Modifications to support a single node testnet:

- Added "singleNodeTestnet" setting, allowing for fast and consecutive block minting, and no requirement for a minimum number of peers.
- Added "recoveryModeTimeout" setting (previously hardcoded in Synchronizer).
- Updated testnets documentation to include new settings and a quick start guide.
- Added "generic" minting account that can be used in testnets (not functional on mainnet), to simplify the process for new devs.

TestNets.md

@@ -52,14 +52,13 @@
 
 ## Single-node testnet
 
-A single-node testnet is possible with code modifications, for basic testing, or to more easily start a new testnet.
-To do so, follow these steps:
-- Comment out the `if (mintedLastBlock) { }` conditional in BlockMinter.java
-- Comment out the `minBlockchainPeers` validation in Settings.validate()
-- Set `minBlockchainPeers` to 0 in settings.json
-- Set `Synchronizer.RECOVERY_MODE_TIMEOUT` to `0`
-- All other steps should remain the same. Only a single reward share key is needed.
-- Remember to put these values back after introducing other nodes
+A single-node testnet is possible with an additional settings, or to more easily start a new testnet.
+Just add this setting:
+```
+"singleNodeTestnet": true
+```
+This will automatically allow multiple consecutive blocks to be minted, as well as setting minBlockchainPeers to 0.
+Remember to put these values back after introducing other nodes
 
 ## Fixed network
 
@@ -93,3 +92,32 @@ Your options are:
 - `qort` tool, but prepend with one-time shell variable: `BASE_URL=some-node-hostname-or-ip:port qort ......`
 - `peer-heights`, but use `-t` option, or `BASE_URL` shell variable as above
 
+## Example settings-test.json
+```
+{
+  "isTestNet": true,
+  "bitcoinNet": "TEST3",
+  "repositoryPath": "db-testnet",
+  "blockchainConfig": "testchain.json",
+  "minBlockchainPeers": 1,
+  "apiDocumentationEnabled": true,
+  "apiRestricted": false,
+  "bootstrap": false,
+  "maxPeerConnectionTime": 999999999,
+  "localAuthBypassEnabled": true,
+  "singleNodeTestnet": true,
+  "recoveryModeTimeout": 0
+}
+```
+
+## Quick start
+Here are some steps to quickly get a single node testnet up and running with a generic minting account:
+1. Start with template `settings-test.json`, and create a `testchain.json` based on mainnet's blockchain.json (or obtain one from Qortal developers). These should be in the same directory as the jar.
+2. Make sure feature triggers and other timestamp/height activations are correctly set. Generally these would be `0` so that they are enabled from the start.
+3. Set a recent genesis `timestamp` in testchain.json, and add this reward share entry:
+`{ "type": "REWARD_SHARE", "minterPublicKey": "DwcUnhxjamqppgfXCLgbYRx8H9XFPUc2qYRy3CEvQWEw", "recipient": "QbTDMss7NtRxxQaSqBZtSLSNdSYgvGaqFf", "rewardSharePublicKey": "CRvQXxFfUMfr4q3o1PcUZPA4aPCiubBsXkk47GzRo754", "sharePercent": 0 },`
+4. Start the node, passing in settings-test.json, e.g: `java -jar qortal.jar settings-test.json`
+5. Once started, add the corresponding minting key to the node:
+`curl -X POST "http://localhost:62391/admin/mintingaccounts" -d "F48mYJycFgRdqtc58kiovwbcJgVukjzRE4qRRtRsK9ix"`
+6. Alternatively you can use your own minting account instead of the generic one above.
+7. After a short while, blocks should be minted from the genesis timestamp until the current time.

src/main/java/org/qortal/controller/BlockMinter.java

@@ -93,6 +93,8 @@ public class BlockMinter extends Thread {
 
 		List<Block> newBlocks = new ArrayList<>();
 
+		final boolean isSingleNodeTestnet = Settings.getInstance().isSingleNodeTestnet();
+
 		try (final Repository repository = RepositoryManager.getRepository()) {
 			// Going to need this a lot...
 			BlockRepository blockRepository = repository.getBlockRepository();
@@ -111,8 +113,9 @@ public class BlockMinter extends Thread {
 					// Free up any repository locks
 					repository.discardChanges();
 
-					// Sleep for a while
-					Thread.sleep(1000);
+					// Sleep for a while.
+					// It's faster on single node testnets, to allow lots of blocks to be minted quickly.
+					Thread.sleep(isSingleNodeTestnet ? 50 : 1000);
 
 					isMintingPossible = false;
 
@@ -223,9 +226,10 @@ public class BlockMinter extends Thread {
 					List<PrivateKeyAccount> newBlocksMintingAccounts = mintingAccountsData.stream().map(accountData -> new PrivateKeyAccount(repository, accountData.getPrivateKey())).collect(Collectors.toList());
 
 					// We might need to sit the next block out, if one of our minting accounts signed the previous one
+					// Skip this check for single node testnets, since they definitely need to mint every block
 					byte[] previousBlockMinter = previousBlockData.getMinterPublicKey();
 					boolean mintedLastBlock = mintingAccountsData.stream().anyMatch(mintingAccount -> Arrays.equals(mintingAccount.getPublicKey(), previousBlockMinter));
-					if (mintedLastBlock) {
+					if (mintedLastBlock && !isSingleNodeTestnet) {
 						LOGGER.trace(String.format("One of our keys signed the last block, so we won't sign the next one"));
 						continue;
 					}

src/main/java/org/qortal/controller/Controller.java

@@ -1872,6 +1872,10 @@ public class Controller extends Thread {
 		if (latestBlockData == null || latestBlockData.getTimestamp() < minLatestBlockTimestamp)
 			return false;
 
+		if (Settings.getInstance().isSingleNodeTestnet())
+			// Single node testnets won't have peers, so we can assume up to date from this point
+			return true;
+
 		// Needs a mutable copy of the unmodifiableList
 		List<Peer> peers = new ArrayList<>(Network.getInstance().getImmutableHandshakedPeers());
 		if (peers == null)

src/main/java/org/qortal/controller/Synchronizer.java

@@ -56,8 +56,6 @@ public class Synchronizer extends Thread {
 	/** Maximum number of consecutive failed sync attempts before marking peer as misbehaved */
 	private static final int MAX_CONSECUTIVE_FAILED_SYNC_ATTEMPTS = 3;
 
-	private static final long RECOVERY_MODE_TIMEOUT = 10 * 60 * 1000L; // ms
-
 
 	private boolean running;
 
@@ -399,9 +397,10 @@ public class Synchronizer extends Thread {
 					timePeersLastAvailable = NTP.getTime();
 
 				// If enough time has passed, enter recovery mode, which lifts some restrictions on who we can sync with and when we can mint
-				if (NTP.getTime() - timePeersLastAvailable > RECOVERY_MODE_TIMEOUT) {
+				long recoveryModeTimeout = Settings.getInstance().getRecoveryModeTimeout();
+				if (NTP.getTime() - timePeersLastAvailable > recoveryModeTimeout) {
 					if (recoveryMode == false) {
-						LOGGER.info(String.format("Peers have been unavailable for %d minutes. Entering recovery mode...", RECOVERY_MODE_TIMEOUT/60/1000));
+						LOGGER.info(String.format("Peers have been unavailable for %d minutes. Entering recovery mode...", recoveryModeTimeout/60/1000));
 						recoveryMode = true;
 					}
 				}

src/main/java/org/qortal/settings/Settings.java

@@ -184,6 +184,8 @@ public class Settings {
 
 	// Peer-to-peer related
 	private boolean isTestNet = false;
+	/** Single node testnet mode */
+	private boolean singleNodeTestnet = false;
 	/** Port number for inbound peer-to-peer connections. */
 	private Integer listenPort;
 	/** Whether to attempt to open the listen port via UPnP */
@@ -203,6 +205,9 @@ public class Settings {
 	/** Maximum number of retry attempts if a peer fails to respond with the requested data */
 	private int maxRetries = 2;
 
+	/** The number of seconds of no activity before recovery mode begins */
+	public long recoveryModeTimeout = 10 * 60 * 1000L;
+
 	/** Minimum peer version number required in order to sync with them */
 	private String minPeerVersion = "3.6.3";
 	/** Whether to allow connections with peers below minPeerVersion
@@ -486,7 +491,7 @@ public class Settings {
 
 	private void validate() {
 		// Validation goes here
-		if (this.minBlockchainPeers < 1)
+		if (this.minBlockchainPeers < 1 && !singleNodeTestnet)
 			throwValidationError("minBlockchainPeers must be at least 1");
 
 		if (this.apiKey != null && this.apiKey.trim().length() < 8)
@@ -643,6 +648,10 @@ public class Settings {
 		return this.isTestNet;
 	}
 
+	public boolean isSingleNodeTestnet() {
+		return this.singleNodeTestnet;
+	}
+
 	public int getListenPort() {
 		if (this.listenPort != null)
 			return this.listenPort;
@@ -663,6 +672,9 @@ public class Settings {
 	}
 
 	public int getMinBlockchainPeers() {
+		if (singleNodeTestnet)
+			return 0;
+
 		return this.minBlockchainPeers;
 	}
 
@@ -688,6 +700,10 @@ public class Settings {
 
 	public int getMaxRetries() { return this.maxRetries; }
 
+	public long getRecoveryModeTimeout() {
+		return recoveryModeTimeout;
+	}
+
 	public String getMinPeerVersion() { return this.minPeerVersion; }
 
 	public boolean getAllowConnectionsWithOlderPeerVersions() { return this.allowConnectionsWithOlderPeerVersions; }