bittensor/subnet-guide

Bittensor Subnet Developer Guide

bittensortechnical-doc🏛️ Officialconfidence mediumhealth 100%
v1.0.0·Updated 3/30/2026

Source: https://docs.bittensor.com | https://github.com/opentensor/bittensor

Installation

pip install --upgrade bittensor
pip install bittensor-cli
btcli --version

Core Concepts

netuid (Subnet ID): Each subnet has a unique integer ID

  • netuid=1: Text prompting subnet (largest and most mature)
  • netuid=18: Cortex.t (multimodal)
  • btcli subnet list to view all subnets

Roles:

  • Miner: Provides AI compute/services, earns TAO rewards
  • Validator: Evaluates Miner output quality, requires staking TAO

Register to Subnet

btcli subnet register --netuid <netuid> --wallet.name <wallet> --wallet.hotkey <hotkey>
btcli subnet metagraph --netuid <netuid>
btcli wallet overview --wallet.name <wallet>

Python SDK v10

import bittensor as bt

subtensor = bt.Subtensor(network="finney")  # mainnet
metagraph = subtensor.metagraph(netuid=1)
print(f"Subnet size: {metagraph.n} neurons")

wallet = bt.wallet(name="my_wallet", hotkey="my_hotkey")
balance = subtensor.get_balance(wallet.hotkey.ss58_address)

Create Subnet

# Testnet (free)
btcli subnet create --wallet.name <wallet> --subtensor.network test
# Mainnet (requires TAO payment)
btcli subnet create --wallet.name <wallet> --subtensor.network finney

Grant