Getting started with Slithy

What is cryptocurrency?

A cryptocurrency uses a shared record of transactions called a blockchain. Computers running the node software each have a copy. They check incoming transactions against the same rules before accepting them into blocks.

That record lets you check where coins went. You can run a node yourself and verify the chain, including the rewards paid to miners and the literacy fund.

What is Slithy Tove?

Slithy Tove uses CPU mining to build a public fund for children's literacy. Ten percent of each new block's subsidy goes to that fund. The treasury page explains who controls it today and the plans for community voting.

You can try the Windows app or choose between the Linux desktop app and terminal tool. These beta downloads use the test network.

What is a wallet?

Your coins are recorded on the chain. Your wallet holds the private keys that let you spend them, and it reads the chain to show your balance.

A password protects the wallet file on your computer. Recovery words let you restore access if you lose the file. Write those words down somewhere safe before you need them.

Anyone with your recovery words or private keys can spend your coins. Never share them, your wallet password, or seed files. Support will not ask for them.

What is an address?

Your address tells another wallet where to send SLTHY. You can share it to receive coins without giving anyone access to spend them.

Slithy transactions are public. Someone who knows your address can look up its activity, so think about where you post it.

What is mining?

Your computer puts together a possible next block using the latest accepted block and pending transactions. It changes a number inside that block and calculates a hash, then tries again. Most attempts fail.

To succeed, the hash must be below the network's current target. Your miner sends a successful block to its peers, who check it before accepting it. This repeated work is why mining uses your CPU.

A faster CPU can make more attempts. It still cannot promise you a reward in a set amount of time. Difficulty and other miners affect how often your computer finds a block.

When another miner gets there first

Your local node receives the new block from its peers and checks it. If it extends the accepted chain, your miner begins work on the next block.

There is no partial answer to save. Each hash is a separate attempt, so ten minutes of mining does not mean you are closer to a reward than you were at the start.

How Slithy splits the block reward

The subsidy is the new SLTHY created with a block. Ninety percent goes to the miner and ten percent goes to the literacy treasury. Nodes reject blocks that skip the required treasury payment.

When you send a transaction, your wallet includes a fee. The miner who includes that transaction receives the fee in addition to their share of the subsidy.

A new mining reward needs confirmations before you can spend it. During that wait, the wallet shows it as an immature or locked balance. Those coins count toward your total even though they are not ready to send.

What do public nodes do?

Nodes check blocks and transactions, then pass valid ones to other nodes. The official Slithy nodes give your computer places to connect when it joins the network. Mining runs on the computers of people who choose to participate.

A peer count measures connections between nodes. It does not tell you how many people are mining. Your wallet app runs a node too, so it can appear as a peer on several servers.

What does the Windows app do?

The Windows app starts a local node and connects it to public peers. That node downloads and checks the chain so your wallet can show its balance.

Click Start mining to use your computer's CPU. Rewards go to your wallet address unless you choose another address in the mining settings.

Allow time for the first chain download, and check the disk space shown in the app. Mining also uses electricity and can make your computer run warmer. Start with a lower power setting if you need it for other work.

What does the Linux terminal tool do?

The Linux tool puts wallet and mining controls in a terminal menu. You can watch mining as it runs, send SLTHY from your wallet, and check for updates there.

The install script downloads the Linux package for you. Before installing it, the script checks the signed release information and compares the download's SHA256 hash with the published hash.

Using the Linux desktop app

The Linux desktop beta has Home, Activity and Settings tabs like the Windows app. It includes the local node and .NET runtime. Ubuntu 24.04 x64 is the reference platform. You need X11 or XWayland; this download is not for ARM computers or headless servers. Other distributions and desktop environments need testing.

Download the Linux desktop archive and extract it into a folder you own. Open a terminal in the extracted folder and run:

bash install-desktop.sh

Open Slithy Tove from your application menu. Leave the extracted folder in place so the launcher can find it. You can also run ./slithy-desktop from that folder. Do not use sudo.

Create a test wallet, record its recovery words privately and allow the node to catch up before starting mining. In Settings, you can turn automatic wallet locking on or off. Locking does not stop mining or hide the balance. Sending asks for your password when the spending keys are locked.

The GUI has its own data folder, separate from the terminal app. Start with a new test wallet. To bring over a terminal wallet, make a backup in the terminal app and restore that backup through Manage wallet in the GUI. Do not copy an active wallet database or delete the original wallet. Avoid sending from two copies of the same wallet at once.

Choose your wallet from the dropdown when the app opens. It remembers your last selection. You can create a wallet or restore one from that same screen.

Version 0.1.44-beta.2 checks for updates when it opens and about once an hour. A badge beside the version and an in-app notice let you review the release. You can also use Settings > Updates. Downloading leaves mining running; installation stops the local node and opens the new app. Start mining again when you are ready.

If you have 0.1.43-beta.1 or earlier, close it, extract this package into a separate folder and run its install-desktop.sh. That one manual upgrade adds the updater. Your wallet data stays in your Linux account's data folder. The terminal app has a separate updater.

Some desktops need an extension to show notification-area icons. The app asks you to confirm that its icon is visible before hiding the window. If you cannot see the icon, cancel and turn off that option in Settings.

If the app will not open, run ./slithy-desktop from a terminal and include the error, your distribution and desktop environment in a bug report. Do not send passwords, recovery words or wallet files.

What resets before launch?

The public test chain, balances, wallets, and treasury records will reset before the live network starts. Test SLTHY has no market value. Do not buy or sell it.

Testing now gives people time to find problems with the software before anyone depends on the live chain.

Try it yourself

Download Slithy and create a test wallet. Record its recovery words, then try mining. Once you have a balance, stop mining and reopen the app to check that it is still there.

The testing notes have more things to try, including wallet recovery and sending coins. Please report confusing buttons or messages too.

What to report

Tell me which version you used and what you were doing when the problem appeared. The bug report form has space for the details that help me repeat it.

Check screenshots and logs for private information before sending them. Thank you for spending time with Slithy and helping improve it.