc/genesis/devnet.chain.raw.json

Custom Chain Specifications

Load a custom chain specification file:

./avail-node --chain /path/to/custom-spec.json -d ./output

Export Chain Specification

Export the chain specification for any network:

# Export in JSON format
./avail-node build-spec --chain mainnet > mainnet-spec.json

# Export in raw format
./avail-node build-spec --chain mainnet --raw > mainnet-spec-raw.json

Create Custom Specification

Start with Base Spec

./avail-node build-spec --chain dev > custom-spec.json

Edit Specification

Modify custom-spec.json to customize:

Network name and ID
Genesis state
Initial balances
Validator set
Runtime parameters

Generate Raw Spec

./avail-node build-spec --chain custom-spec.json --raw > custom-raw.json

Launch Custom Network

./avail-node --chain custom-raw.json -d ./output

Network Comparison

Feature	Mainnet	Turing	Development
Purpose	Production	Testing	Local Development
Token Value	Real	Test Only	No Value
Block Time	~6 seconds	~6 seconds	~6 seconds
Validators	Multiple	Multiple	Single (Alice)
Persistence	Permanent	Permanent	Temporary*
Kate RPC	Optional	Optional	Auto-enabled
RPC Methods	Safe	Safe	Unsafe Available
Public Access	Yes	Yes	Local Only

*Unless specified with -d flag

Telemetry

All networks support telemetry reporting:

Default Telemetry

Testnet telemetry endpoint:

ws://telemetry.avail.tools:8001/submit

Enable Telemetry

./avail-node --chain mainnet \
  --telemetry-url 'ws://telemetry.avail.tools:8001/submit 0'

Disable Telemetry

./avail-node --chain mainnet --no-telemetry

Switching Networks

Different networks use different databases. When switching networks, use separate data directories or purge the existing chain.

Separate Data Directories

# Mainnet
./avail-node --chain mainnet -d ./data/mainnet

# Turing
./avail-node --chain turing -d ./data/turing

# Development
./avail-node --dev -d ./data/dev

Purge Chain Data

# Purge specific chain
./avail-node purge-chain --chain mainnet -d ./output

# Purge with confirmation
./avail-node purge-chain --chain turing -d ./output -y

Node Roles per Network

Full Node (Archive)

./avail-node --chain mainnet --pruning archive -d ./output

Validator Node

./avail-node --chain mainnet --validator -d ./output

Validator nodes require proper key management and staking. See the validator documentation for setup details.

Light Client Mode

./avail-node --chain mainnet --light -d ./output

Next Steps

Explore Configuration Options for node customization
Learn about Manual Setup for building from source
Deploy with Docker for containerized operation

Getting Started

Running a Node

Architecture

Pallets

Operations

Development

​Available Networks

Mainnet

Turing Testnet

Development

DevNet0

​Mainnet

​Connection

​Network Details

​Chain Specification

​Use Cases

​Turing Testnet

​Connection

​Network Details

​Chain Specification

​Use Cases

​Getting Testnet Tokens

​Development Chain

​Connection

​Development Features

Instant Finality

Kate RPC Enabled

Temporary Storage

Pre-funded Accounts

​Network Details

​Custom Development Chain Name

​Development with RPC Access

​Pre-funded Development Accounts

​Multi-Node Development

​Three-Node Development Chain

​Custom Network Name

​DevNet0

​Connection

​Chain Specification

​Custom Chain Specifications

​Export Chain Specification

​Create Custom Specification

​Network Comparison

​Telemetry

​Default Telemetry

​Enable Telemetry

​Disable Telemetry

​Switching Networks

​Separate Data Directories

​Purge Chain Data

​Node Roles per Network

​Full Node (Archive)

​Validator Node

​Light Client Mode

​Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Available Networks

Mainnet

Connection

Network Details

Chain Specification

Use Cases

Turing Testnet

Connection

Network Details

Chain Specification

Use Cases

Getting Testnet Tokens

Development Chain

Connection

Development Features

Network Details

Custom Development Chain Name

Development with RPC Access

Pre-funded Development Accounts

Multi-Node Development

Three-Node Development Chain

Custom Network Name

DevNet0

Connection

Chain Specification

Custom Chain Specifications

Export Chain Specification

Create Custom Specification

Network Comparison

Telemetry

Default Telemetry

Enable Telemetry

Disable Telemetry

Switching Networks

Separate Data Directories

Purge Chain Data

Node Roles per Network

Full Node (Archive)

Validator Node

Light Client Mode

Next Steps