DFINITY has listened closely to the community’s calls for a more cost-efficient way to test chain-key features, such as threshold ECDSA (tECDSA) and threshold Schnorr (tSchnorr), directly on the mainnet. Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of a dedicated chain-key testing canister that caters to this need, making testing more accessible and affordable for developers.
The newly implemented chain-key testing canister is a smart contract designed specifically to mimic the APIs of various chain-key features. These include tECDSA, tSchnorr, and the forthcoming threshold key derivation (vetKD), providing developers with a practical testing environment. This innovative canister simplifies the testing process by utilising a hard-coded cryptographic key within the canister, in contrast to relying on the key distributed across the subnet nodes in the production environment. This shortcut drastically reduces costs, but it’s important to note that this implementation is insecure and is strictly intended for testing purposes only, as stated in the accompanying disclaimer.
For developers, the primary benefit of this testing canister lies in its ability to save costs. The Internet Computer’s management canister APIs, which are typically used to access chain-key features, carry associated fees. By using the new canister, developers can bypass these charges during their testing phases. This represents a substantial reduction in testing costs, especially for those experimenting with advanced chain-key functions.
The canister has been deployed on the mainnet, and its canister ID is vrqyr-saaaa-aaaan-qzn4q-cai. Developers can access it via the dashboard or Candid UI. All APIs provided by the canister are linked to a single key ID, ‘insecure_test_key_1’, streamlining the testing process further. In the initial stages, no fees are being charged for the canister’s use. However, should usage become excessive, there may be a future introduction of fees, although these will be considerably lower than those associated with the production APIs. The community is encouraged to contribute by topping up the canister with cycles as needed.
In addition to its public deployment, DFINITY has made the source code of the canister available on GitHub. This transparency allows developers to deploy their own instances, whether public or private, providing even greater flexibility in how the canister is used.
This initiative is a significant step forward for the Internet Computer ecosystem, lowering the barriers for developers and allowing them to test their projects without the added pressure of high fees. By offering a more cost-effective way to work with chain-key features, DFINITY is empowering the community to experiment and innovate on the mainnet with fewer constraints.
As development on the Internet Computer continues to accelerate, this testing canister serves as a valuable tool for those looking to explore the possibilities of tECDSA, tSchnorr, and vetKD without worrying about excessive costs. It’s an exciting time for the community, and we look forward to seeing how developers take advantage of this new resource to push the boundaries of what’s possible on the Internet Computer.