# Get Started on Filecoin
The Filecoin Network is made by miners and clients. They make deals and contribute to maintaining the Filecoin blockchain, obtaining storage services and receiving rewards in the process.
In order to get started on Filecoin:
Explore the different networks using one of the available block explorers. Discover the blocks, the messages, the scoreboards for miners. the self-adjusting base fee, the deals and all the things tracked by the chain.
Complete the Protoschool tutorial to get a closer, practical look to how Filecoin works.
Install and launch your Lotus Node, setup your first wallet and learn how to send and receive ⨎.
Once you become familiar with Filecoin, you can choose your own path:
- Store section for those wanting to bring their data to the Filecoin Network.
- Mine section for those wanting to provide storage and retrieval capabilities to the Network.
- Build section for those wanting to build applications on top of the Network.
# Filecoin Software
| Name | |
|---|---|
| Lotus | Implementation of Filecoin node and miner by Protocol Labs. For users that want to participate in the Filecoin network validating blocks, manage a wallet and perform deals on the command line. |
| Slate | Slate is a fully open-source file sharing network designed for research and collaboration, powered by Textile, IPFS and Filecoin. For users that want to easily store their data in a cloud backed by decentralized technologies. |
| Powergate | a multitiered storage solution that stores data with IPFS ("Hot" storage layer) and Filecoin ("Cold" storage layer). |
| Starling | A command-line interface for simplified, coordinated, decentralized storage on the Filecoin network |
# Filecoin implementations
There are 4 Filecoin protocol implementations (or “node software”) currently in progress:
- lotus (Go): This implementation is closest to feature-complete and is therefore, the recommended Filecoin protocol implementation.
- forest (Rust)
- fuhon (C++)
- go-filecoin (Go)
Each of these software clients implements the Filecoin protocol as described in the Filecoin protocol specification. Please note that the protocol spec and all implementations are still works-in-progress and expected to change significantly between now and Filecoin mainnet launch. To learn more about why there are multiple Filecoin implementations, please read this blog post.
Here is a snapshot of each implementation’s progress across the primary parts of the Filecoin protocol (updated June 24, 2020):
| lotus | go-filecoin | forest | fuhon | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Node | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| 2. Files & data | ✅ | 🔶 | 🔶 | ✅ |
| 3. Virtual Machine | ✅ | ✅ | 🔶 | 🔶 |
| 4. VM Actors | 🔶 | 🔶 | 🔶 | 🔶 |
| 5. Blockchain | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| 6. Token | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| 7. Storage Mining | ✅ | 🔄 | 🔄 | 🔄 🔶 |
| 8. Market | ✅ | ✅ | 🔄 | ✅ |
✅ : fully featured implementation
🔄 : reuses components from another implementation
🔶 : partial implementation