> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tenderly.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Virtual Environment quickstart

> Learn how to quickly spin up a Virtual Environment and start interacting with it.

Follow this guide to learn how to spin up a Virtual Environment and start interacting with it.

[Watch on Loom →](https://www.loom.com/embed/4275dd13f6c8443ea851708ced61fd7e?sid=7007b253-7dfb-4ed8-9641-f54615b1354e)

<Steps>
  ### Configure your Virtual Environment

  From the Dashboard, go to **Virtual Environments** and click **Create Virtual Environment**. Fill in the settings below:

  **Parent network and name**: Choose which network you want to fork from the [104 supported networks](/platform/supported-networks) and give it a unique name (e.g., **Virtual Mainnet**).

  **Chain ID**: Specify a custom value such as **`73571`** or use the parent network's original chain ID. It's recommended to set a [unique chain ID](/troubleshooting/virtual-environments#unique-chain-id) to prevent transaction replay attacks, and avoid issues when adding the Virtual Environment to wallets.

  **Public Explorer**: Leave disabled or enable to allow public transaction viewing. If enabled, set the [contract verification visibility](/virtual-environments/explorer#contract-visibility-in-public-explorer) option to control whether or not smart contracts' code is visible publicly.

  **State sync**: Activate to keep your Virtual Environment updated in real-time with the parent network. Learn more about [how state sync works](/virtual-environments/state-sync).

  **Named RPC URL**: Optionally attach a fixed name to the RPC URL, so it stays the same across re-forks instead of changing every time. See [Named RPC URLs](/virtual-environments/named-rpc-urls).

  Click **Create**.

  ### Add your Virtual Environment to Metamask

  Access your Virtual Environment and click **Add to Wallet** to add the Virtual Environment as a chain in Metamask. Follow Metamask's instructions to change the network. Once confirmed, you can send and receive transactions on your Virtual Environment through Metamask.

  [Follow this tutorial](/virtual-environments/interact/add-to-wallet) for more guidance.

  ### Fund accounts

  Every Virtual Environment has an [unlimited faucet](/virtual-environments/unlimited-faucet) that allows you to top up or set a new balance for any account on the Virtual Environment instantly.

  **From the Dashboard**

  * Navigate to **Faucet**
  * Input your address (`0xBd8DaA414Fda8a8A129F7035e7496759C5aF8570`) and the amount you wish to add (e.g., 1000) in ETH (not wei).
  * Click **Fund**

      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/tenderly/XsEZlaGXYskrtN68/images/testnets/virtual-faucet.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=XsEZlaGXYskrtN68&q=85&s=dae7dd700ef766f2dff0abfa2314f01a" alt="" width="1266" height="710" data-path="images/testnets/virtual-faucet.png" />

  **Using RPC**

  Copy the Virtual Environment RPC link and call the `tenderly_setBalance` method to set a new balance specified in **wei** in hexadecimal form.

  ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-latte","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
  curl $TENDERLY_VIRTUAL_TESTNET_RPC \
  -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
      "jsonrpc": "2.0",
      "method": "tenderly_setBalance",
      "params": [["0xE58b9ee93700A616b50509C8292977FA7a0f8ce1"], "0xDE0B6B3A7640000"],
      "id": "1234"
  }'
  ```
</Steps>

## Next steps

* [Send transactions](/virtual-environments/interact/send-transactions): Start sending transactions on your Virtual Environments
* [Simulate transactions](/virtual-environments/interact/simulate-transactions): Run transaction simulations from the Dashboard or via RPC
* [Deploy smart contracts](/virtual-environments/develop/deploy-contracts): Start deploying and monitoring smart contracts on your Virtual Environment
* [Virtual Environments API](/api-reference): Create and manage Virtual Environments via REST API
* [Use cases](/virtual-environments/overview#use-cases): Explore further use-cases of Virtual Environments
* [FAQ](/troubleshooting/virtual-environments): Get answers to frequently asked questions about Virtual Environments