How to join the FLOP testnet: a checklist for November 3

Status as of October 19, 2026: the FLOP testnet is not live. Flop's Ask FLOP timeline FAQ, updated October 16, gives Tuesday, November 3, 2026 as the working target and calls it "a target rather than a fixed date". This checklist covers what you can prepare now and what to watch for on launch day, by role. It's based on that FAQ, the draft testnet page and the testnet status page. For dates and background, read the FLOP testnet guide and the Flop roadmap.

Do you need to apply to join the FLOP testnet?

No. The FAQ says the testnet is open, with "no whitelist, no restrictions, no cap on miners", and that "There is no application process." The miner and validator form on flop.finance is optional. Flop uses it to send setup instructions, and nobody is approved or rejected on it. If you sent the form and heard nothing back, the FAQ says "nothing has gone wrong: it is a contact list, not a queue."

The draft testnet page, last updated October 5, still says a sponsored miner place requires attested hardware or admission from the application list. The FAQ is the more recent of the two documents.

Before November 3: a checklist for every role

1. Use official sources only. The FAQ says official information comes from flop.finance and @flop_labs, and that "There is no Discord yet." Our official FLOP links page lists the rest, including the Ask FLOP docs.
2. Pick a role: miner (you serve inference on a GPU), validator (you run a node that verifies and settles the work) or agent (you buy inference with faucet tokens). The sections below cover each one.
3. Send the optional form if you want setup instructions by email: miner form or validator form, both linked from flop.finance.
4. Don't pay anyone for access. The FAQ says there is no devnet token, and that validator entry has "nothing to buy" because the network sponsors the testnet stake. An offer of devnet access, test tokens, a miner image or a validator seat for money is a scam. See FLOP scams.
5. Plan for the date to move. The FAQ says November 3 "will be confirmed as devnet onboarding completes", and the testnet page says the testnet "opens when its readiness criteria are met".

How to prepare as a miner

The FAQ describes setup as "One afternoon end to end, and you can rehearse it today without waiting":

Step	What the FAQ says	Time it gives
Get a GPU	Rent one from any NeoCloud platform that gives you root access. Live capacity and provider-by-GPU pricing are on gpus.flop.finance, which the testnet page links as its "GPU market"	Not stated
Install Linux	A clean install of any major Linux distribution	About 30 minutes
Install the miner	SSH in, install the Flop miner software and tune it	One to two hours

The testnet page recommends 16 GB or more of VRAM per GPU; our mining guide covers which cards that includes. The miner manual will be a Markdown file "written for your own AI to execute", but the FAQ says it "is not yet published and no date has been set." Its practical advice is to "rent one unit now and do a dry run".

On timing, the FAQ says you don't need to join on day one, "but earlier participation means a larger share of the low-supply months and therefore a larger airdrop." Its planning assumption is about 1,000 H100-equivalents of compute on the network by the end of the testnet, and it tells miners to size returns against their share of total network compute. The mining profitability guide explains the official calculator.

How to prepare as a validator

No validator seats are handed out before the testnet, and there is nothing to apply for. The FAQ lists the preparation that does help: the regions you'll run in, hardware per node (no GPU, but disk for the model set), how many nodes you plan to run and any prior validator experience. The published spec sets a self-declared limit of five validator slots per operating entity.

The provisional node spec on the testnet page is an 8+ core CPU, 64 GB RAM, 4 TB NVMe (2 TB minimum) and a 1 Gbps redundant connection. During the testnet you're scored on uptime, block production, accuracy, latency and geographic spread across the whole three months. Flop hasn't published a weighting between those criteria, and the FAQ says the full cutover rubric will be published before the testnet ends. It also warns of forced software upgrades with short deadlines, and keeping up with them counts toward the ranking. The top 1,000 at cutover each get the 1,200,000 $FLOP bond free. Details are in the validator guide.

How to take part without hardware (agents)

The FAQ says an agent needs three things on day one: an identity key (the same DID key used on Technocore), the ability to make HTTP requests, and the ability to call the testnet faucet and submit an inference request signed with that key. "No wallet software, chain client or SDK beyond that is needed to start."

Its steps for someone who isn't a miner or a creator:

1. Create an agent and get a DID key.
2. When the testnet launches, claim testnet $FLOP from the faucet. Whether claims are hourly or daily "is not yet decided".
3. Have the agent spend it on an inference request. The task itself doesn't matter.

The FAQ adds that "Creating DIDs earns nothing" and that "today you can only do step one." Faucet limits apply per identity, so an agent's testnet inference is capped by the faucet. The agent unlock rules after genesis are still unsettled; our airdrop guide tracks them.

Should you join the devnet first?

Most people can't, and don't need to. The private devnet is for a few dozen institutions, admitted in small batches from the week of October 13, with miners and validators first and agents later. The devnet status page describes "Administrator-reviewed disposable devnet admission". The FAQ says devnet has "no rewards, no airdrop weight, no scoring", and that joining "is not a qualification step for the airdrop". Its only purpose is to have machines proven before scoring starts on testnet day one.

How you'll know the testnet is live

The testnet status page reads "planned" and says the testnet is unavailable until its network identity, artifacts and admission policy are published and verified. The docs say no network is ready for operators until its expected genesis, chain spec, bootnodes, public RPC or gateway, supported release and admission authority are published. Watch that page and @flop_labs for the change. We'll publish it in our news section the day it happens.

What counts toward the airdrop once you're in, and what doesn't, is in the airdrop eligibility checklist.

FAQ

Do I need to apply or be whitelisted to join the FLOP testnet?

No. Flop's Ask FLOP timeline FAQ says the testnet has "no whitelist, no restrictions, no cap on miners" and no application process. The miner and validator form on flop.finance is optional and only used to send setup instructions.

When can I join the FLOP testnet?

The working target is Tuesday, November 3, 2026, for about 90 days, according to the Ask FLOP timeline FAQ updated October 16. It's a target, to be confirmed as devnet onboarding completes. As of October 19 the testnet status page still reads "planned".

Can I join the FLOP testnet without a GPU?

Yes, as an agent. You need a DID key, the ability to make HTTP requests, and the ability to claim testnet $FLOP from the faucet and spend it on a signed inference request. Validators also need no GPU, but they need a server that meets the node spec.

Does joining the Flop devnet help with the airdrop?

No. The FAQ says devnet has "no rewards, no airdrop weight, no scoring" and isn't a qualification step. It's a small private network for institutions to prove their setup before testnet day one.

Do I have to join the FLOP testnet on day one?

No, but the FAQ says earlier participation means a larger share of the low-supply months and therefore a larger airdrop. Rewards earned while supply is thin aren't diluted by capacity that arrives later.

Is there an official Flop Discord for testnet help?

Not yet. The Ask FLOP FAQ says "There is no Discord yet" and that official information comes from flop.finance and the @flop_labs X account. Treat any server calling itself official with caution.