Understand Luracoin from first principles.

01

Install the reference node

Clone the public reference repository, create an isolated environment, and install its development extras.

# From the current alpha source checkout
cd luracoin-python
# These examples use 3.12; Python 3.10 and 3.11 are also supported
python3.12 --version
python3.12 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"

redis-cli ping
pytest -q
luracoin --help

brew install redis
brew services start redis
redis-cli ping

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y redis-server
sudo systemctl enable --now redis-server
redis-cli ping

02

Run a testnet node

Start the process in the foreground. It opens P2P on TCP 9999 and an authenticated wallet RPC on loopback port 18444.

luracoin node   --network testnet   --host 127.0.0.1   --port 9999   --rpc-port 18444

Expect an isolated node

No public seeds are configured. A fresh process can be initialized and healthy while connected to zero peers. To test networking, pass one or more peer endpoints you control:

luracoin node --network testnet   --seed node-you-control.example:9999   --host 127.0.0.1   --port 9999 --rpc-port 18444

The first-run commands bind P2P to loopback deliberately. This unaudited alpha has no peer authentication, durable peer scoring, or Sybil protection: do not expose it to the public Internet. Use an explicit LAN address only for a controlled-network experiment.

Inspect local state

luracoin get-info --network testnet
luracoin get-balance --network testnet <ADDRESS>
luracoin get-block --network testnet <HEIGHT>

Chain data defaults to ~/.luracoin/testnet. Keep a separate directory for every network, and never try to open prototype v1 data as v2.

03

Install and open the wallet

The desktop alpha source is public, but signed installers are not available yet. These commands apply after the local node and Redis are available.

# From the current alpha source checkout
cd luracoin-wallet
npm ci
npm run electron:dev

The node writes ~/.luracoin/testnet/rpc.token. Electron reads that file only in its main process and never exposes the bearer to the React renderer.

Create a wallet

1. 1
   Choose “Create a new wallet”.

   Set a local password of at least 12 characters and acknowledge that the recovery phrase is essential.

2. 2
   Record all 24 words offline.

   The phrase hides again after 60 seconds. Do not photograph it, paste it into chat, or store it in source control.

3. 3
   Verify the requested words.

   The wallet confirms selected positions before it creates the encrypted vault.

4. 4
   Select testnet.

   Mainnet is visible only as unavailable and cannot be initialized by the node.

Restore a wallet

Enter the 24 words, open the custom-passphrase option only if you used one, set a new local password, and confirm the derived address. The default BIP39 passphrase is LURA. A custom passphrase changes the derived wallet and is required for recovery.

Optional localhost browser mode

Stop the foreground node, build the Vite renderer, then restart the Python node so it serves the wallet alongside its restricted gateway:

# Stop any running node first, then build the wallet
cd luracoin-wallet
npm ci
npm run build

# Then serve it from the Python node repository
cd ../luracoin-python
source .venv/bin/activate
luracoin node --network testnet --host 127.0.0.1 --port 9999 --rpc-port 18444   --wallet-dir ../luracoin-wallet/dist   --wallet-host 127.0.0.1 --wallet-port 8080

Open http://127.0.0.1:8080. Never publish this port, place it behind a public proxy, or treat 0.0.0.0 as a browser URL.

04

Receive and send test LURA

Receive

1. 1
   Open Receive.

   Your one 34-character testnet address and QR code appear.

2. 2
   Optionally set an amount and label.

   The wallet can encode them into its supported luracoin: payment URI.

3. 3
   Verify the address out of band.

   Addresses use Base58Check, but visual verification still matters.

Send

1. 1
   Paste an address or payment URI.

   Enter LURA with up to eight decimals; use a dot as the decimal separator.

2. 2
   Review before unlocking.

   Confirm network, recipient, amount, and the current zero-fee alpha behavior.

3. 3
   Enter the local password.

   The vault decrypts for the signing operation and verifies that its key controls the sender.

4. 4
   Wait for node acceptance.

   The wallet shows success only after the local node admits the transaction.

The alpha allows one local pending outgoing transaction at a time and uses a fixed fee of zero. Pending incoming transfers appear after inclusion, not while they are only in the mempool.

05

Mine blocks

Mining is a simple CPU proof-of-work loop for learning, not a pool, GPU, or production miner. Create a wallet first, stop the foreground node, and use the wallet's testnet address as the reward destination.

# Stop the foreground node first; mine starts its own node
luracoin mine --network testnet   --address <YOUR_TESTNET_ADDRESS>   --host 127.0.0.1   --port 9999 --rpc-port 18444

luracoin mine starts its own full node and RPC services, so it must replace—not run beside—the earlier node command on the same ports and data directory. “Ready” means initialized and caught up with every known connected peer; with zero peers, it says nothing about the wider network.

06

Configure the runtime

Configuration files are templates only: neither CLI loads .env automatically. Export variables in the shell that starts the process, or pass supported CLI flags.

export LURACOIN_NETWORK=testnet
export LURACOIN_HOME=/path/to/private/luracoin-data
export LURACOIN_REDIS_HOST=127.0.0.1
export LURACOIN_REDIS_PORT=6379

07

Understand the protocol

The current alpha uses peer protocol v2 and RPC / Explorer API v1. Do not identify it by package version alone: the earlier, incompatible public prototype also reports 0.1.0.

Addresses and units

• Addresses are 34-character Base58Check strings.
• The payload is version byte 0x30 plus HASH160 of a compressed public key.
• 1 LURA = 100,000,000 lurashis.
• Consensus uses integers—never floating point.

Transactions

The unsigned payload is 85 bytes. A deterministic ECDSA secp256k1 signature over SHA-256, normalized to low-S, is paired with the 64-byte public key. The final transaction is exactly 213 bytes; its ID is double SHA-256 of those bytes.

Blocks and proof of work

A serialized block begins with a 118-byte header followed by one or more 213-byte transactions. Post-genesis blocks begin with one coinbase paying the height-specific subsidy plus fees; genesis instead contains its fixed 100,000 LURA test allocation. Difficulty adjusts every 480 blocks and may change by at most a factor of four per period.

P2P v2

Every TCP message has a 24-byte envelope: network magic, 12-byte command, payload length, and checksum. Peers exchange version and verack before blocks, transactions, inventory, peer lists, and ping/pong messages.

08

Protect recovery material

Luracoin, the public website, and the explorer never need private wallet material. Keep each of these out of screenshots, logs, analytics, issue trackers, cloud notes, and frontend environment variables.

The testnet genesis key is already public by design. Never reuse it, even for other test systems. Do not publish sensitive vulnerability details or any wallet secret; follow the repository security policy.

09

Read confirmations carefully

The current node follows one linear next-block path. It does not store competing branches, compare cumulative work, or reorganize account state.

Two nodes can therefore stay on different histories after simultaneous valid blocks. Explorer “confirmations” describe depth in one node's observed chain; they do not imply globally safe finality.

• No public seed infrastructure or faucet.
• No header-first synchronization, durable peer scoring, or Sybil protection.
• No hardware wallet, multisig, smart contracts, staking, burn, or multi-address wallet.
• No mainnet genesis or release gate approval.

10

Troubleshoot common states