blockfrost-js

Getting started

To use this SDK, you first need to log in to blockfrost.io, create your project and retrieve the API token.

Installation

To run the SDK you need Node.js version 16 and higher. While you may find a way to run it directly in a browser, we don't actively support or provide troubleshooting assistance with this scenario. We recommend setting up your own Node.js backend. Exposing your API keys in a frontend application is almost always a bad idea.

The SDK is hosted on npmjs.com, so you can directly import it using your favorite package manager.

npm i @blockfrost/blockfrost-js

yarn add @blockfrost/blockfrost-js

Usage

Using the SDK is pretty straight-forward as you can see from the following examples. For more examples take a look in blockfrost-js-examples repository.

For a list of all SDK methods check out our wiki.

const Blockfrost = require('@blockfrost/blockfrost-js');
// import { BlockFrostAPI } from '@blockfrost/blockfrost-js'; // using import syntax

const API = new Blockfrost.BlockFrostAPI({
  projectId: 'YOUR API KEY HERE', // see: https://blockfrost.io
  // For a list of all options see section below
});

Options

• projectId - string, Blockfrost project ID (required)
• network - string, Cardano network for given project ID. (optional, default value is derived from the projectId itself if possible). Possible values: mainnet, testnet, preview, preprod.
• rateLimiter - boolean or RateLimiterConfig, whether to enable rate limiter that matches Blockfrost API limits (optional, default true). If you have your IP addresses white-listed you may want to disable it. You may also customize rate limiter by passing your own config object.
• requestTimeout - number, How long to wait for a request to complete, in milliseconds (optional, default 20000)
• retrySettings - RequiredRetryOptions, customizations for retrying failed request (optional, for defaults click here)
• debug - boolean, whether to enable debug logging. It is also possible to enable it by setting environment variable DEBUG to true (optional, default false).
• customBackend - string, option to set URL to a non-official backend (optional)
• version - number, version of the Blockfrost API (optional, default 0)

Error handling

Blockfrost Node.js SDK throws 2 types of errors, BlockfrostServerError and BlockfrostClientError. Each of these errors is extended from the built-in Error class, allowing you to properly catch it and handle it in your code.

BlockfrostServerError

BlockfrostServerError is an error returned directly by Blockfrost API. The error object's properties are matching the same format as defined by Blockfrost API, with additional url field set to the URL the request was sent to and optional body field set to the original body of the error response in cases where the error was not returned by Blockfrost Backend (eg. nginx).

Example

Blockfrost API returns 404 Not Found for any resource that does not exist on chain at the moment, even when in theory, it could exist. For more detailed explanation check Blockfrost developer portal.

// Example demonstrating catching BlockfrostServerError
try {
  const address = await API.addresses('totallyValidAddress');
} catch (error) {
  if (
    error instanceof Blockfrost.BlockfrostServerError &&
    error.status_code === 404
  ) {
    // address was not used before, but most likely we don't want to throw an error
    console.log("Address is totally empty! But that's ok!");
  } else {
    // rethrow other errors
    throw error;
  }
}

BlockfrostClientError

BlockfrostClientError is an error that was NOT returned by a Blockfrost API server. In this case the request has never reached our backends. Most common causes are network-related.

Shape of BlockfrostClientError object is slightly different from BlockfrostServerError. The error has code and message and optional url property to help you investigate the issue.

Here is a small example showcasing the error format:

{
  "code": "ENOTFOUND",
  "message": "getaddrinfo ENOTFOUND api.blockfrost.io",
  "url": "https://cardano-mainnet.blockfrost.io/api/v0/addresses/addr1qxqs59lph(truncated)"
}

Example

// Example demonstrating catching a network-related client error
try {
  const address = await API.addresses('totallyValidAddress');
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof Blockfrost.BlockfrostClientError) {
    console.log('Oops, error during sending the request');
  }
  // Depending on your use case you may want to rethrow the error
  throw error;
}

Examples

For more examples take a look in blockfrost-js-examples repository.

For a list of all SDK methods check out our wiki.

Cardano

const Blockfrost = require('@blockfrost/blockfrost-js');
// import { BlockFrostAPI } from '@blockfrost/blockfrost-js'; // using import syntax

const API = new Blockfrost.BlockFrostAPI({
  projectId: 'YOUR API KEY HERE', // see: https://blockfrost.io
});

async function runExample() {
  try {
    const latestBlock = await API.blocksLatest();
    const networkInfo = await API.network();
    const latestEpoch = await API.epochsLatest();
    const health = await API.health();
    const address = await API.addresses(
      'addr1qxqs59lphg8g6qndelq8xwqn60ag3aeyfcp33c2kdp46a09re5df3pzwwmyq946axfcejy5n4x0y99wqpgtp2gd0k09qsgy6pz',
    );
    const pools = await API.pools({ page: 1, count: 10, order: 'asc' });

    console.log('pools', pools);
    console.log('address', address);
    console.log('networkInfo', networkInfo);
    console.log('latestEpoch', latestEpoch);
    console.log('latestBlock', latestBlock);
    console.log('health', health);
  } catch (err) {
    console.log('error', err);
  }
}

runExample();

IPFS

const Blockfrost = require('@blockfrost/blockfrost-js');
// import { BlockFrostIPFS } from '@blockfrost/blockfrost-js'; // using import syntax

const IPFS = new Blockfrost.BlockFrostIPFS({
  projectId: 'YOUR IPFS KEY HERE', // see: https://blockfrost.io
});

async function runExample() {
  try {
    const added = await IPFS.add(`${__dirname}/img.svg`);
    console.log('added', added);

    const pinned = await IPFS.pin(added.ipfs_hash);
    console.log('pinned', pinned);
  } catch (err) {
    console.log('error', err);
  }
}

runExample();

Utility functions

Blockfrost SDK exports several utility functions to improve developer experience.

• deriveAddress
• getFingerprint
• parseAsset
• verifyWebhookSignature

Development

Adding new method

1. Add a code to a corresponding file. e.g. new account method belong to src/endpoints/api/account/ directory.
   • add <method>All method for endpoints with pagination
   • update TSDoc for added method
2. Add class method to BlockfrostAPI object in src/BlockFrostAPI.ts.
3. Add unit-test fixture for the added method to test/fixtures/endpoints.ts
4. Regenerate wiki docs
   • yarn docs
   • push files to Wiki repository https://github.com/blockfrost/blockfrost-js.wiki.git