# Deploying the test version of the NNS governance canister in local test enviornments

**URL:** <https://forum.dfinity.org/t/deploying-the-test-version-of-the-nns-governance-canister-in-local-test-enviornments/53288>\
**Category:** Command Line Tools\
**Created:** [July 15, 2025, 3:47pm UTC](https://forum.dfinity.org/t/deploying-the-test-version-of-the-nns-governance-canister-in-local-test-enviornments/53288 "2025-07-15T15:47:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mraszyk](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex023/user_avatar/forum.dfinity.org/mraszyk/32/7945_2.png) [@mraszyk](https://forum.dfinity.org/u/mraszyk)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 3:47pm UTC](https://forum.dfinity.org/t/deploying-the-test-version-of-the-nns-governance-canister-in-local-test-enviornments/53288/1 "2025-07-15T15:47:03Z")

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The dfx nns extension deploys the _test_ version of the NNS governance canister (`rrkah-fqaaa-aaaaa-aaaaq-cai`) to local test environments (after running `dfx nns install`) and this test version of the canister exposes an extra test-only endpoint `update_neuron` to override a neuron (almost) arbitrarily.

Now we wonder if this functionality is actually used in practice or if the _production_ version of the NNS governance canister is sufficient in local test environments.

Using the production version instead of the test version would simplify ongoing work to automate NNS canister version bumps to keep local test environments up-to-date. Hence, we would like to ask you for your feedback if we could proceed with the production version of the NNS governance canister in local test environments.

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**Author:** ![jasonzhu](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex023/user_avatar/forum.dfinity.org/jasonzhu/32/12251_2.png) [@jasonzhu](https://forum.dfinity.org/u/jasonzhu)\
**Post date:** [July 17, 2025, 6:48pm UTC](https://forum.dfinity.org/t/deploying-the-test-version-of-the-nns-governance-canister-in-local-test-enviornments/53288/2 "2025-07-17T18:48:50Z")

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AFAIK, the NNS Dapp development and testing environment is relying on the test version of the NNS Governance for:

1. Getting maturity for a certain neuron through `update_neuron`
2. Getting new functionalities (usually enabled through the test version first) before they are ready on the mainnet

cc @yhabib @mstrasinskis

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**Author:** ![mstrasinskis](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex023/user_avatar/forum.dfinity.org/mstrasinskis/32/5106_2.png) [@mstrasinskis](https://forum.dfinity.org/u/mstrasinskis)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 12:31pm UTC](https://forum.dfinity.org/t/deploying-the-test-version-of-the-nns-governance-canister-in-local-test-enviornments/53288/3 "2025-07-21T12:31:27Z")

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Yes, @jasonzhu is right — the NNS Dapp relies on the test governance canister for update\_neuron and early feature access, both for development and e2e tests.

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**Author:** ![mraszyk](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex023/user_avatar/forum.dfinity.org/mraszyk/32/7945_2.png) [@mraszyk](https://forum.dfinity.org/u/mraszyk)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 8:34am UTC](https://forum.dfinity.org/t/deploying-the-test-version-of-the-nns-governance-canister-in-local-test-enviornments/53288/4 "2025-07-22T08:34:58Z")

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Thanks for your feedback! We’ve updated the automation to keep track of the test version of the NNS governance canister so we could use in PocketIC after all.