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Network Provider

The CashScript SDK needs to connect to the BCH network to perform certain operations, like retrieving the contract's balance, or sending transactions. By default the network provider is an ElectrumNetworkProvider.

ElectrumNetworkProvider​

The ElectrumNetworkProvider uses @electrum-cash/network to connect to the BCH network. Both network and options parameters are optional, and they default to mainnet with the bch.imaginary.cash electrum server.

new ElectrumNetworkProvider(network?: Network, options?: Options)

Using the network parameter, you can specify the network to connect to. The network parameter can be one of 5 different options:

type Network = 'mainnet' | 'chipnet' | 'testnet3' | 'testnet4' | 'regtest';

Using the options parameter, you can specify a custom electrum client or hostname, and enable manual connection management.

type Options = OptionsBase | CustomHostNameOptions | CustomElectrumOptions;

interface OptionsBase {
  manualConnectionManagement?: boolean;
}

interface CustomHostNameOptions extends OptionsBase {
  hostname: string;
}

interface CustomElectrumOptions extends OptionsBase {
  electrum: ElectrumClient<ElectrumClientEvents>;
}

Example​

const hostname = 'chipnet.bch.ninja';
const provider = new ElectrumNetworkProvider('chipnet', { hostname });

getUtxos()​

async provider.getUtxos(address: string): Promise<Utxo[]>;

Returns all UTXOs on specific address. Both confirmed and unconfirmed UTXOs are included.

interface Utxo {
  txid: string;
  vout: number;
  satoshis: bigint;
  token?: TokenDetails;
}

Example​

const userUtxos = await provider.getUtxos(userAddress)

getBlockHeight()​

async provider.getBlockHeight(): Promise<number>;

Get the current blockHeight.

Example​

const currentBlockHeight = await provider.getBlockHeight()

getRawTransaction()​

async provider.getRawTransaction(txid: string): Promise<string>;

Retrieve the Hex transaction details for a given transaction ID.

Example​

const rawTransaction = await provider.getRawTransaction(txid)

sendRawTransaction()​

async provider.sendRawTransaction(txHex: string): Promise<string>;

Broadcast a raw hex transaction to the network.

Example​

const txId = await provider.sendRawTransaction(txHex)

performRequest()​

Perform an arbitrary electrum request, refer to the docs at electrum-cash-protocol.

Example​

const verbose = true // get parsed transaction as json result
const txId = await provider.performRequest('blockchain.transaction.get', txid, verbose)

Manual Connection Management​

By default, the ElectrumNetworkProvider will automatically connect and disconnect to the electrum client as needed. However, you can enable manual connection management by setting the manualConnectionManagement option to true. This can be useful if you are passing a custom electrum client and are using that client for other purposes, such as subscribing to events.

const provider = new ElectrumNetworkProvider('chipnet', { manualConnectionManagement: true });

connect()​

provider.connect(): Promise<void>;

Connects to the electrum client.

disconnect()​

provider.disconnect(): Promise<boolean>;

Disconnects from the electrum client, returns true if the client was connected, false if it was already disconnected.

Advanced Options​

All network functionality that the CashScript SDK needs is encapsulated in a network provider. This allows different network providers to be used and makes it easy to swap out dependencies.

MockNetworkProvider​

new MockNetworkProvider()

The MockNetworkProvider is a special network provider that allows you to evaluate transactions locally without interacting with the Bitcoin Cash network. This is useful when writing automated tests for your contracts, or when debugging your contract locally. You can read more about the MockNetworkProvider and automated tests on the testing setup page.

Example​

const provider = new MockNetworkProvider();
const newUtxo = randomUtxo({satoshis: 10_000n})
provider.addUtxo(contractAddress, newUtxo);

Other NetworkProviders​

There are two alternative network providers implemented:

  • FullStackNetworkProvider: uses FullStack.cash' infrastructure to connect to the BCH network.
  • BitcoinRpcNetworkProvider: uses a direct connection to a Bitcoin Cash node.

Currently neither supports CashTokens, so it is recommended to use the ElectrumNetworkProvider.

Custom NetworkProviders​

A big strength of the NetworkProvider setup is that it allows you to implement custom providers. So if you want to use a new or different BCH indexers for network information, it is simple to use it with CashScript.

info

To implement a Custom NetworkProvider, refer to the NetworkProvider interface.