<blockquote>
  <p>Do I need to run 2 instances on bitcoind / bitcoin-qt.exe for that?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Yes. If <code>bitcoin-qt</code> is already running and on <code>mainnet</code> then open up a command shell and type:</p>

<pre><code>&gt;bitcoin-qt -testnet
</code></pre>

<p>This will launch a second bitcoin-qt on testnet using the default <code>-datadir=</code> and <code>-conf=</code> options.</p>

<p>The <code>-testnet</code> option uses the folder <code>{default bitcoin datadir path}/testnet3/</code> and the default <code>bitcoin.conf</code> file by default. If you wish for your <code>testnet</code> instance to have different options to your <code>mainnet</code> instance then add the <code>-conf={file}</code> option after <code>-testnet</code> on the command line.</p>

<p>This works much the same for <code>bitcoind</code>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-20T09:28:37.967Z
2018-02-20T09:28:37.967Z
Willtech
<p>How to run Bitcoin Core both main and testnet on the same machine?
I want to be able to communicate with both block-chains via RPC.</p>

<p>Do I need to run 2 instances on bitcoind / bitcoin-qt.exe for that?</p>

<bitcoin-core><testnet>
How to run Bitcoin Core both main and testnet on the same machine?
kobik
# How to run Bitcoin Core both main and testnet on the same machine?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-02-20)

How to run Bitcoin Core both main and testnet on the same machine?
I want to be able to communicate with both block-chains via RPC.

Do I need to run 2 instances on bitcoind / bitcoin-qt.exe for that?

**Tags:** bitcoin-core, testnet


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-02-20. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

> Do I need to run 2 instances on bitcoind / bitcoin-qt.exe for that?

Yes. If `bitcoin-qt` is already running and on `mainnet` then open up a command shell and type:

```
>bitcoin-qt -testnet

```

This will launch a second bitcoin-qt on testnet using the default `-datadir=` and `-conf=` options.

The `-testnet` option uses the folder `{default bitcoin datadir path}/testnet3/` and the default `bitcoin.conf` file by default. If you wish for your `testnet` instance to have different options to your `mainnet` instance then add the `-conf={file}` option after `-testnet` on the command line.

This works much the same for `bitcoind`.


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