diff --git a/ant-bootstrap/src/initial_peers.rs b/ant-bootstrap/src/initial_peers.rs
index 55b3f78e16..27e59d899c 100644
--- a/ant-bootstrap/src/initial_peers.rs
+++ b/ant-bootstrap/src/initial_peers.rs
@@ -107,14 +107,21 @@ impl PeersArgs {
             return Ok(vec![]);
         }
 
+        let mut bootstrap_addresses = vec![];
+
+        // Read from ANT_PEERS environment variable if present
+        bootstrap_addresses.extend(Self::read_bootstrap_addr_from_env());
+
+        if !bootstrap_addresses.is_empty() {
+            return Ok(bootstrap_addresses);
+        }
+
         // If local mode is enabled, return empty store (will use mDNS)
         if self.local || cfg!(feature = "local") {
             info!("Local mode enabled, using only local discovery.");
             return Ok(vec![]);
         }
 
-        let mut bootstrap_addresses = vec![];
-
         // Add addrs from arguments if present
         for addr in &self.addrs {
             if let Some(addr) = craft_valid_multiaddr(addr, false) {
@@ -124,8 +131,6 @@ impl PeersArgs {
                 warn!("Invalid multiaddress format from arguments: {addr}");
             }
         }
-        // Read from ANT_PEERS environment variable if present
-        bootstrap_addresses.extend(Self::read_bootstrap_addr_from_env());
 
         if let Some(count) = count {
             if bootstrap_addresses.len() >= count {
diff --git a/autonomi/src/client/mod.rs b/autonomi/src/client/mod.rs
index fae0a87ba8..05ef75d789 100644
--- a/autonomi/src/client/mod.rs
+++ b/autonomi/src/client/mod.rs
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ pub mod wasm;
 mod rate_limiter;
 mod utils;
 
-use ant_bootstrap::{BootstrapCacheConfig, BootstrapCacheStore};
+use ant_bootstrap::{BootstrapCacheConfig, BootstrapCacheStore, PeersArgs};
 pub use ant_evm::Amount;
 
 use ant_evm::EvmNetwork;
@@ -71,6 +71,17 @@ pub struct Client {
     pub(crate) evm_network: EvmNetwork,
 }
 
+/// Configuration for [`Client::init_with_config`].
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Default)]
+pub struct ClientConfig {
+    /// Whether we're expected to connect to a local network.
+    pub local: bool,
+    /// List of peers to connect to.
+    ///
+    /// If not provided, the client will use the default bootstrap peers.
+    pub peers: Option<Vec<Multiaddr>>,
+}
+
 /// Error returned by [`Client::connect`].
 #[derive(Debug, thiserror::Error)]
 pub enum ConnectError {
@@ -80,9 +91,55 @@ pub enum ConnectError {
     /// Same as [`ConnectError::TimedOut`] but with a list of incompatible protocols.
     #[error("Could not connect to peers due to incompatible protocol: {0:?}")]
     TimedOutWithIncompatibleProtocol(HashSet<String>, String),
+
+    /// An error occurred while bootstrapping the client.
+    #[error("Failed to bootstrap the client")]
+    Bootstrap(#[from] ant_bootstrap::Error),
 }
 
 impl Client {
+    pub async fn init() -> Result<Self, ConnectError> {
+        Self::init_with_config(ClientConfig::default()).await
+    }
+
+    pub async fn init_with_config(config: ClientConfig) -> Result<Self, ConnectError> {
+        let (network, event_receiver) = build_client_and_run_swarm(config.local);
+
+        let peers_args = PeersArgs {
+            disable_mainnet_contacts: config.local,
+            addrs: config.peers.unwrap_or_default(),
+            ..Default::default()
+        };
+
+        let peers = match peers_args.get_addrs(None, None).await {
+            Ok(peers) => peers,
+            Err(e) => return Err(e.into()),
+        };
+
+        let network_clone = network.clone();
+        let peers = peers.to_vec();
+        let _handle = ant_networking::target_arch::spawn(async move {
+            for addr in peers {
+                if let Err(err) = network_clone.dial(addr.clone()).await {
+                    error!("Failed to dial addr={addr} with err: {err:?}");
+                    eprintln!("addr={addr} Failed to dial: {err:?}");
+                };
+            }
+        });
+
+        // Wait until we have added a few peers to our routing table.
+        let (sender, receiver) = futures::channel::oneshot::channel();
+        ant_networking::target_arch::spawn(handle_event_receiver(event_receiver, sender));
+        receiver.await.expect("sender should not close")?;
+        debug!("Client is connected to the network");
+
+        Ok(Self {
+            network,
+            client_event_sender: Arc::new(None),
+            evm_network: Default::default(),
+        })
+    }
+
     /// Connect to the network.
     ///
     /// This will timeout after [`CONNECT_TIMEOUT_SECS`] secs.
diff --git a/autonomi/tests/put.rs b/autonomi/tests/put.rs
index f5d411e691..ca4a808c7e 100644
--- a/autonomi/tests/put.rs
+++ b/autonomi/tests/put.rs
@@ -7,24 +7,24 @@
 // permissions and limitations relating to use of the SAFE Network Software.
 
 use ant_logging::LogBuilder;
-use autonomi::Client;
+use autonomi::{client::ClientConfig, Client};
 use eyre::Result;
-use std::time::Duration;
-use test_utils::{evm::get_funded_wallet, gen_random_data, peers_from_env};
-use tokio::time::sleep;
+use test_utils::{evm::get_funded_wallet, gen_random_data};
 
 #[tokio::test]
 async fn put() -> Result<()> {
     let _log_appender_guard = LogBuilder::init_single_threaded_tokio_test("put", false);
 
-    let client = Client::connect(&peers_from_env()?).await?;
+    let client = Client::init_with_config(ClientConfig {
+        local: true,
+        ..Default::default()
+    })
+    .await?;
     let wallet = get_funded_wallet();
     let data = gen_random_data(1024 * 1024 * 10);
 
     let addr = client.data_put_public(data.clone(), wallet.into()).await?;
 
-    sleep(Duration::from_secs(10)).await;
-
     let data_fetched = client.data_get_public(addr).await?;
     assert_eq!(data, data_fetched, "data fetched should match data put");