Test your collection
Note: Before you deploy a collection on Highlight, you should always first deploy the exact same collection to a testnet. Remember, deploying a collection to a blockchain is a permanent, irreversible process. If you make a mistake, it is likely that the broken collection is set in stone and immutable.
What is a testnet?
Testnets are blockchains that replicate the main Ethereum network's behavior and features, enabling users to test their projects inexpensively and without the need for actual ether.
You can deploy to testnet as many times are you'd like, until things look and work as they should.
Highlight provides a full replica of its minting and marketplace infrastructure on testnets, so you can deploy a collection, see how the minting page looks, mint a few iterations, see how they look, make sure thumbnails generate correctly, check how tokens will look when listed on the marketplace, etc.
We recommend artists and creators to deploy collections to the testnet first to ensure a thorough preview of their work before launching on mainnet.
Deploying to testnet
To deploy your collection on a testnet, initiate the collection creation flow as usual. Select the type of collection you'd like to create:
Then, on the "Series detail" tab, you'll see the ability to toggle between testnet and mainnet.
Select "Testnet" and then either Ethereum Sepolia or Base Sepolia. All collections, regardless of the final chain you deploy to, can be tested on either test network.
Sepolia migration
In January of 2024, we added support for the new Ethereum testnet, Sepolia. In 2023, the Ethereum Foundation announced the deprecation of Goerli testnet in early 2024. This deprecation affects all six testnets we had originally supported: Goerli, Mumbai, Base Goerli, Optimism Goerli, Arbitrum Goerli, and Zora Goerli.
Starting January 2024, creators can deploy testnet collections to Sepolia or Base Sepolia. Testing for all collections regardless of chain can done on either testnet chain.
Previewing your collection on testnet
When reviewing your testnet collection, you'll want to make sure it appears as you'd want it when you launch it live. Below are a couple of best practices when testing:
Collection preivew: a testnet collection is exactly how your mainnet collection will appear. Make sure your artwork, text descriptions, and traits show up as expected.
Test tokens: mint a couple of tokens to make sure they reveal and appear as you'd like. Be sure to take a look at the browse page for series and generative collections as well as on marketplaces like OpenSea.
If you encounter difficulties or are unsure why something isn't working, send us an email at gm@highlight.xyz.
Adding a testnet to your wallet
Depending on your wallet software (e.g., Metamask, Coinbase Wallet) and the specific testnet you want to connect to, you may not always find the desired testnet available to add. In such cases, you will have to manually enter the relevant information.
In Metamask, you can choose "Add a network manually" and input the testnet information, including the network name, RPC URL, Chain ID, and currency symbol. Among these, the RPC URL and the Chain ID are the most critical pieces of information that you must ensure are accurate.
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