Getting Started

Prerequisites, wallet setup, subnet registration, and running your first miner or validator client.

RedNet is currently in testnet / proposal phase. Subnet UID and mainnet registration details will be updated here at launch. Instructions below reflect the expected setup flow based on Bittensor's standard subnet architecture.

Prerequisites

Before registering on RedNet, you need:

Python 3.10+ installed
Bittensor CLI (btcli) installed and configured
A Bittensor wallet (coldkey + hotkey pair)
Sufficient TAO for registration fees (check current subnet registration cost via btcli s list)
For validators: a machine capable of running LLM inference (or access to an API)
For miners: familiarity with LLM behavior and adversarial prompting techniques

1. Install btcli

pip install bittensor

Verify the installation:

btcli --version

2. Create a Wallet

# Create a new coldkey (long-term identity key, store securely offline)
btcli wallet new_coldkey --wallet.name rednet-wallet
 
# Create a hotkey (operational key used for subnet registration)
btcli wallet new_hotkey --wallet.name rednet-wallet --wallet.hotkey default

Your coldkey is your identity on the Bittensor network. Never expose it to an internet-connected machine. Use your hotkey for day-to-day operations.

3. Check Your Balance

btcli wallet balance --wallet.name rednet-wallet

You need enough TAO to cover the subnet registration cost. Registration costs fluctuate based on network demand — check the current cost:

btcli subnets list

4. Register on the Subnet

Once RedNet's subnet UID is confirmed (TBD), register your hotkey:

# Replace SUBNET_UID with the RedNet subnet UID once announced
btcli subnet register --netuid SUBNET_UID --wallet.name rednet-wallet --wallet.hotkey default

5. Run the Miner Client

Clone the RedNet repository and install dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/rednet-subnet/rednet  # URL TBD
cd rednet
pip install -r requirements.txt

Start the miner:

python neurons/miner.py \
  --netuid SUBNET_UID \
  --wallet.name rednet-wallet \
  --wallet.hotkey default \
  --subtensor.network finney \
  --logging.debug

The miner client will:

Connect to the subnet and register your presence each round
Load your submission strategy (see /strategies/ for example playbooks)
Submit up to 20 adversarial prompts per round during the submission window
Log scoring results after each round closes

6. Run the Validator Client

Validators require access to an LLM inference endpoint (either local or via API) and a local corpus replica.

python neurons/validator.py \
  --netuid SUBNET_UID \
  --wallet.name rednet-wallet \
  --wallet.hotkey default \
  --subtensor.network finney \
  --inference.endpoint YOUR_INFERENCE_ENDPOINT \
  --logging.debug

The validator client will:

Receive all miner submissions at the close of the submission window
Run the 4-stage evaluation pipeline on each submission
Broadcast your scoring vector before the evaluation window closes (block 360)
Maintain and update the local corpus replica each round

Testnet First

Before registering on mainnet, test on the Bittensor testnet:

python neurons/miner.py \
  --netuid SUBNET_UID \
  --subtensor.network test \
  --wallet.name rednet-wallet \
  --wallet.hotkey default

The testnet lets you verify your setup, submission format, and scoring without spending real TAO.

Resources

Resource	Link
Bittensor Documentation	docs.learnbittensor.org
btcli Reference	docs.learnbittensor.org/btcli
RedNet GitHub	TBD
RedNet Discord	TBD
Attack Category Guide	/docs/attack-categories
Scoring Reference	/docs/scoring

Getting Started

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