Preview Grid

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In addition to the Second Life main grid (known as "Agni") that many thousands of Residents log into each day, there is another grid open to the public, known as the preview grid, or "Aditi." Aditi is where we test server software under development.

If you are a new user and have never logged into ADITI or haven't logged in for a long time, you will probably need to contact Support to gain access. This is supposed to be a temporary bug in Aditi login.

If you change your password on AGNI, it may not transfer to the ADITI login servers. Keep your old password in case it doesn't. You will need to contact Support to get it resync'd.

What We Do with the Preview Grid

The preview grid is used for development and testing of new features and bug fixes. You will find that as you move from one region to another, you will frequently be moving to regions that are running a different version of the server software. To get the most of the preview grid, you need to know where you are.

How do I know what version is running on the region I'm in?

Helpversion.jpg

Some regions have a "channel name" imprinted into the ground over and over again. If the ground texture doesn't make it obvious, look at "About Second Life" in the help menu where you will see a wealth of information about your own system, as well as about the server software running the region you are in. The image below shows you where in the help dialog to find the channel the region you're in is running. (Just to the right of that is the version.)

The most important information in the image here is "Second Life Server"; that's the channel that you're on. The version number is also important, but the biggest changes you will see are between different channels.

Reporting Bugs or Problems

This will vary depending on the channel of the region, and on the state of the release. If you find problems in the "Second Life Beta Server" channel before that version has been deployed to the main Second Life service, please use our Bug Tracker to check to see if that problem has already been reported, and to report it if not. When reporting a problem, please give as much information as possible: what region you were in, exactly what you did and what behavior you saw, when it happened, and the version of both your viewer software and of the server software running in the region where you saw the problem.

In general, you will use the same procedure for problems found on regions in other channels, but sometimes those channels are being used for a focused test by other developers.

What is on the Preview Grid

A map from Aditi

Aditi has usually about 120 regions (sims). Some of them share the same name and coordinates with regions on the main grid (usually from Sansara). Some regions are special and used for testings and have different names. Access is sometimes denied in part of the sims. Usually, when you login first time to Aditi, you will start at Waterhad hidden lakes telehub (looks exactly like Waterhad on the main grid). Preview grid has a lower population density.

We will be using Aditi for beta testing of the next server version, but we will also be using it for early previews of software that isn't going to be on Second Life right away, and for some specific public testing of bug-fixes being worked on by some teams of developers.

The regions on Aditi are divided into different channels. There will always be two core channels:

  • Second Life Production Server : this has the same version of the software as is running on the main Second Life hosts. This exists for purposes of comparison. Sometimes, it will have the *previous* release, right after a new server has been deployed to Second Life.
  • Second Life Beta Server : this channel is designated for the version of the server we're planning on next deploying to Second Life in a rolling restart. Generally, after a new server version is deployed to Second Life, it will be at least a few days before the next beta version goes out to Aditi.

In addition, there will sometimes be other channels for specific tests and/or early betas of upcoming features.

How do I log in to Aditi?

The first time you want to log in to the Beta Grid (Aditi) you may need to contact Support to gain access. If the viewer doesn't recognize your username and password for Aditi, or if you haven't logged in to Aditi in some time, you may also need to request a manual update from Customer Support.


To contact Support for access to the Beta Grid (Aditi):

  • Visit the create a ticket section of support.secondlife.com
  • Sign in to your Second Life account, if you aren't already logged in.
  • On the Submit A Ticket page, select Account Issue as the Issue Type
  • For the Account Issue dropdown, select Viewer Login Issues
  • Enter the name of the avatar you'd like to use on the Beta Grid and in the Please describe the issue box, explain that you'd like access to Aditi or the Beta Grid.
  • Click Submit to send your request to Support.


You can use the same Second Life viewer you already use to log into Second Life. At the login screen, hit Ctrl-⇧ Shift-G. At the bottom of the screen to the right of the "Log In" button, you will see a dropdown menu that allows you to select the grid that you want to log in to:

  • Grid Selection.jpeg
  • Select "Second Life Beta Test" (aka Preview or Aditi) to log into the Test Grid. To return to the Main Grid select "Second Life Main Grid (Agni)" at your next login. (On some third-party viewers a number of other grids may be listed in this dropdown.)

There are other SL internal development grids which are not available for public access. Some viewers list them. Unless your last name is Linden, you won't be able to log into them.

Some viewers display names other than "Second Life Beta". This is the case for the Firestorm viewer. Preview Grid, Second Life Beta Grid, Test grid, and Aditi are all indicating the same grid.

NOTE: Starting with Viewer version 2.6.0, you will need to go to the Me->Preferences->Advanced menu and enable "Show Advanced Menu" before the above will work. The key combination works in versions 5+ without having to change any settings.

Once you do log into Aditi, you should have all of the inventory that you have on Main Grid (Agni). However, in subsequent logins to Aditi new items acquired in the Second Life Main Grid (Agni) will not be available to your Aditi account until the next inventory sync, which should be within 24 hours after your Aditi login. The process is scheduled for a 6 AM SLT start. How long it may take to get to your account is an unknown.

IN NO EVENT will you be able to transfer money or objects back from the Preview Grid for use in the Main Second Life Grid (Agni).

Uploading Mesh on Aditi

You must accept the IP Terms specifically for Aditi, even if you have already accepted the terms on the Main grid.
The Aditi IP Terms agreement can be found here: https://secondlife.aditi.lindenlab.com/my/account/ip/accept.php
You do not need to have payment information on file to upload mesh on Aditi.

Using Web Profiles on Aditi

Web profiles are available on Aditi with a bit of tweaking. To test web based profiles in the Viewer (2.5+) on ADITI, the WebProfileURL debug setting needs to be changed before logging in to the Viewer. You have two ways of doing this:

  • The debug setting can be accessed via Advanced->Debug Settings. Change the value to https://my-demo.secondlife.com/. This process will be automatic once login.cgi has been updated.
  • You can invoke your viewer with the following executable parameter:
  • Before logging back into AGNI remove this variable.
  • This is Aditi , so things might be borked. Please bear with us.

Using Marketplace on Aditi

The Marketplace supports Beta testing on Aditi! All Merchants will have access to this grid for Beta testing, but will only be able to test purchasing items using L$, since Aditi is not set up to test out other payment methods.

In order to participate in Beta testing, you just need to login to the Aditi grid using your viewer of choice. Your account should automatically be set up and you should receive L$50,000 to start.

Nothing that happens on the test grid (Aditi) has any effect on your avatar, inventory, L$, or marketplace listings on the main grid (Agni). Objects, inventory and L$ on the Beta grid may be damaged by bugs, be removed, or disappear at any point during Beta testing.

To access functions on the Beta grid:

  • Note that you may need to accept a security exception to complete a purchase using L$. Since this is a test web site, no actual sensitive information will be passed, so it is safe to do on the Aditi web site.


If you find a problem or have a suggestion, first try it out on Production before filing a JIRA. See the wiki instructions for general help on filing a JIRA, or take the following steps to file a Marketplace Issue:

  1. Go to https://jira.secondlife.com
  2. Search to see if your issue has already been reported. (These wiki instructions will help)
  3. Create an Issue in the “BUG” project
  4. Fill in summary and description, including steps to reproduce the problem, and if you were able to try it out on Production.
  5. Fill in the component as “Marketplace-Beta” if you do not see the problem in Production, or ayou re not sure if it appears in Production. If you see the problem in Production, use the “Marketplace” component.
  6. Specify the environment (region, viewer version, etc).
  7. Submit the issue.

Updating Your Account on Aditi

Revised: May 2018

Inventory updates are now a process that sync's your AGNI (main grid) inventory into your ADITI inventory. No overwrite or loss of ADITI inventory as previously.


Once you login and off, your inventory will re-sync next at about 6 AM PT. The login/out is the trigger. No need to change the password to update inventory.


Change your password regularly to protect your account. But, save your old password. Sometimes the Aditi login process does not update. Try your old password. (2017 bug)


If your inventory or password does NOT update, you will need to contact SL Support for help.


Your AGNI trash does sync to ADITI...

Regions on Aditi

Aditi has limited capacity, so regions are frequently taken offline in order to make room for regions with more interesting test cases. See this page for the status of several Aditi regions.

Permanent Sandbox Regions

Residents who wish to test their content before bringing it to the main grid have been given dedicated regions to do so:


See Also

. These are to discuss beta testing of the next upcoming release of Second Life; when there is not a release pending, we will discuss general SVC issues listed in the JIRA.

  • The Release Team blog has discussions about rolling restarts, server release beta testing in general, and specific versions of the server that are about to be released. Also, see the archived Server Deploy Forums for updates before February 2010.