mmgen-wallet/doc/wiki/using-mmgen/MMGen-Quick-Start-with-Regtest-Mode.md

MMGen’s regtest mode, also known as Bob and Alice mode, uses the Bitcoin daemon’s regression test feature to create a virtual network of two users who transact on a private blockchain.

All of MMGen’s functionality is available in regtest mode, making it an ideal way to learn to use the MMGen wallet without risking real coins.

To send a transaction or perform any other operation as Bob or Alice, just add the --bob or --alice option to the applicable MMGen command.

This tutorial provides a quick, hands-on introduction.

1. Initialize MMGen regtest mode and start the regtest daemon:

   $ mmgen-regtest setup
   $ mmgen-regtest start
   

2. Generate Bob’s MMGen wallet:

   $ mmgen-walletgen --bob
   ...
   Make this wallet your default and move it to the data directory? (Y/n): y
   

3. Generate three type C (compressed) addresses with Bob’s MMGen wallet:

   $ mmgen-addrgen --bob --type=compressed 1-3
   ...
   Addresses written to file '1163DDF1-C[1-3].addrs'
   # 1163DDF1 is Bob’s Seed ID; since it’s generated randomly, yours will be different
   

4. Import the addresses into Bob’s tracking wallet:

   $ mmgen-addrimport --bob 1163DDF1-C[1-3].addrs
   ...
   Type uppercase 'YES' to confirm: YES
   

   Since your Bob has a different Seed ID, your address filename will of course be different than this one.

5. List the addresses in Bob’s tracking wallet. You’ll see the addresses you just imported:

   $ mmgen-tool --bob listaddresses showempty=1
   MMGenID        ADDRESS                             COMMENT BALANCE
   1163DDF1:C:1   mw42oJ94yRA6ZUNSzmMpjZDR74JNyvqzzZ     -      0
   1163DDF1:C:2   n1oszhfAyRrHi7qJupyzaWXTcpMQGsGJEf     -      0
   1163DDF1:C:3   mhYYHM7renPpNi8SUj5yeEZ54eAUJ5HyQ1     -      0
   

   Note that regtest mode uses testnet-format addresses, which differ from the familiar mainnet addresses beginning with ’1’.

6. Fund one of the addresses (let’s choose the first one) with some BTC:

   $ mmgen-regtest send mw42oJ94yRA6ZUNSzmMpjZDR74JNyvqzzZ 500
   

   Don’t forget to substitute your C:1 address for the one above!

7. Make sure the funds reached their destination:

   $ mmgen-tool --bob listaddresses showempty=1
   MMGenID        ADDRESS                             COMMENT BALANCE
   1163DDF1:C:1   mw42oJ94yRA6ZUNSzmMpjZDR74JNyvqzzZ     -    500
   1163DDF1:C:2   n1oszhfAyRrHi7qJupyzaWXTcpMQGsGJEf     -      0
   1163DDF1:C:3   mhYYHM7renPpNi8SUj5yeEZ54eAUJ5HyQ1     -      0
   TOTAL: 500 BTC
   

8. You can view Bob’s total balance this way too:

   $ mmgen-tool --bob getbalance
   

9. Generate Alice’s MMGen wallet:

   $ mmgen-walletgen --alice
   ...
   Make this wallet your default and move it to the data directory? (Y/n): y
   

10. Generate three type S (segwit) addresses with Alice’s MMGen wallet:

    $ mmgen-addrgen --alice --type=segwit 1-3
    ...
    Addresses written to file '9304C211-S[1-3].addrs'
    

11. Repeat steps 4-7 for Alice by substituting --bob for --alice. Don’t forget to change the address filename and send address to suit. The result of step 7 will look something like this:

    MMGenID        ADDRESS                             COMMENT BALANCE
    9304C211:S:1   2N3HhxasbRvrJyHg72JNVCCPi9EUGrEbFnu    -    500
    9304C211:S:2   2N8w8qTupvd9L9wLFbrn6UhdfF1gadDAmFD    -      0
    9304C211:S:3   2NF4y3y4CEjQCcssjX2BDLHT88XHn8z53JS    -      0
    TOTAL: 500 BTC
    

12. Split Alice’s funds, sending 200 BTC to address S:2 and the change to S:3. Specify a fee of 20 satoshis/byte and make the output quieter:

    $ mmgen-txdo --alice --tx-fee=20s --quiet 9304C211:S:2,300 9304C211:S:3
    ...
    Type uppercase 'YES' to confirm: YES
    Transaction sent: 78ca853816b55527b42ca8784c887a5f482c752522f914d2f17d6afcd8a3b076
    

    Don’t forget to use your Alice’s Seed ID here, instead of 9304C211.

    Note that for simplicity’s sake this tutorial uses the mmgen-txdo command to create, sign and send transactions in one operation. In normal, cold wallet mode, you’d create the transaction with mmgen-txcreate, sign it offline with mmgen-txsign and send it with mmgen-txsend. Use of these commands is explained in detail in the Getting Started guide.

13. View the transaction in the mempool:

    $ mmgen-regtest mempool
    ['78ca853816b55527b42ca8784c887a5f482c752522f914d2f17d6afcd8a3b076']
    

14. Mine a block:

    $ mmgen-regtest generate
    

15. Check the mempool again:

    $ mmgen-regtest mempool
    []
    

16. List Alice’s addresses. Note that Alice has lost a bit to transaction fees:

    $ mmgen-tool --alice listaddresses showempty=1
    MMGenID        ADDRESS                             COMMENT BALANCE
    9304C211:S:1   2N3HhxasbRvrJyHg72JNVCCPi9EUGrEbFnu    -      0
    9304C211:S:2   2N8w8qTupvd9L9wLFbrn6UhdfF1gadDAmFD    -    300
    9304C211:S:3   2NF4y3y4CEjQCcssjX2BDLHT88XHn8z53JS    -    199.999967
    TOTAL: 499.999967 BTC
    

17. Have Alice send 10 BTC to Bob’s C:2 address and the change back to her S:1 address. This time Alice specifies an absolute fee in BTC.

    $ mmgen-txdo --alice --tx-fee=0.0001 --quiet 9304C211:S:1 n1oszhfAyRrHi7qJupyzaWXTcpMQGsGJEf,10
    ...
    Enter a range or space-separated list of outputs to spend: 1
    ...
    

    Note that Alice is reusing address S:1 here, and address reuse is generally a bad idea. You’d be better off generating and importing some new addresses for Alice by repeating steps 3 and 4 with a different address range. I’ll leave that to you as an exercise.

18. Mine a block:

    $ mmgen-regtest generate
    

19. List Alice’s addresses, omitting the empty ones:

    $ mmgen-tool --alice listaddresses
    MMGenID        ADDRESS                             COMMENT BALANCE
    9304C211:S:1   2N3HhxasbRvrJyHg72JNVCCPi9EUGrEbFnu    -    189.999867
    9304C211:S:2   2N8w8qTupvd9L9wLFbrn6UhdfF1gadDAmFD    -    300
    TOTAL: 489.999867 BTC
    

20. List Bob’s addresses:

    $ mmgen-tool --bob listaddresses
    MMGenID        ADDRESS                             COMMENT BALANCE
    1163DDF1:C:1   mw42oJ94yRA6ZUNSzmMpjZDR74JNyvqzzZ     -    500
    1163DDF1:C:2   n1oszhfAyRrHi7qJupyzaWXTcpMQGsGJEf     -     10
    TOTAL: 510 BTC
    

21. Add a label to Bob’s tracking wallet:

    $ mmgen-tool --bob add_label 1163DDF1:C:2 'From Alice'
    

22. List Bob’s addresses:

    $ mmgen-tool --bob listaddresses
    MMGenID        ADDRESS                             COMMENT    BALANCE
    1163DDF1:C:1   mw42oJ94yRA6ZUNSzmMpjZDR74JNyvqzzZ      -      500
    1163DDF1:C:2   n1oszhfAyRrHi7qJupyzaWXTcpMQGsGJEf  From Alice  10
    TOTAL: 510 BTC
    

23. When you’re finished, stop the regtest daemon:

    $ mmgen-regtest stop