Weekly Update - Testnet, CLI, and More - 9/1/2017

This was one of the most productive weeks at Livepeer. Here’s some of the things that we got done:

Soft Launch of a Testnet
The long awaited Testnet Soft Launch Mileston is now complete. As a soft launch this is still intended for technical users to get comfortable with interacting with the protocol, and while it certainly works for broadcasting video, using it is somewhat cumbersome through command line tools.

The Livepeer protocol is now running on a private Ethereum network: http://eth-testnet.livepeer.org/

When you start the livepeer node with the -testnet flag it will automatically connect to this network and your transactions will run through the chain. You can get some test ETH through the faucet at the above link.

We also have a new player URL. It’s the world’s most barebones play experience right now, but after you start a stream, you can share the stream ID and anyone can play it at http://media.livepeer.org/player.html

Livepeer CLI
Livepeer now has a command line interface (CLI) tool to help walk users through common actions.

What would you like to do? (default = stats)
 1. Get node status
 2. Deposit token
 3. Broadcast video
 4. Stream video
 5. Set transcoder config
 6. Set broadcast config
 7. Bond
 8. Unbond
 9. Withdraw bond
 10. Become a transcoder
 11. Get test Livepeer Token
 12. Get test Ether
 13. List registered transcoders

When you have a Livepeer node running, you can run livepeer_cli in a different window to use the wizard.

Hosted a Q&A
Eric and I answered some popular questions from the community in a 20 minute Q&A.

Additional Stuff

  • Added a new member to the team (introduction coming soon when they begin)
  • Working with a talented designer on branding and identity. We’re still at the “exploration and lots of options” phase, so will share some samples as we make progress on direction.
  • Hit 100+ users in our Lobby and Dev Chat. I’d like to thank community members @chrishobcroft, @rector99, @no1youknowz, and @runreellydotbat_twitter, and @adamsoffer for their engagement this week and willingness to work with the early stage software, bugs and all.