Aptos Blockchain Deployments

You can connect to the Aptos Blockchain in a few ways. See the below table:

tip

Make sure to see the row describing What not to do.

Description	Aptos Devnet	Local Testnet	Aptos Incentivized Testnet (AIT)
Network runs where	Validators run on Aptos Labs servers. FullNodes are run by both Aptos Labs and you (i.e., the Aptos community).	Validators and FullNodes run locally on your computer, entirely independent from devnet.	Some Validators run on Aptos servers, others are run by the Aptos community. FullNodes are run by Aptos Labs and the community.
Who is responsible for the network	Managed by Aptos Team.	Deployed, managed and upgraded by you.	Aptos Incentivized Testnet (AIT) is managed by Aptos Labs and the community.
Purpose of the network	The devnet is built to experiment with new ideas, improve performance and enhance the user experience.	The local testnet is for your development purposes and runs on your local computer.	For executing the Aptos Incentivized Testnet programs for the community.
Network status	Mostly live, with brief interruptions during regular updates.	On your local computer.	Live only during Incentivized Testnet drives.
Type of nodes (also see the row Network runs where)	Validators and FullNodes.	Validators and FullNodes.	Validators and FullNodes.
How to run a node	N/A, run by Aptos Labs team.	See the tutorial.	If you've been invited to an AIT, see the guide.
How to connect to the network	You can transact directly with devnet without a local testnet. See, for example, Your first transaction. You can run FullNodes locally on your computer and synchronize with devnet. See Run a FullNode.	You can start a Validator and FullNode locally and connect with your local testnet for development purposes.	You must start both a local AIT Validator node locally to connect to the AIT. Optionally, FullNodes can also be run locally and connected to AIT.
TS / JS SDK to use	The latest version of the aptos package. The package on npmjs is tested and released with devnet.	Use the TS / JS SDK built from the same commit as the local testnet. See this document for an end-to-end guide explaining this flow.	N/A, do not develop against AIT.
What not to do	Do not attempt to sync your local AIT FullNode or AIT Validator node with devnet.	Do not attempt to sync your local testnet Validator node with Aptos Incentivized Testnet.	Make sure you deploy your local AIT FullNode and AIT Validator node in the test mode, and follow the instructions in AIT-2.