A retrospective look at running Celestia light nodes during the Blockspacerace testnet. Community, challenges, and why it was one of my favorite testnets.

My Celestia Light Node Journey

Celestia Blockspacerace was one of my first serious testnet experiences, and it holds a special place in my node operator journey.

Why Celestia?

The concept of modular blockchains and data availability was fascinating. Instead of running a full validator, I opted for light node operation - perfect for learning without massive infrastructure costs.

The Blockspacerace Experience

Community First

The Celestia community was one of the most welcoming I've encountered. Discord was active, helpful, and genuinely interested in helping newbies like me.

Technical Challenges

Initial Setup Confusion
The first time I tried to sync, I didn't understand the difference between consensus and data availability. Rookie mistake!
Keeping Up with Updates
During active testnet phases, updates came frequently. I learned to set up update notifications.
Indonesia ISP Strikes
Power outages are real here. Lost uptime a few times because of this. Learned to set up auto-restart scripts.

Achievements

✅ 99.5% Uptime
✅ 35 Delegators (still grateful to everyone who delegated!)
✅ Made friends in the community

Lessons Learned

Community matters - Choose testnets with good communities
Document everything - I started taking notes (which led to this blog!)
Infrastructure planning - Indonesian ISPs need backup plans
Stay humble - Everyone starts somewhere

Post-Testnet Thoughts

Even though the testnet ended, I still follow Celestia's mainnet progress. It was a great learning experience and opened doors to understanding modular blockchain architecture.

Ran during: Blockspacerace Testnet
Status: Ended
Would do again: 100%
Nostalgia level: High

My Celestia Light Node Journey: From Blockspacerace to Now