Choosing a Network

Stellar offers three networks for development and production. This guide helps you choose the right one for your needs.

Network Comparison Table

Aspect	Futurenet	Testnet	Mainnet
Purpose	Latest features	Development/Testing	Production
Reset Policy	Monthly	Monthly	Never
Uptime	~95%	~99%	99.95%+
Real XLM	No (free)	No (free)	Yes (real money)
Use Case	Experimental features	App development & QA	Production dApps
Friendbot	Yes	Yes	No (must buy XLM)
RPC Endpoint	soroban-futurenet.stellar.org	soroban-testnet.stellar.org	soroban-mainnet.stellar.org
Horizon API	horizon-futurenet.stellar.org	horizon-testnet.stellar.org	horizon.stellar.org
Network ID	`StellarFuturenetNetwork`	`Test SDF Network`	`Public Global Stellar`
Fee Rate	~100 stroops/tx	~100 stroops/tx	~100 stroops/tx

Futurenet

For: Testing new Soroban features, experimenting with upcoming protocol changes

When to Use Futurenet

✅ Testing cutting-edge Soroban features not yet on Testnet
✅ Experimenting with protocol changes before they reach Testnet
✅ Rapid iteration on contracts
❌ NOT for production
❌ NOT for user-facing features (data resets monthly)

Futurenet Setup

# Environment variables for Futurenet
export STELLAR_NETWORK="futurenet"
export SOROBAN_RPC_HOST="https://soroban-futurenet.stellar.org"
export SOROBAN_RPC_PORT="443"
export HORIZON_URL="https://horizon-futurenet.stellar.org"
export FRIENDBOT_URL="https://friendbot-futurenet.stellar.org"
export NETWORK_PASSPHRASE="StellarFuturenetNetwork"

Get Free Futurenet XLM

# Get XLM via Friendbot
curl "https://friendbot-futurenet.stellar.org/?addr=GBBD47XCZVNQWMFE2IWHHT4AFYK6QKM3ZDMK5GVLL5IXacelași5QNTUVA"

Veil Futurenet Deployment

# Deploy Veil contract to Futurenet
soroban contract deploy \
  --wasm target/wasm32-unknown-unknown/release/veil_wallet.wasm \
  --rpc-url https://soroban-futurenet.stellar.org \
  --network-passphrase "StellarFuturenetNetwork"

⚠️

Futurenet data resets monthly. Never store production data or user funds here. All accounts and contracts are wiped.

Testnet

For: Active development, integration testing, QA before production

When to Use Testnet

✅ Normal app development
✅ Testing wallet features
✅ Integration testing
✅ User acceptance testing (before mainnet)
❌ NOT for production
❌ NOT for long-term data storage (data resets monthly)

Testnet Setup

# Environment variables for Testnet
export STELLAR_NETWORK="testnet"
export SOROBAN_RPC_HOST="https://soroban-testnet.stellar.org"
export SOROBAN_RPC_PORT="443"
export HORIZON_URL="https://horizon-testnet.stellar.org"
export FRIENDBOT_URL="https://friendbot-testnet.stellar.org"
export NETWORK_PASSPHRASE="Test SDF Network ; September 2015"

Get Free Testnet XLM

# Get XLM via Friendbot
curl "https://friendbot-testnet.stellar.org/?addr=GBBD47XCZVNQWMFE2IWHHT4AFYK6QKM3ZDMK5GVLL5IXSAMQ5QNTUVA"
 
# Or use the Stellar Laboratory
# https://laboratory.stellar.org/#account-creator

Testnet Explorer

StellarChain: https://testnet.steexp.com
Stellar Laboratory: https://laboratory.stellar.org
View Contracts: https://testnet.steexp.com/contracts

Veil Testnet Deployment

# Deploy Veil contract to Testnet
soroban contract deploy \
  --wasm target/wasm32-unknown-unknown/release/veil_wallet.wasm \
  --rpc-url https://soroban-testnet.stellar.org \
  --network-passphrase "Test SDF Network ; September 2015"
 
# Initialize wallet
soroban contract invoke \
  --contract-id CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABUFC \
  --function init \
  --arg-xdr-base64 "AAAAQQAAAAACc4fQYlzfXGqoHUZRXlzfXGqoHUZRXlzfXGqoHUZRXlzfXGqoHUZRXl=" \
  --rpc-url https://soroban-testnet.stellar.org \
  --network-passphrase "Test SDF Network ; September 2015"

Most Veil development happens on Testnet. It has stable features and monthly resets are acceptable.

Mainnet

For: Production deployments, real user wallets, actual XLM transactions

When to Use Mainnet

✅ Production dApps
✅ Real user wallets
✅ Live payments
✅ Real XLM settlement
❌ NOT for testing (uses real money)
❌ NOT for unaudited code

Mainnet Setup

# Environment variables for Mainnet
export STELLAR_NETWORK="mainnet"
export SOROBAN_RPC_HOST="https://soroban-mainnet.stellar.org"
export SOROBAN_RPC_PORT="443"
export HORIZON_URL="https://horizon.stellar.org"
export NETWORK_PASSPHRASE="Public Global Stellar Network ; September 2015"

Get Mainnet XLM

Mainnet has no Friendbot. You must buy XLM from an exchange:

Kraken — https://www.kraken.com
Binance — https://www.binance.com
Coinbase — https://www.coinbase.com
CoinMarketCap — https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/stellar/

Mainnet Explorer

StellarChain: https://steexp.com
Stellar Laboratory: https://laboratory.stellar.org
View Contracts: https://steexp.com/contracts

Veil Mainnet Deployment

# Deploy Veil contract to Mainnet (REAL XLM WILL BE CHARGED)
soroban contract deploy \
  --wasm target/wasm32-unknown-unknown/release/veil_wallet.wasm \
  --rpc-url https://soroban-mainnet.stellar.org \
  --network-passphrase "Public Global Stellar Network ; September 2015"
 
# Initialize wallet on Mainnet
soroban contract invoke \
  --contract-id CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABUFC \
  --function init \
  --arg-xdr-base64 "AAAAQQAAAAACc4fQYlzfXGqoHUZRXlzfXGqoHUZRXlzfXGqoHUZRXlzfXGqoHUZRXlzfXGqoHUZRXl=" \
  --rpc-url https://soroban-mainnet.stellar.org \
  --network-passphrase "Public Global Stellar Network ; September 2015"

⚠️

BE CAREFUL ON MAINNET. Every transaction costs real XLM. Test thoroughly on Testnet first. Never deploy unaudited code to Mainnet.

Recommended Development Workflow

Stage 1: Local Development

# Start local Soroban simulator
soroban network start local
 
# Test contracts locally
soroban contract test --network local

Stage 2: Futurenet (Optional)

# Test experimental features
export STELLAR_NETWORK="futurenet"
export SOROBAN_RPC_HOST="https://soroban-futurenet.stellar.org"
 
# Deploy and test
soroban contract deploy --network-passphrase "StellarFuturenetNetwork"

Stage 3: Testnet (Required)

# Full integration testing
export STELLAR_NETWORK="testnet"
export SOROBAN_RPC_HOST="https://soroban-testnet.stellar.org"
 
# Test with realistic conditions
soroban contract deploy --network-passphrase "Test SDF Network ; September 2015"
 
# Load test with multiple transactions
npm run test:integration

Stage 4: Mainnet (Production)

# Only after:
# - Security audit ✓
# - Testnet validation ✓
# - Mainnet simulation ✓
 
export STELLAR_NETWORK="mainnet"
export SOROBAN_RPC_HOST="https://soroban-mainnet.stellar.org"
 
# Deploy with caution
soroban contract deploy --network-passphrase "Public Global Stellar Network ; September 2015"

Network Passphrase Reference

Keep these handy:

# Futurenet
StellarFuturenetNetwork
 
# Testnet
Test SDF Network ; September 2015
 
# Mainnet
Public Global Stellar Network ; September 2015

Quick Network Switcher

Create a shell script to switch networks quickly:

#!/bin/bash
 
# ~/.stellar-network
 
case "$1" in
  futurenet)
    export STELLAR_NETWORK="futurenet"
    export SOROBAN_RPC_HOST="https://soroban-futurenet.stellar.org"
    export NETWORK_PASSPHRASE="StellarFuturenetNetwork"
    ;;
  testnet)
    export STELLAR_NETWORK="testnet"
    export SOROBAN_RPC_HOST="https://soroban-testnet.stellar.org"
    export NETWORK_PASSPHRASE="Test SDF Network ; September 2015"
    ;;
  mainnet)
    export STELLAR_NETWORK="mainnet"
    export SOROBAN_RPC_HOST="https://soroban-mainnet.stellar.org"
    export NETWORK_PASSPHRASE="Public Global Stellar Network ; September 2015"
    ;;
  *)
    echo "Usage: source ~/.stellar-network {futurenet|testnet|mainnet}"
    exit 1
    ;;
esac
 
echo "✓ Network set to: $STELLAR_NETWORK"
echo "✓ RPC: $SOROBAN_RPC_HOST"

Usage:

source ~/.stellar-network testnet
# ✓ Network set to: testnet
# ✓ RPC: https://soroban-testnet.stellar.org
 
source ~/.stellar-network mainnet
# ✓ Network set to: mainnet
# ✓ RPC: https://soroban-mainnet.stellar.org

Network Status & Monitoring

Stellar Status: https://status.stellar.org
Futurenet Uptime: Check #soroban-status on Stellar Discord
Testnet Issues: Refer to #soroban-testnet Discord channel
Mainnet Health: https://status.stellar.org/pages/production

Troubleshooting Network Issues

”Cannot connect to RPC"

# Check network connectivity
curl https://soroban-testnet.stellar.org
 
# Verify firewall isn't blocking port 443
telnet soroban-testnet.stellar.org 443

"Invalid network passphrase"

# Double-check your passphrase (exact spelling matters)
# Testnet: "Test SDF Network ; September 2015"  ← note the semicolon
# Mainnet: "Public Global Stellar Network ; September 2015"

"Insufficient balance"

# Check your account balance
soroban contract invoke \
  --contract-id native \
  --function balance \
  --account YOUR_ACCOUNT

"Contract not found”

# Verify contract is deployed on the right network
# Use the network's block explorer
# Testnet: https://testnet.steexp.com
# Mainnet: https://steexp.com

Still stuck? Ask in the Stellar Discord #soroban-support channel. The community is very helpful!

Fee & Gas Budget Model When Not to Use Veil