<p>It might contain security vulnerabilities (which could potentially expose your private key), but that's extremely unlikely. Something more plausible (but still unlikely) is corrupting your <code>wallet.dat</code>, so be sure to back it up before upgrading.</p>

<p>As a normal user, the test build ought to be safe for most purposes. The main risk, I guess, is for people operating exchanges, mining pools, etc., where you can't afford to go down in the middle of operation. The test build is more likely to crash (or fail to work in some way) rather than be insecure.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-17T17:13:02.180Z
Awesome, since I am using for info purposes only I didn't see any issues with dumping privkeys or having a wallet corrupted, but crashing makes sense and is a good reason to use the current stable version. Thanks Tony!
Mark
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-17T06:33:16.970Z
2014-03-17T06:33:16.970Z
Tony
<p>Test builds are more likely to have bugs since they're less thoroughly tested. Bugs could range anywhere from wallet corruption to crashes to accidental spending.</p>

<p>In general, it should be pretty safe, but there's no guarantees of stability.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-17T15:34:13.020Z
The risk is indeed higher with a test build because it has seen less testing. But remember that there are never any guarantees.
laanwj
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-17T07:44:22.760Z
2014-03-17T07:44:22.760Z
Dr. McKay
<p>Installing bitcoind from github, I forgot to pass "git checkout v0.8.6" (current version at time of writing), and of course, go the following error in getinfo.</p>

<p>"This is a pre-release test build - use at your own risk - do not use for mining or merchant applications"</p>

<p>This got me thinking, what kinds of unexpected problems which could happen?</p>

<testing>
Risk of using pre-release test build
Mark
# Risk of using pre-release test build

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-03-17)

Installing bitcoind from github, I forgot to pass "git checkout v0.8.6" (current version at time of writing), and of course, go the following error in getinfo.

"This is a pre-release test build - use at your own risk - do not use for mining or merchant applications"

This got me thinking, what kinds of unexpected problems which could happen?

**Tags:** testing


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-03-17. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

It might contain security vulnerabilities (which could potentially expose your private key), but that's extremely unlikely. Something more plausible (but still unlikely) is corrupting your `wallet.dat`, so be sure to back it up before upgrading.

As a normal user, the test build ought to be safe for most purposes. The main risk, I guess, is for people operating exchanges, mining pools, etc., where you can't afford to go down in the middle of operation. The test build is more likely to crash (or fail to work in some way) rather than be insecure.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Awesome, since I am using for info purposes only I didn't see any issues with dumping privkeys or having a wallet corrupted, but crashing makes sense and is a good reason to use the current stable version. Thanks username_1!  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2014-03-17. Score: 0

Test builds are more likely to have bugs since they're less thoroughly tested. Bugs could range anywhere from wallet corruption to crashes to accidental spending.

In general, it should be pretty safe, but there's no guarantees of stability.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: The risk is indeed higher with a test build because it has seen less testing. But remember that there are never any guarantees.  

---

