Virtual environments

Virtual environments are local TON networks for developing contracts and applications together. A deployment script, wallet, and frontend can use the same blockchain, with accounts and transaction history preserved between interactions. Acton Studio brings these networks into a single workspace.

Use a virtual environment when a scenario needs several clients or repeated interactions with deployed contracts. Local emulator tests remain separate: acton test does not run against the selected environment.

After validation in virtual environments, test project deployments on testnet before moving to mainnet.

Choose a network

A simulator network is the default for contract and frontend development. It runs with Acton alone, emulating TON execution without real validators or consensus. Use it to reproduce account state, control block time, and test how an application responds to different network conditions.

A localnet runs real TON nodes and TON Center services in Docker. Choose it when the scenario depends on validator elections, node synchronization, or indexer behavior. This requires additional memory and disk space — check the Docker requirements before creating one.

Create and connect

Start Studio from the Acton project and create an environment under Virtual environments. Choose the network type, name it, and select project wallets to initialize. For the initial state, start with a clean chain or fork or import existing accounts to work with deployed contracts. Changes stay local to the new environment.

Once the network is ready, connect scripts and applications through Home → Connect environment. Studio generates settings for Acton projects, JavaScript clients, and other RPC tools. Point each client at the same environment so deployments, wallet actions, and frontend requests use the intended state. Selecting another environment in the browser does not redirect a running client.

The task guides also provide CLI alternatives. Note that a network started from the CLI, separate from the Studio, is not automatically added to the Studio's environment list.

Exercise the application

Deploy contracts, fund accounts, and run the interactions the application needs to support. Inspect the resulting accounts and transactions in Explorer. Use API calls and execution traces to investigate unexpected results.

On a simulator network, control time and mining to test deadlines without waiting, or set API conditions to exercise loading states and retries. On a localnet, manage nodes and validators and generate test traffic to observe the network under load.

For scenarios that require different fees or limits, edit blockchain configuration. Localnet also supports administrative account edits to prepare states that ordinary contract messages cannot easily produce.

Save and repeat

Save a snapshot before changing the scenario. Restore it to repeat the same interactions from a known state. It is helpful for investigating a failure or comparing contract versions.

When finished, stop the environment to release runtime resources and resume it later. Stopping preserves saved state; deleting the environment removes its managed state and snapshots.