Local devnet and testnet relation - Python Developer Quickstart

[tdurand06]

Context: new to developing on Nillion, new to web3, Ok python programming skills. I am trying to understand the docs by doing the quickstart tutorials, and (I think) what I am tying to do is connect the Python Developer Quickstart to the actual test-net (in preparation for knowing how to connect to a net for when the main-net launches)

Sources used:

• Python Developer Quickstart (which is very well done!)
• Network configuration

Explanation of my current work/understanding:

1. In the python quickstart, we first program a simple computation of an addition.
2. Then, we run it "against the local devnet", by "spinning up a local devnet".
3. By doing so, we create a nillion-devnet.env file, which contains information about this "local devnet". When opening up this private .env file, there are a bunch of information i.e.

• NILLION_CLUSTER_ID=
  ect...
• NILLION_NILCHAIN_PRIVATE_KEY_0= ect...
  4.Then, in the Network configuration doc, we are shown the Python Testnet Configuration, with a Python .env.

Questions:

1. If I want to actually use the testnet, what am i supposed to do with the python.env code? Should I manually replace the nillion-devnet.env created in the python developer quickstart with this new python.env code?
   Please give me steps and instructions for this. Essentially I want the answer to this:
   So to use the local devnet, I run nillion-devnet in my local terminal, but to use the testnet (knowing that I already have a testnet private key) I do .... ?

2. Other noob questions: Is the local devnet just a fake devnet for us to play around with?

[oceans404]

hey @tdurand06! Great questions

1. To run the example on the testnet, you can replace your network code with the snippet below, connecting to the Testnet Network rather than your local nillion-devnet from the local env file

network = Network(
      chain_id="nillion-chain-testnet-1",
      nilvm_grpc_endpoint="https://node-1.nilvm-testnet-1.nillion-network.testnet.nillion.network:14311",
      chain_grpc_endpoint="https://testnet-nillion-grpc.lavenderfive.com",
  )
  print(network)

  # Create payments config and set up Nillion wallet with a private key to pay for operations
  nilchain_key: str = "REPLACE_THIS_WITH_YOUR_NILCHAIN_FUNDED_PRIVATE_KEY_HERE"

2. The nillion-devnet is a local environment that self populates with funds in case you wanted to test on your own machine before connecting to the Testnet network and paying with Testnet NIL (our Testnet faucet has a daily limit, so the local nillion-devnet can be good for load testing)

[tdurand06]

Thank you this worked.
As an FYI for future builders, if you get an
[SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed: unable to get local issuer certificate
error after these changes, like it was the case for me, this means your Python doesn't have the necessary SSL certificates preconfigured. Python sometimes needs a manual update to recognize the system's Certificate Authorities (CAs).
You need to install Certificates.command for Python to properly verify secure connections.
i.e. running on terminal:

User:~ username$ /Applications/Python\ version-number/Install\ Certificates.command

I think this is because Nillion is using cosmpy, and it's making gRPC calls to the Nillion testnet, which seems to have an SSL certificate.