Our cutting-edge playground

As we move closer to our mainnet launch, we’re excited to introduce Lunare, our evolving devnet. This network is designed for rapid development and experimentation, where changes are frequent and stability isn't guaranteed, allowing us to innovate and refine. Lunare complements our stable testnet Nocturne. We launched the first iteration of Lunare on Tuesday the 20th August, and have been rigorously testing it ever since.

Why Lunare

Lunare isn’t just a normal testnet. It’s a dynamic testing ground where all of us can experiment with new network features and test the network’s performance with fresh changes. Lunare will allow us to rapidly experiment with the protocol, making sure new features are well used before they’re promoted to Nocturne.

This unstable devnet is a critical part of our development strategy going forward. It allows us to test and experiment without compromising the stability of Nocturne, our stable testnet. By isolating experimental features in Lunare, we can quickly iterate and benchmark new functionalities in an uncontrolled environment. This will allow us to identify and resolve potential issues long before they reach our mainnet.

Resets: A feature, not a bug

One of the unique differences between Lunare and Nocturne is the fact that we’ll do coordinated resets when necessary. This might sound like a bad thing, but in reality it’s a feature that allows us to move quickly, try new features under breaking conditions and stress-test our network to its limit without worrying about the repercussions. By the time new features reach our mainnet, they are battle-tested and ready to perform in the most demanding situations.

Lunare plays an important role in benchmarking our current stack. By continuously testing in an unstable environment, we gain insight into how our tech performs under pressure. By putting large amounts of load on Lunare, we can test whether our network can handle real-world demand efficiently.

Proving Ground for the Future of Dusk

Lunare isn’t just our unstable devnet, it’s the proving ground for the future of Dusk. With its ability for rapid iteration, multiple resets and rigorous benchmarking, Lunare will play a key role in the Dusk ecosystem. We’re excited about what’s to come and confident Lunare will help us in finding many issues that will eventually creep up as we keep evolving Dusk.