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Get started with testnets

To make the difference between Cardano mainnet functionality and testnet functionality clearer, we moved the old content of developers.cardano.org to testnets.cardano.org with the launch of this developer portal.

Cardano testnet​

The Cardano testnet is your playground when testing Cardano integration, building with transaction metadata, exploring native tokens or learning how to operate a stake pool.

Because the Cardano testnet is an independent network, separate from the Cardano mainnet, it requires its own token: test ada (tAda).

Where to get test ada?​

Test ada is worth nothing. With it you can safely perform all tests free of charge - the reason why you want to develop on the testnet.

To get free test ada, you need to visit the Cardano testnet faucet.

Where to get a testnet wallet?​

Which block explorers can I use for the Cardano testnet?​

Which metadata explorers can I use for the Cardano testnet?​

What kind of monitoring tools are available for the testnet?​

Where has the old content of developers.cardano.org gone?​

The developer portal covers everything that you can do on Cardano Mainnet today. To illustrate this difference, we moved the old content of developers.cardano.org to testnets.cardano.org with the launch of this developer portal.

Virtual Machines and programming languages​

If you miss information about virtual machines like KEVM, IELE, and EVM or programming languages like Plutus, Marlowe and Glow, visit testnets.cardano.org.

Smart Contracts​

To get you up to speed with the Smart Contract functionality coming to Cardano, we prepared get started with smart contracts on Cardano.